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TI: Which I want to get into, eventually you got a battlefield commission to become an officer.

SK: Yeah.

TI: Can you tell me about that and how that happened?

SK: You know, I feel, I know it's because of my platoon members I got elevated. This was after the rescue of the Lost Battalion in France. I was wounded and (...) evacuated to (an evac) hospital this time, and I learned that the company or the regiment was being sent down south so I asked the nurse over there in charge of our ward, "I heard that the regiment is pulling out. Can I go out?" She said, "Well, soldier, yours is a head wound so I don't know whether we can allow that, but I'll ask the commandant." So she came back and told me, "Yes, he said you can go. There is a mail truck coming in tomorrow morning at a certain time so you can jump on (it) and go." So me, with my bandage still on my head and with my helmet on the side, I rejoined the company. Then at the company site, the company commander called me and said, "Kubota, I want you to accept a field commission." I said, well, first I said, "No," captain -- oh, it was Lieutenant Wheatley at that time. "Lieutenant, I'm not fit to command. I refuse." So he said, "Well, what are your duties now?" "Well, as a platoon sergeant, I take care of this and this." "Isn't that the same duty as a platoon leader, (an) officer would do?" "Well, more or less." "Well, you are doing the same thing so we want to you accept this promotion." So I said, "No, I refuse. I refuse." So anyway --

TI: Now, what were the real reasons? Why did you not want to be an officer?

SK: I had a high school education, just a high school education. All the officers, college grads and they've had further training at OCS, Officer Candidate School, and things like that so I felt inadequate at that time.

TI: But on the battlefield you were a good squad leader. I mean, you did a really good job out there.

SK: Well, that's what I felt, but at that time I felt I wasn't, I didn't warrant an officer's position so I refused, but he said, "Think about it." I said, "Yes, Lieutenant. I thought about it and I refuse." So I went back to that platoon area. And then the platoon guys, my platoon members, heard about it. I guess they knew about it already before I even went to see the lieutenant, and they told me, "Kubota, go accept the position. We'll help you. We'll do all we can to help you." That made me feel good. I knew that my platoon members were all back of me, but I told them, "I would rather be with you guys, not be an officer in a separate..." But that was that, (and) we pulled down (...) south, to (...) southern France (on) Christmas Day, Christmas Day, the lieutenant said, "Kubota," -- sergeant, I guess I was a tech sergeant, so sergeant -- "General Devers" -- I think -- "wants to see you in his office. Here's a jeep so you go with, go with Maeda." So I went down and here I see one man from... he's a big island person, too, Yoshida. Incidentally, he was the only ranking noncom right after the Lost Battalion. He was a ranking noncom. He was just a staff sergeant. He was there, too. I said, "What you here for?" "I don't know." And there was Shig Teraji from 3rd Battalion headquarters, he was there, too. I guess he knew more or less what was happening. So inside of me I kind of suspected that the general wanted to see us because of the promotion. So as soon as we entered, he says, "I want to congratulate you boys on becoming, I mean, accepting this commission." I said, hey. [Laughs] I was going to tell him that no, I didn't accept, but then I was too late.

TI: Because it's hard to say no to a general after he says that.

SK: Yeah. So anyway, he told us of his story. He was an enlistee during World War I, enlisted, and he climbed himself up to become a brigadier general, you see, so I was very impressed with his story, with the man himself, too, very humble type of person. So he swore us in and (said), "Well, you're brand-new second lieutenants." [Laughs] So we three left in our own jeep and we returned to the company (area) and here our boys lined up, my 2nd Platoon members, all lined up and saluting me. [Laughs] I can't forget that.

TI: It seems like there was a very special feeling in your platoon.

SK: I felt that way, too, and I was happy, very happy, that they accepted me as such.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.