<Begin Segment 14>
MU: Well, I want to go back a little bit. You know when you got your Bronze Star, where was that award made?
GM: That was made on island of Saipan by General Jarman. Honda, me, and several other -- I don't know who the others were but the two Niseis were Sargent Honda and me.
MU: Did you ever get a chance to talk to some of the people that came out of the caves afterwards?
GM: No, no, no. After the island was secured, oh, I think couple of weeks later, we were sent back to rest and recuperation.
MU: Okay.
GM: But I -- then I said I was sent back the next year for training of these recruits from Honolulu, Hawaii (...).
MU: You had to go back to Saipan...
GM: I had to go back to Saipan.
MU: ...and train these new language recruits?
GM: (Yes.)
MU: And how long did you stay for that?
GM: Gosh, how long did I -- two or three months?
MU: Oh, right.
GM: Yeah. Maybe it was three months. Then I was sent back to Hawaii.
MU: To Hawaii.
GM: Then from there I went to Philippines.
MU: Okay. Now, what was that assignment about?
GM: I think they were getting ready to invade Japan.
MU: Oh yeah. Regrouping?
GM: Yeah.
MU: Okay. And that would be what, in 1945 now?
GM: Yeah. 1945.
MU: And were you...
GM: Summer of '45.
MU: Were you sent to ATIS or were you with some other unit already?
GM: I don't know what, where, we were in Manila, but I don't know what group.
MU: Okay. I know there were a lot of people at ATIS awaiting...
GM: Yeah, they're from...
MU: ...assignment.
GM: ...southeast. From Brisbane or Australia, all those ATIS people.
MU: And we were there straight from the States.
GM: Oh, I see.
MU: Okay. So you were sent to...?
GM: Our guys were from Central Pacific.
MU: Yeah.
GM: So, I think this was sort of a consolidation of all the language specialists.
MU: Yeah. Probably Santa Ana race tracks where ATIS was.
GM: Um, uh-huh.
MU: So how long did you stay there?
GM: Well, I don't know, I stayed there... I can't remember. And I don't know if we flew in or took a boat into Haw-, Tokyo.
MU: All right. Now...
GM: I don't remember that.
MU: Okay. Now when...
GM: 'Cause, uh -- oh, I was on Saipan going back after the island was secured. I drank coconut milk and I got sick and rash all over. So they sent me to a (field) hospital right there.
MU: In Saipan?
GM: Uh-huh. Field hospital.
MU: Okay.
GM: And I was in there for a week. I forgot to tell you that.
MU: Okay. Well, that's okay. Yeah. Then...
GM: That was important to me 'cause I got sick. [Laughs]
MU: Yeah, yeah, that's right.
<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.