Densho Digital Archive -Steve Yamamoto Interview (denshovh-ysteve-01-0001)

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gky: Okay. In what year were you born?

SY: Born in 16 August 1917.

gky: Okay. And this is an interview with Steve Yamamoto, Y-A-M-A-M-T-O, in Los Angeles on December 13th, the year 2000. What years were you in MIS?

SY: I beg your pardon?

gky: What years were you in the MIS?

SY: What year? Well, I started out with the first class at Presidio, San Francisco, and the class began on the 1st of November, 1941, and so I guess I was with the MIS until the occupation in Japan. But I was not always with ATIS, as such, I was assigned to the International Prosecution Section of the International Military Tribunal in Tokyo, but I began my MIS career at Presidio, San Francisco. And how I got there was, I was, I volunteered into the army in 19... that must have been March 1941. And after I was drafted into the army -- I volunteered, of course, but I was assigned to the 66th Medical Battalion in Fort Lewis, Washington. In the summer of 1941, the unit went on a summer maneuvers down at Fort Hunter Liggett military reservation near King City. And while we were on maneuvers, I was informed by headquarters that I had a visitor from the War Department, now, of course, Department of the Army. A Captain Rasmussen from the War Department wanted to talk to me. So I reported to Captain Rasmussen and he stated who he was, identified who he was, and he says, "I'm here to test your skill of the Japanese language because we might be establishing a school in preparation for any language requirements they might need during wartime." So he said -- he took out a book and told me to read this chapter and tell me what it said there. So I read and I told him what it said there, and he said, "Very good. You'll be hearing from us after you get back to your unit, back to Fort Lewis, Washington." And sure enough, in October, I got an order to report to Presidio, San Francisco. And, this was mid-October, and, of course, when I got to Presidio, San Francisco, on the 30th of October, I was told to report to Cressy Field. And when I got there, there were other members of the class that would be, members that were to be in the class already there and I was about the last one there.

gky: Okay. One thing that's sort of unusual is you were in the A-1 class, a Nisei with a lot of Kibeis.

SY: Yes.

gky: How did you get to, how did your language skills get to be good enough to be with Kibeis? You'd only been to Japan once.

SY: I was in Japan once in 1939 and I took two months' sightseeing tour with the judo team. But other than that, I was never in Japan. And I guess I got my Japanese language skill, if you may call it that, with the folks living in San Gabriel, I guess were very much interested in their offsprings learning Japanese. So my father was one of those parents that got together and established the San Gabriel Japanese School. So I attended a Japanese school there. When I was in grammar school, I used to, the rest of grammar school would let out about 3 or 3:30. We used to walk to the Japanese school and study there for an hour or so until about 5, and then on Saturday, whole day. But after I got into high school, yeah, I guess about high school age, it was only a Saturday only session that I attended. But I imagine, I guess, some of these teachings just soaked into me, I suppose, and I feel flattered the fact that I was with the other -- they were all, I think most of them were all Kibeis. I think I was the only Nisei. So I feel flattered to be associated with these people that were educated in Japan.