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TI: Okay, so let's continue. So you decided to volunteer, and you go to Fort Douglas to be inducted, so you go to Salt Lake City. And then from there I think you go to Shelby for your training. So why don't we pick it up there, your training, and what was happening there?

NA: Well, let me just work up to it. But anyway, after the, after signing that questionnaire, it wasn't but a few weeks later I received a letter from the draft board stating that, "You can volunteer for the service now." So I walked seven miles in the snow to St. Anthony's to volunteer for the Japanese American unit, and then walked back seven miles in the snow again. And the reason why was during those days, gasoline was rationed, and I didn't want to impose on the family to take me over there for me to volunteer. But anyway, I walked both ways in the snow to volunteer. And then in May, that must have been in February, end of February. And then early part of May, they told me to get, be bused to Salt Lake City from St. Anthony's. So that happened in May under a special order, and that was written on the greetings: "You are now able to volunteer for the service," and then under a special order, and they wrote right on that piece of paper, "special." I don't know what it meant, but anyway, I got sent to Salt Lake City. I left about six o'clock in the evening and traveled to Salt Lake City. And I can't remember if I slept in a hotel that night for the induction the next day, but anyway, I can remember going to Motor Avenue, and that's in Salt Lake City, not at Fort Douglas. I was sworn in over there on Motor Avenue, and then I was bused along with the other inductees to Fort Douglas.

And I was only, I was put in a barrack with at least nineteen other Caucasian inductees, I was the only Japanese American. And after we were all assigned to a bed, this one inductee jumped up and hollered, "What's this Jap doing in the American, in our army?" and boy, that hurt more than the tetanus shot I got. Here I tried to be a friend with them because it was just like being in the dormitory at college. And that took me by shock, and it was a good thing that the QC, Charge of Quarter, CQ, Charge of Quarter came running out. I don't know if it was a sergeant or a corporal, but he ran straight to that guy and quieted him down and nothing happened to me. But the following morning, we all went to breakfast, and when I came back, nobody else came back with me, they were all gone. And so I think they were all shipped out because of that incident. The CQ probably thought the same thing as I did, I was gonna get beat up, so they shipped 'em all out. And so that was my introduction to the U.S. Army. And by that time, I had doubts of why I volunteered, but until then, I said, "I want to volunteer and be in the service," because all my Caucasian friends, I learned through newspaper and letters that they were all in the service, and I wanted to be in the action, too. And I didn't think that there would be a, any... well, I didn't think anything about...

TI: Being discriminated while you were in the army, right?

NA: Oh, well, I'll come to that, too. Okay, but anyway, after that incident about being called a "Jap," I was the only one left in the barrack. After about the eighth or ninth day of isolation, I finally got enough courage to walk around Camp Shelby. And lo and behold, as I was walking around Camp Shelby --

TI: Or Fort Douglas, you were Fort Douglas.

NA: Oh, Fort --

TI: You were at Fort Douglas.

NA: Did I say Camp Shelby?

TI: Yeah, you said Camp Shelby.

NA: Oh, Fort Douglas, yeah. After walking around Fort Douglas, I found out there was another barrack full of Japanese Americans that probably came from Minidoka or Topaz or some other camp. And so I was teamed up with two others, and then that made a party of three, and we traveled all the way from Salt Lake City to Camp Shelby. And at Camp Shelby, we joined others that were shipped over there that same time and same day, and as we were being marched to our destination, I spotted one of my hometown friend over there. And without even asking the sergeant that was marching us to our destinations, I just ran over to my friend and said, "Hi Yosh," and we started talking a little bit and then I said, "Well, Yosh, looks like I have to, I'll see you later," and walked back. And the sergeant just stood there dumbfounded and didn't say a word. He didn't scold me or anything. I got into rank and then he said, "Forward march." And I was sent to the field artillery and all the others were sent to the infantry, so I lucked out.

TI: Do you think it was because you did that you were set to field artillery?

NA: No, I think they had it all pre-arranged because of my college education and I don't know what else. When I joined up, I said, "I want to be in the tank corps," and then they probably figured the field artillery is, is close to the tank corps. I didn't say I wanted to be in the infantry, I said I wanted to be in the tank corps.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright ©2008 Densho and the Topaz Museum. All Rights Reserved.