<Begin Segment 12>

TI: So 1970, you retired from the army. One of the things that you do now, or have been doing, is you speak in front of groups.

SK: Yes.

TI: Schools -- you go to prisons...

SK: Every chance I get. I've never declined an opportunity to speak when asked, unless it's out of town, and if it's during the four months of the year when I don't drive out of Spokane. That's November, December, January, and February. Last fall -- I think it was either October, September or October -- I was asked to make my fourth appearance at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary, where we have dozens and dozens of veterans incarcerated, paying their debt to society. And by the crimes committed and the period assigned for their incarceration, they are grouped into different groups. Therefore, only thing common that they have is the fact that at one time other another, they served the Red, White and Blue. They're all ex-veterans. And they thrive on the fact that they are able to get outside speakers from different fields of endeavor to come over and talk to them. And apparently, I'm one of the very few or, if not the only one of intelligence -- military intelligence background willing to go down there and talk to them. I note, of course, that I have to go through a very strict security procedure to get inside there because of -- I think a recently -- several years ago, I think, they had attempted jail break.

TI: Well, we have to talk about that. I'm more curious about, what do you tell these...?

SK: They're very curious about my background, such as, where do I come from? How long have I served? Where have I served? And where did you get your beginning? Where did you get your training? And I tell 'em all that. And some of the places where I have served, exactly -- like in General MacArthur's Headquarters in Australia, "What were you doing down there?" And I tell 'em, "I interrogate key prisoners who are brought down to MacArthur's Headquarters from all over the Pacific." And why are they key prisoners? Because they have certain matters from their previous life in Japan -- where they worked, where they lived, what they did -- of what we would find after we get into Japan.

TI: Right.

SK: That was not to my liking because I'm more interested in, where's the machine gun? Where are the land mines? Something that a commanding officer of a unit can use right now. And so I started to -- that's at Allied headquarters in Australia. And I started to bug my officer in charge, (an Australian major.)

TI: Right. We talked about that earlier. So when you talked to the -- and you've gone back, you know over and over again. There must be something that you get from speaking to these prisoners, to these people in prison. And what -- is it what they tell you? Or, why do you go back over and over again?

SK: I think there are various ways of expression of appreciation. And the fact that I'm imparting to them knowledge that they did not possess before I started. And because they tell me in so many words that what I say is new to them. In other words, no one else has ever thought of, or had the background or the knowledge, to give them the kind of information that I'm able to from my background.

TI: And they're appreciative?

SK: They're very appreciative -- very. Judging by the fact that, I think I've told you before that, for example, I appeared four times at Cheney High School -- four-year high school in Cheney, Washington, right outside Spokane. Every four years. Why every four years? Because when I go down there every four years, I speak six times -- three times a morning, and then I have lunch with teachers and answer their questions [Laughs] during lunch period, and three more times in the afternoon. So that by the end of the day, after six talks to combination of classes, I've addressed the entire student body of Cheney High School. So they don't need me for four years. That's why every four years. And I've been down there four times.

TI: So it's a big day. It's the Spady Koyama day, where everyone...

SK: Right.

TI: Gets to...

SK: Right.

TI: ...hear your stories.

SK: Yeah.

TI: And what reaction do students have?

SK: Very appreciative. And lots of questions, even down to the -- when I appeared -- even down to elementary level. Like I spoke last to ten, eleven year old kids -- full of questions, especially when I'm in my uniform. Because, since I lost my paunch five years ago when I survived (an) eight bypass coronary, this uniform fits me like a glove, you see. So they want to (ask) all kinds of questions.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 1999 Densho. All Rights Reserved.