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gky; What were you all supposed to do on Corregidor?

HA: Well, originally, there was very little intelligence. So they thought it was manned by maybe 850 soldiers, and the soldiers they thought were more or less like stationary people who just were there, you know. So, the paratroopers went in with a thousand men on the first jump, first drop, and there were 850, right. And then, a few hours later, they came back again and made the second jump. So then they had 2,000. But one of the things that happened on that island was that the commanding officer of Japanese forces was a navy captain, which is similar to a colonel. And he was killed right after we landed. He never expected a parachute jump. The terrain was so bad, they figured that there would -- no one would dare to drop by air. So he was not prepared for paratroopers, and he got surprised and he got killed. Well, I remember, as far as I'm concerned, that this captain or colonel -- the Japanese call him colonel, even if they're navy -- but I think I reported that information. I think it was a little note to next in command, like, you know, they picked it off that guy. I think he got killed. And I think, when I reported that to the commanding officer, knowing that a colonel commanding 850 men was, you know, something you wouldn't think of doing. So, I think, the way I understand it, he had turned around and went into a defensive posture. They went in with 850 with an offensive posture, but then they saw this colonel and they only had 2,000 men. And a colonel will usually command maybe four or five thousand men, so he went into to a defensive posture. I think that's probably why it's been one of the best information that I could have given him.

gky: So, in other words, there weren't 850 people, there were...

HA: There were more than five thousand.

gky: So that was a way in which you, as a linguist, made a difference?

HA: Could have been because of the fact that at that early stage, he would know that there was a colonel in command and he would have to, I think, assume. Now, all these things that are bits and pieces that go through my hand, I have to scan it and see if there is any immediate value. And if there's anything that identifies a unit, or identifies weapons where it is, and so forth, that becomes very important to the commanding officer. So those are the things that I would pick out of all the documents that come in. And then as soon as I got through with that, I would send them back to higher headquarters which is off the island, who had other linguists, corps headquarters or something, 11th Corps headquarters. They had maybe about fifteen guys. So whatever I might miss, I knew they would pick up. And that's the way we did it. We did it quickly, got it back, and let the guys in the rear look at it. And they're top translators too, you know, with the headquarters. And, so, they might catch something that they're looking for, or if I missed anything, they could repeat it, you know. So, that's the way it worked out and so when I got back to army headquarters. Incidentally, I was very fortunate because the deputy commander was from army headquarters, and he knew in army headquarters how valuable we were. So instant credibility for me. If I had a captain as a credible person, I would have been able to do nothing. And the commanding officer is a West Point buddy of the guy, the deputy commander, Tolson. So, the fact that I land, I give them information, it became instant credibility. So anything that I might have sent, regardless, I don't know all the tactical things anyway, so whenever I found anything that would possibly affect the front right in front of us, which was maybe 100 yards, or 150 yards, you know. So anyway, when this colonel went back to army headquarters, later I found out when I went back to army headquarters, man, they treated me like a hero. He went back and that's why the New York Times reporter wanted to interview me, and all that kind of stuff because of him.

gky: But you said that there's very little difference between someone who's a hero and someone who's not.

HA: I don't think there's a line at all. I think everybody really is a hero in their own way, you know. They serve their own way and it just happens, it just happens that you might be the person that would get credit. So there's a lot of people who never get credit, even though they may be a hero, they never know about it. Maybe he knows, but nobody else knows. So, I think, basically, I think if you're happy with what you had done, I think that's about the ultimate in your own feeling, you know. If you did what you were supposed to do and did it right, and did it to the best of your ability, I think you should be really happy for yourself, you know.

gky: Let me just get this straight. You knew, you got some tactical information that was important on Corregidor. You knew that a Japanese colonel would not be commanding 850 people, that they would be commanding a greater number.

HA: Yeah, so, that's why that was a very important message. But I don't know what the commanding officer will do with it. Only thing is, you just pick up something that might be of importance and they decide on what, you know, how important it is to them, see.

gky: Can I go back to the guy in the cave? What, where were you when you got that soldier out of the cave?

HA: Oh, I was...

gky: It wasn't on the Philippines, was it?

HA: Yeah, it's on Corregidor.

gky: Oh, okay.

HA: Yeah, it's on Corregidor.

gky: So, that POW was on...

HA: ...Corregidor, yeah.

gky: Can you talk a little bit about what you call the "willing to die" spirit in Japan?

HA: Yeah. It probably goes way, way back in their bushido culture. Even the gangsters had -- not gangster, but they're called, not gangster...

gky: Yakuza?

HA: Yeah, yeah, Yakuza. Yakuzas even had their code of ethics. Yakuza would even say, "If you give me one bowl of rice, I owe my life to you." In other words, maybe they're taking their life lightly, but they feel the gratitude can be expressed even with them. And I think that feeling is nurtured in Japan, and really taught in various ways to the Japanese children. So, in some sense, our willingness to volunteer might have some of that kind of feeling in it, too. Because, like Mr. Aibara says, they have been loved and cherished trees and they should bloom and beautify America. Isn't that the same kind of scenario that the Japanese probably give to theirs, that they should go and beautify Japan, don't you think? So, it might be something that is part of the Japanese culture. Now, I don't know what it is like today, but at the time when we were in Japan, that's the way it was.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2000 Bridge Media and Densho. All Rights Reserved.