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TI: To go back to your military service, I just want, you mentioned this a little bit, but I wanted to follow up, the knowledge of the 442 or the World War II Japanese Americans and what that knowledge, what you knew about them and the influence they had.

MT: Two things. We were almost all Niseis. Our parents were the same age, same age or around the same age as the parents of the World War II veterans. We were brought up with the old Meiji, Meiji customs, so we were brought up the same way, and then we knew about the 442 and the MIS and it was important for us, I feel, at least I felt that way and I know some, a lot of my friends did, that there's no way that we could bring shame upon our parents, or to the 442 guys, that we had to be brave. And that was the way we looked at it, I looked at it. In fact, actually I thought that, that when I went up to Korea that I would die, I probably would not survive 'cause I'll probably be put in a position where I would have to die, as a medic. But I was, it was okay with me. Did I want to die? No, no, I didn't want to die, but if it happened it happened. But I think that was just generally the case of most people, most Niseis. I can't speak for all of 'em, but that I think was the case.

TI: How about the non-Niseis in the army, the non-Japanese Americans? Were they aware of the MIS and the 442?

MT: Very few. People that were in World War II remembered. Like the new exec officer we got when we were in Korea, he approached me and says, "I was in the ambulance company behind the 442. They were the bravest soldiers in the world. They were the best soldiers." Said, "I really admired them." So when I was getting discharged, getting, rotating home to get discharged he said that he would give me a field commission if I would stay. But I had to go to a different company; I couldn't stay in the same company, same outfit. But he would get me a field commission. I said no, thank you. I said I pushed my luck too far. [Laughs] But that's how much he admired the 442, 'cause he had direct experience with the 442. Just imagine how busy he must've been on that ambulance company as a young lieutenant.

TI: Yeah. So how would you say your military career, or service, changed you? You're now about twenty, what, twenty-four?

MT: You know, what it's really made me is much more loyal to America. I feel very strongly about America. That's, that's something that I didn't think about when I went in, but today they play the Star Spangled Banner, I stand up and I sing it. "Pledge of Allegiance," I say it. In camp I thought it was ironic, 'cause here we were in camp behind barbed wires and at the end we say "and justice for all," and we didn't have justice. So, but the military made me much more...

TI: That's interesting. So it's almost like military service brought you back or reconnected you to America.

MT: That's right.

TI: The camp experience kind of pushed you away or separated you, but now it brought you back.

MT: I left camp bitter and then, and I'm still bitter about being sent to camp, but I also put everything in context and I became more loyal. I, if somebody doesn't bare his hat the Star Spangled Banner's playing, take your hat off, is what I say. My wife gets very upset, but... [laughs]

TI: And how were you changed as a person? I mean, did you see anything in terms of you as a person that had changed?

MT: Coming out of the service I realized that, I had injured my leg in, my knee again. I injured it first playing baseball, then I reinjured it badly in basic training, going over the obstacle wall. I knew that I couldn't do physical work anymore, so all my rationalization had gone out of the door. Now I knew I had to go to school and give it all I got, whether I'm gonna be a C-minus student or what, I had to graduate. That was the most important thing, and so I determined to study hard. That's what I did, and I think getting a good score on that medical basic probably helped, and also the not studying and still getting number two in the company on military helped too, but not something that I thought about, but I'm sure that in the back of my mind it was there. So I decided I'm gonna study hard.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.