<Begin Segment 7>

EU: When I go back to my early days in the army, particularly going through basic training to become a soldier in Shelby, there are many nights I laid awake wondering why I was such a damn fool to do such a thing like that. It was painful; it was extremely painful. In fact, I suspect I suffered some adhesions as a result of my "heroics" of not having completely healed and still subjecting myself to the rigors of forced marches, twenty-five mile marches and such. Training was difficult. But I also take pride in the fact that I... I don't know whether I have my Kibei taunters to thank for it or damn for, blame for my having suffered through basic training, but I had them in the back of my mind. One particular Kibei stands out who wanted to pick a fight with me, I don't know how many times in camp. But he would, came out and said that I was yellow, I would be a coward, that in the face of the enemy, I would turn and run. That was a challenge. I would never make a soldier, I would never make it through. And by god, with that kind of a thing in the back of my mind, I made it through. There were times when we were on forced march that I wished to hell I could have dropped out, but I didn't. Why? Because I didn't want to be the first to drop out. None of us wanted to be the first to drop out. Some of us that were... I think there was one march I remember in particular, the pain was enough that tears were streaming down my eyes, but I couldn't quit. My squad leader carried my rifle for me for a while because, to lighten my load. It was tough, but we made it through.

LD: Had that kind of spirit leader, too.

EU: It helped all the way through.

LD: How would you describe that unity the 442 guys had with each other? How would you describe what was it they would say to each other or do for each other? What did you know going into battle? What did you know about your relationship to each other?

EU: I'm not sure. Because I never lost that sense of being somewhat of an outsider. I was a kotonk, you have to remember, and so even as close as we all tried to become, in a sense, I was still an outsider within the squad and platoon in which I belonged. When they talked about... and the other fellows kidded about being from Paia and Puunene and Haiku and such, and Kahuku, even Aiea, those were strange sounding places to me. And they were able to kid each other about it, the rivalries between communities, and I was totally outside of this. But still, I felt a oneness with them when it came to a spirit of, the esprit de corps as far as the total unit was concerned. And I think it just happened to be that we were all Nihonjin, Japanese. Whether you're Buddahead or a kotonk, you still have that yamato damashii, you know, that sense of, well, that ganbare, whatever it might be. You stick it through regardless. And that's common whether you're a mainlander or whether you're in Hawaii.

LD: You got that from your family, you had that from your family. It was a very mother.

EU: Yeah, and I think that's Christian ethic. I don't see anything un-Christian about family loyalty to one another, a sense of service to others before yourself, this kind of thing.

LD: How would you... what is the difference between your "go for broke" experience where you're going all out and being self-sacrificing, how is that different than kamikaze? How is that different from kamikaze spirit of the Japanese soldier?

EU: Well, I guess when I think in terms of my, our "go for broke" spirit, I wonder... no, I don't wonder. I think there is a very distinct difference between the sense of loyalty we give to a nation with the mission of... well, I got to go back to...

LD: Because you applaud damashi, right? Yamato damashii. How is that different than the Japanese soldier then?

EU: Okay. As I think of the kamikaze pilot, there was a, more of a blind trust or a blind willingness to give themselves to a, following the dictates of the emperor. I don't know, maybe there isn't a difference, I'm not sure. I'm not sure that I could define a difference. If it's yamato damashii on one hand and "go for broke" on the other, we're all pursuing what we feel is for the sake of an eternal goal, I don't know, a deity or something, I'm not sure. I don't feel like I was like one of the early, an early crusader, you know, that fought for the grail, the Holy Grail or something, that wasn't that kind of a spirit.

LD: Did you have a pact among... I have heard that there was some understanding, spoken or unspoken, that you would not leave each other out on the field, wounded or dead, you'd go and get the bodies and bring them back. Do you have that sense going back, that the other fellows would really stand by you? Do you have that kind of feeling?

EU: I'm not sure that I ever got a sense of complete interdependence or commitment to help each other, except in what I saw. For instance, in terms of our machine gun squad, when one of the members of our squad inadvertently ventured beyond the line and was cut down by a German machine gun and was wounded, he was out in the open field. The squad leader immediately told the rest of the squad, "Everyone down, because I'm going after him," and he went after him. Of course, he had exposed himself, and in the process was killed. At nightfall, the medics, I think Chaplain Yamada and them went out and was able to retrieve not only the wounded fellow in our squad, but he also brought back the dead squad leader. But that was an act of self-sacrifice on the part of the squad leader. I think he would have, I don't think any of us would have hesitated to emulate him. But there was no pact. I think we would have been... well, it's funny, you know, among, I guess the Japanese are that way. We don't make pacts; we have understanding. I think there was always a danger, if you make a pact, you might break it. You might not be able to live up to a pact. Yet if there's a quiet understanding, okay, if you don't live up to it, there's no dishonor, except that individual himself might feel that he let the other guy down. And there were times where some guys did let the others down, and it's only natural. We weren't all heroes, we weren't all iron men. There were a number who suffered breakdowns. We don't hold it against them, this is the nature of combat.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 1985 The Center for Educational Telecommunications and Densho. All Rights Reserved.