<Begin Segment 22>

TI: Tell me about the food, and how, how you carried food and what you ate and things like that.

GH: Well, during, and from Margherita, the Ledo Road was still under construction, but we did march up the Ledo Road. And the ration we received was K-ration, and of course, I was allergic to K-ration.

TI: So this was the first time you had tried K-rations?

GH: No, I knew I was allergic when I was given K-rations during a maneuver in India, and I was told by my battalion medical officer that I was unfit for combat. But I did convince 'em of the need for me to be with my partner, Eddie Mitsukado, our team leader.

TI: So even before you got to the Ledo Road, so in maneuvers, you found out that you really couldn't eat K-rations, which was going to be your, your food. And so the, yeah, so the army doctor said you weren't really fit. But also you, you suffered an injury also, too.

GH: Yes. During the maneuver, I jumped and the butt of the rifle hit my elbow, so I had a chipped elbow, yeah.

TI: So you had an arm, or your arm was in a sling.

GH: Yeah.

TI: So your, so by all accounts, you could have opted out. You could have said, they didn't want you to go, because you were not really fit for combat, but you insisted on going. And explain why you thought you needed to go.

GH: Of course, I trained for this and I wanted to do my part. And I knew my partner, Eddie Mitsukado, the team leader, could use my help.

TI: So you decided to go, and so now you're on the Ledo Road and you're going, so what did you eat?

GH: Well, the first two days, the officer was kind enough to come and check with me, and he says, "How you doing?" And of course, he saw the hives, I would break out in hives on my head, my mouth would, and my lips would swell. And, of course, he saw me in that condition. So he said, "Grant, don't eat this and don't eat that." And, which I followed his orders, but by the end of the day, you're so hungry. [Laughs] So, I suffered.

TI: I mean, were there things along the road that you could pick up and eat that weren't K-rations?

GH: Well, during the first battle, it was in Walawbum, the Japanese were caught by surprise and they, when they retreated, they scattered the rice on the ground. And so I picked up enough grains to, for one meal, I thought, so I tried to cook it in a helmet, but I wouldn't recommend that. [Laughs]

TI: [Laughs] It didn't cook very well? But at least you had rice at that point, and that was probably...

GH: Well, in name only. [Laughs]

TI: And, so how did you survive?

GH: Well, I ate a lot of chocolate and biscuits, and I would trade with others. I couldn't eat the canned food, because I was allergic to the preservative. So, but the time came when you're so hungry, you do.

<End Segment 22> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.