Densho Digital Archive - Shoichi Kobara Interview (denshovh-kshoichi-01-0022)

<Begin Segment 22>

TI: Okay, so after the training, you take a test. You then go to Fort Snelling.

SK: Yeah.

TI: And then what was that like?

SK: In Minnesota, it's wintertime, it's cold. But you got to go to class every day. And there was mostly Hawaiian Kibeis, because you had to be really fluent in Japanese. And Japanese language not like American. You can't pronounce or something, you gotta learn, memorize all these characters. And we had to learn everything, so you just push. We just did the best we can. And then toward the end, European war ended, so most, about half of 'em were from Hawaii, they started goofing off. And they said, "You guys goof off, we're going to send you to Camp Ritchie," which is where they were, you had to impersonate Japanese soldier to get American soldier to see what Japanese would look like or something. So the guy would say, "Hell, I don't want to go over there."

TI: Now, why would the, why would the, some of the soldiers start goofing off after the war in --

SK: Europe ended.

TI: -- Europe ended? Because the war in the Pacific was still going on.

SK: Well, yeah.

TI: So why would they good around?

SK: Well, they figure you didn't have to go to Europe no more.

TI: Oh. So they, they kept that as kind of a threat almost, that, "If you guys goof around, we're going to send you into combat in Europe."

SK: Yeah. Japan, and go to Southeast Asia.

TI: Well, and you mentioned, you said the Hawaiians goofed around more. I mean, talk about that. This was really, oh, I guess, in basic training, you met a lot of Hawaiians there, too. But how were the Hawaiians different than the mainlanders?

SK: Well, they were more macho guys. They got chip on their shoulder. Not like Nisei in California. They didn't, they didn't like to be insulted or anything. 'Cause they, I remember they always, we get warning from the CO that you can't go to this bar or anything 'cause it had trouble. They were good guys, but they were more macho guys.

TI: And how did the California Niseis get along with the Hawaiians?

SK: We got along. They liked to play cards, and I used to play pokers and stuff with them. And I got to know one guy, he died already. But he's a few years older than I was, his name was Inouye, Tanaka Inouye. I found out he went back to the Big Island, he became district attorney there. And I visited him once, and he visited me once. But it's... they were more fluent, they used, they had Japanese school there in Hawaii more than over here.

TI: Okay. So how long did you have to train at Fort Snelling?

SK: Well... about four months, I guess. Four or five months, and then the war in Japan ended. So I thought, "Well, I'm going to get to go home." But before I know it, I was in Japan.