Densho Digital Archive - Harry Ueno Interview (denshovh-uharry

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TI: And when you would question or interrogate a soldier, Japanese soldier, how long would the sessions go?

HU: Sometimes an hour, sometimes fifteen minutes, depending on what I used to call my customer. [Laughs] There was one kid, eighteen years old, he stood in front of me, he shook and shook, he was so scared. I tell you, when I saw him, I wished I could get him to sit on my lap and give him a consolation, that I was his father. I was so sad, he finally lost control of his bowel. I tell you, whether he's the enemy or not, a human being, he crossed my heart. There were sad ones. I said, "Sergeant, take him back, let him clean up, and never bring that guy. He's worthless." Second day, the third day, the sergeant brought him back. He was all cleaned up, stood in front of me, "I came to apologize." That's a human being going through there.

Here's another guy, standing there, he wants to talk, so he started to talk. "My captain was shot. I got a hole and I buried him. Before I buried him, I took my knife and carved his butt. And I took that to the seashore and left it in the water, ocean water, for preservation. At night, I'd go there with my knife and cut a piece, the smallest, so I can live from today to tomorrow." He says, "I want to tell you, hunger has no fear." I said, "I understand. That's the way you live, and that's why you're here today, but you want to tell me the truth, the human being side." And all kinds of stories like that. He was a cannibal. There were some who had eaten rats, beetles, anything. I tell you, when the human body gets to be about forty pounds, you're just skin and bone. You cry for human being. And that's why I say it was a wonderful experience, wonderful experience. There were many of 'em.

TI: Did you ever, after the war, were you ever in touch with any of the men that you questioned during the war? So after the war, did you ever meet any of them again?

HU: After the war, I just shut it off and forgot about it. I came back to my "pretty girl with the Bunsen burner." [Laughs]

TI: I'm curious about, did you interview or interrogate very many officers, or was it mostly just infantrymen?

HU: Camp was segregated in three parts. The GIs, Japanese GIs, there's officers over here, and another part, large part, were Korean labor battalion. There's a guy who would do the labor work. One day, Korean leader headed up a mission to come and see me. I said, "What can I do for you?" "We have one Japanese officer. We don't want him to go back where the officers are. We want him to stay with us. We love that human being." I said, "I'll ask the captain if that's permissible." And he stayed with the Koreans. You see, the human beings are different in different situations. There's always love. I told you I have a lot of stories to tell. [Laughs]

[Interruption]

TI: So, Harry, we're going to start the second half of the interview. And you were telling me stories about questioning or interrogating Japanese prisoners. Are there any other stories that you want to share before we move on about New Guinea that you can remember?

HU: When we were in New Guinea, in a backward position, I saw a sign, "We're gonna have a church service," posted on a tree trunk. I was one of the first to get there, it was nine o'clock in the morning. And here was a gentleman sitting on a log reading a book. Stood up, he folded his book, Bible. I noticed this man before, and he played in a movie, Dr. Kildare was the name of the show. Whole string of 'em. And his real name was Lew Ayres. Wonderful man. He stood up and shook my hand, and he was criticized because he didn't want to take arms. He didn't say that, but I knew by reading the paper. But he was a chaplain's helper, and he was conducting this Sunday service. And he looked at me kind of funny and he says, "You're a Japanese American. What in the world are you doing here?" And I explained my mission. And he said, "We're alike. We gotta do what we're supposed to do for our nation." And here I met this famous actor, Lew Ayres, Dr. Kildare.