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gky: Ken, will you tell me about the first time that you saw Harry after the war?

KA: Yeah, well, after the war, I -- well, I was coming in from China, and we stopped in Shanghai, came in to Okinawa, and I did have a communication from Harry saying that he was in Sendai. So when I first landed at Atsugi Airport, they hauled us into Tokyo. And, the following day, the fellow that I came aboard on the plane, I knew he was in ATIS [Allied Translator and Interpreter Service], so I decided I better go up and report in. And I walked into this NYK Building [Nippon Tusen Kaisha Biru] and I just happened to look from my left and out from the elevator comes Harry. And I guess that was the first time in two years. So, it was a real shock because here I thought I would have to go look for him, you know, but here he pops out of the elevator. And that was real pleasant surprise.

gky: How do you remember that incident, Harry?

HA: You know, the thing that transpired after also, at the same time almost, my father and my younger brother came looking for us in Tokyo. And, I was so happy he was able to be there, simply because now we can go see my father and my younger brother, you know. It kind of put a finality to it, the fact that when originally I was planning on returning to America without meeting either of my families, you know, simply because I thought they might have been embarrassed by our presence in the village that we were American soldiers, you know. So, I had some misgiving as to wanting to see them, but, again, through another friend, they found out that I was in Tokyo and so they came. So, it just worked out just perfectly because Ken was there, I was there, and we were able to meet my father there, yeah. But, at the same time, I couldn't recognize my brother. Talking about the other thing, you know. I just -- there was a tall boy next to my father, and my father looked like he had shrunk a lot, old, you know, and they had come on a train that probably didn't have windows, and they were coal burning trains, you know. And they looked like, you know, they were coal miners or something. Anyway, but, yeah, so, I think I was a little relieved that I didn't recognize my brother. [Laughs]

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2000 Bridge Media and Densho. All Rights Reserved.