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gky: Because you had a brother, you had two brothers in the Japanese military. Can you tell me what happened when your brother got killed?

DO: I was still in Saipan and Tinian, but I didn't know they were in Japanese army. I knew they were about the age to be drafted, but I didn't know anything about it. But after the war, I found out that he was killed on Saipan, back in -- one of those kamikaze pilot, and that's my younger brother. He was a schoolteacher in Japan. And he was very dedicated. He was a very nice young man and I'm sure he did what he had to do as a Japanese.

gky: You said that sometimes you'd look up at those planes and you'd wonder if your brother was in one of them.

DO: But I didn't know he was a flier, you know. I didn't know he was a pilot then. But after the war, after it was all over, found out. I still remember those nights, air raid. We have to get up and hustle and it happened often, and I wondered if one of them was my brother.

gky: Did you go and visit a shrine? Didn't you go back to the shrine of your family?

DO: Yes. The first time I went back to Japan after the war, I visited Yasukuni Shrine. That's where the Japanese war deads are. The place, I pay respect to [inaudible] for the sacrifices because, even in this case, I think most of the Japanese, including my brother, he didn't hate me. They did their job for their country, Japan. And I merely did my job as a citizen of the United States, and did my part, and I'm proud of mine. I'm sure he was proud of his. But he didn't hate me. But I surely didn't want him to die.

gky: Was your brother a Japanese citizen or an American citizen?

DO: I think a dual citizen.

gky: When you, let's see. You not only had one brother in, or two brothers in the Japanese army, you had two brothers who also fought for the MIS in World War II.

DO: Uh-huh.

gky: How did it feel to have, you know, three of you were in the United States; two of you, as you later discovered, were in Japan. You really had a family that -- not a military family, but you all happened to be in the same war.

DO: Right. That's a funny thing, but during the war I always felt that someday, sometime, that I might face my younger brother because he was there. But I held that back. I didn't say anything to anybody. I just said -- I kept it to myself and I did my best the whole time. Maybe then after discharge when I got sick, the doctor at the hospital in Arizona told me that, "You should have let those things out, it would have been better for you and that brought you down to where you were physically and mentally, had a breakdown.' And he said if you only let it out, it would be much, much better. But I didn't know that.

gky: There were a lot of guys who had brothers or cousins, or some sort of relative, on the Japanese side even though they were fighting for the United States' side. How did you feel, in terms of serving your country? I mean, you were drafted. You didn't enlist. And so, in a way, you had to serve your country.

DO: You know, I, myself, got drafted and served and kept everything to myself and I did my best even though soldiering is not one of my favorite pastimes. I did my best at all times, and I'm proud of that. And, as I said before, as you get older, you get more prouder than ever because this is one great country we serve, you know. And no doubt about that one, because even after I got out of the hospital, they took excellent care of me and still here.

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