Densho Digital Archive - Phil Shigekuni Interview (denshovh-sphil-01-0008)

<Begin Segment 8>

SY: So did you actually enlist in the army?

PS: No, it was during the draft time.

SY: And was there a war going on at the time?

PS: No, it was peace time. It was kind of in between the Korean War and the Vietnam War. But I was able to... they had an army reserve deal if you were within a certain age I think, eighteen, above eighteen you could enlist as reserve and then go active from the reserves at a higher rank. So I went in as a corporal, so what you do is you go active from the reserve and the time that you go in of course you get credit for as if you were drafted. So could either sit around and wait until you get the papers to be drafted or you could do what I did and go in as a reserve.

SY: So where did you serve during that time?

PS: Oh, I was in Colorado, Colorado Springs.

SY: The whole two years?

PS: Right outside of Colorado Springs, I was there for the whole time.

SY: At the time was that fairly routine? What are your memories of that period?

PS: Well, not much. I was a personnel specialist, just typing records, interviewing people and pretty routine stuff. And I guess the positive part of it is that we were right outside of Colorado Springs so it was kind of a resort area, Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods and it was a nice pleasant place to be in the off hours.

SY: And so when did you, while serving in the army did you have thoughts about the whole war experience for -- I mean was that something that being Japanese American, having gone through this camp experience, and was that any kind of motivation for you to actually be a good soldier or was it just a matter of course?

PS: Well, at that time there was no, there was nothing around dealing with what it meant to be Japanese or Japanese American so I just, like you say, it's a matter of course. This is the way, you're an American you do the American thing. But so I knew what it meant to be an American, you have to be loyal you have to do what your obligations are. If all the men of a certain age are eligible for the draft, well, you go in. There's no question about it.