Densho Digital Archive - Arthur Nishimoto Interview (denshovh-narthur-01-0017)

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AL: So we were, I know we're bouncing around a little bit, I just want to make sure I understood just your background. So you go to, back to Italy, so you're, you go to the Vatican, which is the, you know, like the Catholic temple, and from there, did you go straight into combat?

AN: Yeah. That was just a pit stop for us. And then got together, the 100th joined us, and from there on, no picnic anymore. From there we went all the way through battle until we finished the war.

AL: So what... I mean, I've never been in combat, obviously, Kristen hasn't. We don't... I think never having served in the military, you completely miss, maybe, but I've heard, for people who listen to this who don't have a military background, who've never been in combat, can you explain just your emotions in terms of somebody who comes from Hawaii, a high school kid, suddenly in combat. And talking about the battles, but also just the emotional journey of all of a sudden you land in Italy, and you have this war to fight. What was it like for you personally?

AN: Well, obviously, we went in with the idea that we're going to be in combat, but, of course, one never gets to really know until they get into combat. So our hearts and minds were... we know we're going to combat until the day we come into combat, until they day we were going to combat. Of course, we were ready, however, we didn't know what the reality was. So as far as I'm concerned, I don't think we really knew what fear was, we're just looking for action. And once we got into action, then we found out the reality hit us, hey, this is no plaything anymore, this is for real. And especially where you see your own buddies the first, second day getting killed, there were now, our feelings have changed. Our outlook has changed. Hey, now, this is for real. So although we came to reality that now we say, okay, so this is it. And with that in mind, that's what we came for, and now we really know what we're here for, and we just, spirit that we had, that's the way we fought. Whether we get killed or not, we're going to do our share. That's what happened.

AL: I know in your... the thing that I read that you wrote, you talk about things that you experienced that your faith played a role, like you talked about a German soldier. I don't know if you're comfortable sharing that story or any of the... you know, where you felt like your faith changed how you approached combat.

AN: Oh, you're talking about time before, yeah, when we ambushed the German soldiers that walked right into our path? And, of course, they were caught flat-footed, they didn't realize that we had already occupied the town, and three jeeps full of... we were surprised that they were coming right at us. And so we all hid ourselves on the side of the road. And when they came, it just happened that my sergeant and I was a sergeant, too, my platoon sergeant at the time and I, and all of us, jumped out in the road and stopped the enemy. Then what we were going to do was to capture them and taken them as war prisoners. But in the first jeep, there was an officer in the back, and he raised his hand and he had a gun in his hand, and that's a no-no. So as soon as he raised that, we felt, then, of course, we blasted them. And then one soldier fell right in front of the jeep, toppled over, and, of course, he was bleeding, and I looked at him, and all of a sudden, my compassionate feeling came over me. I said, "I hate to see anybody suffer like this, so I think I'll just put one bullet in him and end his life." Because he's going to die anyway. But I couldn't use my gun because I have a, I'm a close-in fighter. I lead patrols to enemy lines, and my weapon was a .45 millimeter submachine gun. And so I couldn't use that, because that bullet will, if I shot his head, he wouldn't have a head left. So I borrowed one of my men, said, "Give me your regular rifle," so I'll just put a bullet in his head. Because he was already bleeding from his mouth, nose, ears, already took the blood and pumped out of him, so I said, "Well, I cannot let this man suffer like this." So with a compassionate feeling to get him out of misery, I thought I'd go end his life. But then as I aimed at him, I thought to myself, "Wait a minute, what am I doing? Am I playing God or somebody? Who am I to decide whether he lives or dies? That's not my role." So all of a sudden, that feeling came over me, I said, "No, I cannot shoot this man like this." Even though my feelings were that way, I was wrong. I'm not supposed, I have no right to decide whether that man should live or die. I'm not God. So that was some experience for me. I wanted to end his life where he don't suffer anymore, but then who am I to judge that? So that's what happened. But, of course, he eventually died.

So sometimes you get emotionally, I guess, emotion takes over. Yet, on the other hand, you can get mad, when especially one of your men gets wounded. I didn't like the snipers at all. There's nothing personal about this war, because the enemy is fighting for his country like I'm fighting for my country, it's nothing personal. And so when I see a sniper, in one case, the sniper hit one of my men right here in the collarbone -- lucky he didn't shoot his head -- and break his collarbone. And I told his sergeant, "Patch him." And the sergeant was trying to, he panicked a little bit, and he couldn't get all his bandoliers and equipment off his shoulders to patch him. So I went over there to help him, and it was a sniper that did it. And at times like that, I said, I just said to my men, "If you get a sniper, give him to me. I'll take care of him myself." I just didn't like the snipers. Because I had a sniper at one time shoot at me and my radio man that always stays with me, went back and the bullet came right between his head and my head. And so somehow I just didn't like the snipers. In fact, it wasn't hatred, but I just didn't like snipers around. But when we fight, we fight... if you fight with hatred, with blood in your mind, that's not the right idea for me, because there's nothing wrong with him, because he's fighting for his country like I am. So I never had a personal hatred, he's just fighting for each other. And if you tell him be a sniper, he's a sniper. And my job is a patrolman, I go in and blast everybody. So it's sort of... I don't know how the rest of the men feel, but that's my thinking of war, is not to go in with hatred in your heart, but to do your mission, not personal hatred. Yes, you have to shoot, you have to kill, but that's not with hatred in your heart. That's the difference.