<Begin Segment 20>

TI: So the fourteen of you were selected, then, then what happened? What was the next thing that happened?

GH: One day we were told that we're leaving for port of embarkation, and we boarded a train in the evening at Camp Savage, or, Savage, and we were told to draw our curtains down. And we did arrive at... it wasn't San Francisco... I forget the name now. But there we united with the, a unit code named Galahad. And we were united with people who were trained in Panama, well, those who had jungle training.

TI: Okay, so these, this was a unit that, you're connected with a unit that had jungle training.

GH: That's right.

TI: So at that point, did you have a sense of what you guys were getting into?

GH: I guess so, yeah.

TI: So how was the, the trip over to, across the Pacific like?

GH: Yeah, well, as I said, there was a lot of soldiers who never met a Japanese or a Japanese American. Some thought we were POWs that had a change of mind. And one of the most frequent questions that was asked of us was that, "What would (...) Japanese (do to you if they) captured you? [Laughs] And we had a stock answer. Said we didn't know what their plans were, but, "they'll have to run like hell to catch us."

TI: So that was a question that the Caucasian soldiers would generally ask?

GH: Yeah.

TI: But I'm curious, amongst the fourteen of you, was there discussions about what would happen if the Japanese did capture one of you?

GH: No.

TI: Or did you ever consider that or think about that?

GH: Well, I did, yes, and I'll get to that later, but I, when I left for the front I had four hand grenades, but they were so heavy that I ended up with one. But that hand grenade was for myself, yeah.

TI: Because at that point, if you were captured, you thought that it would be better to, to blow yourself up.

GH: I would destroy myself rather than being captured, yeah.

TI: And what were your, when you thought about being captured, what did you think would happen?

GH: I was sure they would torture me, yeah.

TI: So that they would do that. So... so going across -- I'm also thinking in terms of, of the training that the other soldiers got, the Caucasian soldiers, they were probably told a lot of things about the Japanese, just to get them mentally prepared to kill them. I mean, did, so was there any sort of... so what was it like with the men? Were they curious, or...

GH: Well, actually, we took turns and did give lectures to the soldiers about the Japanese weapons, Japanese history, Japanese customs. And some of the things we have learned and some of the things we knew from past experience. And we got along fine. But I do know when I came out of Burma and I, one soldier said to me, "I'm damned glad we didn't throw you overboard." [Laughs] So...

TI: Because of the value you guys had in the jungles with them?

GH: Yeah.

TI: Well, because when he said that, so there was, going across, there was some animosity or resentment towards the fourteen of you?

GH: Uh-huh. And I think they were kind of jealous, too, because we all had stripes, and there's a lot of soldiers who were privates.

TI: So when you say stripes, you were all corporals or some sergeants?

GH: At least corporals and up, yeah. Or T-5 and up.

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.