<Begin Segment 22>

TI: Eventually, how were you and the other soldiers discharged from the 1800?

CS: What?

TI: How were you and the other soldiers discharged from the 1800?

CS: Oh, we all had, they had a hearing for everyone, a special hearing where they had to determine whether this soldier would (...) get an honorable discharge, dishonorable discharge, or discharge without honor. So we all had to present our case in front of the hearing board. And I got an honorable discharge with, I forgot the figures now, I think with forty others, and then about seventy got what they call without honor. And then about thirty already were in prison 'cause they were already court-martialed, given dishonorable discharge, and they were serving time in prison already.

TI: So you were given an honorable discharge, and so on your record, you, if someone looked at it, it would be just a regular...

CS: Yeah, about twenty of us, I think, I forgot the exact count, got the honorable. 'Cause we presented the... in fact, I got the, I had to make a presentation, and I wrote it all out, and I brought the copy of that letter. And I gave it to the, Hyman Braven who was the defense attorney. I said, "This is my story," he liked it, so, "(Just) read it." So I just read it to the board.

TI: And do you recall the main points you made in that?

CS: Well, I had three pages, going all along, all along it proves that I was, everything I did was loyal. Nothing to the detriment to the...

TI: Loyal, and you're consistent in your views and all that. Okay, good. Yeah, we have a copy of that.

CS: I think you'd be interested in reading that. I just read it for the first time last night after all these years, "Hey, it's pretty good." [Laughs] And then on top of that, all the officers on the hearing board I knew personally, 'cause they were working in the commander's office, I got to know the intelligence officers and all that. So I was on a talking basis with them, so I had no strikes against me, I guess, when we started.

TI: And so I'm thinking of all the time you were in the service, so early on, you were promoted up to corporal and then you were busted down to private. Did your rank remain private the rest of the time?

CS: Oh, yeah. I got, every time I did something well, they promoted me to PFC, and they asked me again, "Are you now willing to go wherever ordered?" "No." I got busted three times.

TI: Oh, interesting. So it was almost like a carrot and a stick. They would promote you, and then you knew if you said, "No," again, they would demote you up and down.

<End Segment 22> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.