<Begin Segment 23>

TI: But also about this time -- and I want to kind of capture this -- is about the time you met your wife, or your wife-to-be.

HY: Yeah. I said my life is like Forrest Gump, because being rejected from the OCS was a good thing. Because when I enlisted, I went to El Toro. I went to boot camp and I did very well in boot camp. In fact, I won something called the American Spirit Honor Medal, which is for the top recruit graduate in the four branches. So I won that honor, so that was something I could --

TI: So I have to ask this question. When you say you won that honor, were you trying to prove anything at that point?

HY: Yeah, I guess I was trying to prove something, too.

TI: Because you were rejected by OCS, you said, "I'm going to show these people"?

HY: Right.

TI: Okay.

HY: So, I mean, in boot camp, I finished the top in what they call the confidence course, the obstacle course, the rifle range. Even pugil sticks, pugil sticks I was the top. And so I've got this award, so I leveraged that to reapply for OCS. But then they assigned me to a computer school, I mean, a computer section at El Toro air base. And then that was a joke because you're just wiring boards and things like that. So I went there, and then the warrant officer who was in charge of that unit also thought I could go into OCS, so he helped me to reapply. But aside from that, I made this detour toward El Toro, which was near Anaheim. And when I was there, I went to a church, Japanese church. You know, the one good thing about being a Japanese Christian is that there's always these small communities you could find. And it was always there, it's like another family.

TI: So you walk in the door and they're all saying, "Oh, who are you?" And they want to know your family.

HY: Yeah, and they mostly knew the families because it's a very small community. But I saw this lady playing the piano, girl, young lady playing the piano, that was Laura. And I thought, "Wow." [Laughs] And her father was the minister, and I remember he invited me to lunch after church. And he was an Issei, Japanese-speaking guy, and somehow he invited me to lunch and I thought this is great, maybe he can introduce me to his daughter. [Laughs] I didn't know that was his daughter, but introduce me to this... so that's how I met my wife. So this rejection, this disappointment was just a temporary thing, and I was able to meet my wife, which is really a true blessing.

TI: Now, so I have to ask, was the attraction mutual? Was she as taken with you as you were taken with her?

HY: I don't know.

TI: I'll have to ask her at dinnertime. [Laughs]

HY: Yeah, I don't know. Probably not because I was a private and I smoked cigarettes at that time. But I don't know, maybe she.... I don't know, maybe. Anyway, she became my wife.

TI: Because you were married, I think you said within six months...

HY: Yes.

TI: ...after meeting her, which was a pretty whirlwind romance.

HY: It was, yeah. So that's why I say it's like Forrest Gump. Things happened that you think it's a big disappointment and then it turns out to be a blessing.

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.