<Begin Segment 15>

TI: Let's talk about this. How did you hear about the bombing of Hiroshima?

HH: Well, we had radio and things like that. So anyway, we found out on that day that they said that Japan has surrendered and all that kind of stuff, it was kind of a riot in our compound, the GI complement that was with us. See, they were able to get the guns and everything else, we didn't have any guns. But they, I think, started celebrating, and somebody at least was able to get a hold of the rifles and everything else, and they started shooting around. And sometimes it looked like the bullets were coming our way. [Laughs] But then they finally left, I understand, that they went into Calcutta and said that the war's over in Calcutta. And also in Ceylon, they had to, they wanted to release the prisoners in jail for some reason. So that's why they took the guns and they went into town, and I don't know whatever happened to those people, those GIs, whether they got court-martialed or something. But anyway, they were drinking and everything else, and somebody said, "Hey, let's go release all the people in the jail." I don't know why, but that's what I heard. So they finally left and we were relieved that they were gone.

TI: Yeah, it sounds really wild with the drinking and everything. I'm curious, did the Japanese nationals in your group, how did they feel about the ending of the war? Did you ever talk to them about that or did they ever express their thoughts?

HH: Well, eventually I had to leave because I got transferred to, summons to leave them. That's where I left them, in Ceylon.

TI: Well, before you left, what was the group dynamics? I mean, were you guys a pretty close group?

HH: Yes, yes. Since it was like a segregated or, we were not supposed to address each other, only on first name only. But among us, we did not. I knew their names and everything else, and they knew my name, but not for the organization. They wanted to keep it like a hush-hush organization or something like that for their privacy, I think. Especially those that came from Japan, yes.

TI: Now, do you think, did they ever use false names or pseudonyms?

HH: Well, the only one that I know was Joe, I didn't know what Koide, I found out later in my research that that was a name that he took, and I do have his real name, later after...

TI: Oh, so Joe Koide was not his real name, that was just a name he used.

HH: Yes. And then the other one was Taro Yashima, he was an artist, and was very well-known in children's books and everything, a little cartoon-type of thing, the children's books in Japan. So apparently he was using that pen name, Taro Yashima.

TI: So when you said you kind of knew each other's names, you didn't really know their real names, you just knew their, sort of their fake names?

HH: Well, the Issei and the Nisei, yes, I knew their names.

TI: But not the Japanese nationals? They had fake names?

HH: No, I think there was another one that I can't remember right now what the name was, but I don't know whether that was a fake name or an alias name. But the other thing is that we had a so-called prisoner, a Japanese soldier, in Ceylon in the compound. He would be able to... no, this was in Calcutta, that was captured, but he was not a regular soldier. He was one of those civilians, and his name was just Yamamoto, so I think, Yamamoto's a very common name like Johnson or Smith. So I don't think that was his real name. But he was able to listen to the radio in his own quarters, which was fenced off. But then we could go talk to him and everything else, and we addressed him as Mr. Yamamoto.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.