<Begin Segment 5>

[Ed. note: there were problems with the video on the original tape for this segment.]

LD: Soon, you... you found out pretty soon that you were going to be behind Japanese lines. What kinds of things did you do to protect yourself from being mistaken?

HM: Well, when we were in regimental headquarters, he had the normal guards around him. At that point we didn't need any special protection. Wherever we went, whenever we went, then they would have bodyguards when we went to patrol duties. I'd say, all right, once, this was after the battle of Myitkyina, we had captured Myitkyina late in the campaign, and the Japanese were driven back north and east across the Irrawaddy River. Now, the northern group used to come in at night and forage for food in Maingkwan and all those small little villages. And they used to come from a place called [inaudible], a Japanese stronghold. And to trap, to catch them coming in, we knew they didn't have much ammunition, they didn't have food. A patrol was sent out with the second lieutenant, maybe ten to fifteen GIs, and Akiji and I went along. Now, when we went maybe a mile or so out of our area, we cautiously moved up forward, as far forward as we could, and we stayed there the whole night. Now, doing that, Akiji maybe on this side of the street, and I was on this side. We had maybe three or four bodyguards. Because in the event that a skirmish takes place, the Japanese coming in, and we go after them and we capture them, now our own people can mistake us for the enemy, these guys in American uniform. We never carried any identification. Our troop was such that no one carried identification, even the officers, they carried their insignia of rank underneath the flaps here. As far as you can see, even binoculars, they would look at us, they can't pick out officers from the enlisted men. Like once you're assigned a binocular, binocular officer carried them, they never carried them. Somebody else carried it for them. I don't know if officers going to be picked off, because they're always looking for officers. Knock off the officers, the whole party or detail or squad or platoon going to be without a leader.

LD: What was the terrain like? I mean you were pretty good at interrogating prisoners --

HM: I wouldn't say I'm good, but, well, I had the actual combat experience. I'm not good, no. I've seen better interpreter, yeah. No, I wouldn't classify myself good, but I would say that I can do it.

LD: You have a feeling for these guys, you have a feeling for --

HM: That is right, yeah. It started with the first feeling I have for these people are pity. Regardless of who it is, pity, and that... why pity? Because let's say I was in his position, far away from home, the family in the back, this and that, and he left all that and came here. So did I, but I'm not the captive, he is. And we may have captured, in most cases, we captured the diary, and he has it in his pocket all the time, most of them. And I would read that on the side. Not in front of him, because as soon as he's captured, he comes in, everything, he's frisked of everything. Weapon, even cigarettes, matches, and everything, including the diary. So when so and so is captured, then we have a list of the people who are captured, and their diaries. And some of them, there's sizeable amount in there, personal things, taken from their payroll, going back to Japan, I don't know how they sent it back. And then we know they are good sizeable savings, now why do they save? That should answer a lot of questions. And read their diary, and then the diary protracts a period of, let's say, a month or over. You know that he's thinking about the mother. The mother will come out every so often. Or his wife or children. As you read, you find... it's all written in Japanese, so now, ha, this fellow has a wife, he has two children or three children, whatever it is, and he has a mother, okay. And the mother's name is Tani. Before the wife, the mother's name is more important to him. I can see that in Japan.

So when I start questioning him, I don't dwell on these things first, no. I got him to talking, answering back, that's the first thing. Most of them, many of them, at the beginning, just clam up. They won't say a word for ten, fifteen, twenty minutes. Then, "Are you comfortable? You want a cigarette?" or something of that sort. Then they'll have to answer, "Yes." "Do you smoke?" They have to answer yes or no. And once they start talking, get them to start talking, first thing you know, when they say... "What's your mother's name?" "Oh, Tani." Now, that's inside their chest all the time, so they're gonna get it out, you know, because it's uppermost in his mind, they just want to talk about it. They just want to talk about it. And that true of most of them; they want to talk whatever is most dear or uppermost in their mind. And it's not money, it's not anything to do with combat or anything, it's the rice harvest, many of them, rice harvest, the field must be all ripe by now, and all those things. But all their life they spend on the farm, well, this particular person. Then as soon as you dwell along that line, he's going to join you in discussing all those things. Then when the proper time comes, gee, your wife, your children all must be really suffering with you over here. Who's the breadwinner, who's taking in all the harvest, who's doing the planting, or whatever it is. Then at the opportune moment, just going with the questions you want about his unit, and his position in the unit, and why he was in this area, what was your objective in this area. Your object was to capture this street. After your capture, what are you gonna do? Your successive objectives, or just this one and stay here? And all these things. Then when you get to talking about it, "I didn't want to come, but naturally I was forced into this, so I came here. And we were gonna capture here and go on to such and such an area." They will come out with it. I was always holding higher than myself, always holding higher than myself in life.

You see, Japanese language is a language where there's certain ending or grammar you use for higher people, your peers, somebody with children. And then the grammar is different, and in other words, in the language there were such honorifics, but you, prefix and suffix of honorifics, whenever it's an officer, and the officer is a proud individual. So while on that line, you must have suffered greatly to get into this group. What officer school did you go? And CO has to go to a certain kind of school. In officer school, there's four prominent ones strewn throughout Japan. And if he comes from the southern province, naturally, he will go to certain heigakko, whatever you call it. And even some naval people in there, I don't know what they were doing out there.

Along that line, well, interrogation is not a five minute job. Neither is it a half an hour job. It might take day after day until you get through it. And you know when you get through it. You go in for certain information, and that information is right in our operation room, and we have to get this information. And that's in our mind, too. First thing we know, that's how we build up our battle. That unit's commanded by so and so, all those things piecemeal we put it in. Then, by then, the commanding officers can formulate some kind of plan of attack, knowing who the commander is. Then we know that commander's characteristics. That we have from intelligence given to the unit from other sources. But when the name of the commander comes up, if he's an arrogant officer, naturally his whole unit, unit's activity, will be one of arrogance, most likely portray what is in him. If he's a passive guy, well, the whole unit will be passive. All those things, you get to know that when you get to interrogate the person, and complete the interrogation, whether it be half a day, one day, or three days. So interrogation is not just a short activity.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 1985 The Center for Educational Telecommunications and Densho. All Rights Reserved.