<Begin Segment 21>

TI: So let's talk about your older brother. So you said he left also, so how did he leave?

MI: Well, he volunteered for the service, so he went to Camp Shelby.

TI: But before he went to Camp Shelby, you told me the story about failing the physical.

MI: Yeah, well, when he volunteered, they all had to have a medical exam. And then he failed his kidney. And then my mom had niwatoko, that's a Japanese medicine. Lot of people drink that for kidney trouble, and then she kind of cleared it up, then he passed the second time.

TI: Because when your brother failed the physical the first time, how would you describe how you felt?

MI: Well, to me, if Bako... that would have been a real downfall for him. He was active in sports and all that.

TI: Well, and I think a lot of his friends also went into the service, too.

MI: They all passed. But anyway, Mom cured him and then he went in the service. He was in the ROTC at University of Washington, so he would, his military service was real easy for him.

TI: Well, he was, it looked like, fairly quickly promoted to be a staff sergeant, which most of... I mean, for the Japanese Americans coming out of camp, that's pretty high.

MI: Well, according to Ish, they wanted him to become an officer, but I don't know that part.

TI: Now do you know why or how he got assigned to the 100th Battalion?

MI: The original people were always in the 100th Battalion before. I mean, all the mail was to the 100th Battalion. And at a certain date, they made it the 442nd/100th Battalion.

TI: Right. And as part of that, they had two different companies. They had... I'm sorry, the 100th Battalion and then the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Battalion. So they had three battalions.

MI: That I don't know.

TI: And most of the Japanese Americans from the camps went into the 2nd and 3rd Battalion, and the 100th was mostly Hawaii guys. And so I was curious why or how he got into the 100th.

MI: Well, from the beginning he was in the 100th when they went to Shelby, because I know a lot of the mail was, we sent it to 100th Battalion, Camp Shelby.

TI: And talk about the correspondence. How often did Bako write to the famly?

MI: I think Ish got the most and then I still have mine.

TI: Oh, I haven't seen those. So you have letters from him?

MI: Yeah, I have it.

TI: And you have him here someplace, or where are they?

MI: I might have it here. I kept that. Because it shows one time where he and John went to see, went to Vatican City and saw the pope.

TI: Oh, because the 442nd, they were fighting in Italy.

MI: Well, they happened to be in Italy before they went on to battle. And then so John and Bako went to see him. And apparently the day they went to see the pope, there were a lot of Japanese military people. And so I think they kind of got a special audience with the pope.

TI: When you say Japanese, you mean, Japanese from Japan or Japanese Americans?

MI: Other 442 people that went to the Vatican that day to see the Vatican. I guess they got wind of it there were a lot of Japanese soldiers, Japanese American soldiers. I think they kind of got a special audience with the pope. And then after that, Bako went to Castellina and died. And then later on, I know John Kawaguchi died, too. So I was glad that at least as Catholics, they were able to see the pope.

TI: Any other, kind of, memories or correspondence with Bako, either training camp or in Europe?

MI: Well, I have those letters. I'll look it up. I think I know where it is.

TI: So I'm trying to think. Oh, yeah, in terms of Rome, I've read where the 442nd was pretty instrumental in terms of liberating Rome from the Germans. And there was this story that, as the American troops were marching into Rome, the 442nd was actually in front because they were one of the key troops to liberate. And they were actually ordered to move to the side so that others, the other American troops would enter a room first, and I know that was kind of a big disappointment.

MI: Oh, that I don't know.

TI: But they were so instrumental in liberating that part of Italy.

MI: Well, I know one of the first battles was Castellina.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.