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AL: -- Alisa Lynch, tape three of an oral history interview with Colonel Arthur Nishimoto. The videographer is Kristen Luetkemeier, the date is August 22, 2012. So Colonel Nishimoto, you were talking about war, and that war is not personal. One of the questions I was gonna ask you is, we hear so much about the 442nd and that, you know, it's the most decorated unit for its size and length of service, the amazing bravery, the fighting spirit, "go for broke," all those things that we hear. What do you think, you know, in terms of somebody who was actually here, is all of that... what am I trying to say? As someone who was there at the time, I never hear stories of men being scared. People talk about their greatest fear was they didn't want to bring haji, shame on their family, but actually, when you were there at the time --

[Interruption]

AL: -- or was there fear, was their homesickness, you know, the feeling of the guys over there? Because a lot of people said they didn't write their true feelings home to their parents because they didn't want to worry them. But as far as somebody who was actually there at the time, do you have any sense of, sort of, the emotional geography of your men and yourself?

AN: Well, all of them... this is a few years back, I told some of my people that I fought with, my own people, we have a reunion. I said, "You know, we don't talk about that to our family, but learned a lesson a few years ago," and I told him about me writing those things. I said, "Well, we were together, I know we were together, however, you and I were together, but I don't know what went in your head. I don't know how you felt when you and I were fighting together, when we saw our friends getting killed, I don't know how you felt. I don't know how you fought, I mean, as far as emotionally. So why don't you write those things down so that your children, your grandchildren do it, and that's what I'm doing now, so write it." But they think that, well, we were together, so it's about the same thing. I said, "No, it's not. We're different. You got to write you, how you felt." I really don't know. Said, "Well, I was with you." I said, "Yeah, we were there physically, but inwardly, how did you feel?" I really don't know. I know how I felt, and that's what I'm writing. "So why don't you write, and then we'll share each other's stories?" That's what I've been trying to do. But some of them did answer me, some of them didn't. But these are some of the things that I wish the 442nd people would write about it like you said. I think they should. But many of them don't want to talk about it anymore. And in a way, I don't blame them, because they just want to forget it. But it's hard to forget something like this, that we went through. So we shouldn't kid ourselves that we can forget it, we never forget it. It is always in our heart. But I think... well, each person carries this by themselves, differently, I guess. I think, I believe it's good to talk about it now, and I feel, I'm happy that even though it was late, that I'm now gathering these things and writing them, like the little book, that was just one of my chapters as I was writing my personal history. I just thought that's one chapter in my life. And I don't think there's many in my outfit that writes a personal history. Many of us in the unit, I don't think, have written personal histories, nor did they follow up in their genealogy. I follow all these things up, because this is what the church has taught us to do. And so I'm just following what our church taught us to do, and I think that's very important. And that's why I get started on this. But I can't think of many of my friends are doing this. And this is where you come in, you have at least an interview with them, and you sort of get the, you skim over the top of it, but not real deep. I don't think they'll, I don't know, maybe you might reach way down, but I hope you do in the interviews.

AL: So let me ask you a question then. How do you think that we can help reach... just as an interviewer, what advice would you have? Because Kristen and I were actually talking about this this morning, we wish we knew how to interview about war, about combat. Because we want to be respectful, and we want to be knowledgeable, but we don't... just any words of wisdom. Because to be honest, and I've interviewed other soldiers, but most people will just say, "I was in this unit, and then we went here and then we crossed this river, and then we came here, and then I came home, and I couldn't get a haircut at home." But they don't talk about...

AN: How they felt when they were going to the war, how they felt when they were wounded, how they felt, because most of them were wounded, you know. And most of them saw their buddies getting killed or wounded, but they don't talk too much about that.

AL: So what advice can you give us, because we hope to do more of these interviews, I mean, just how could we do it better?

AN: Well, the questions you asked me to day will rouse them, I think. You're on the right track. And that if you can get it out of them, that'll be fine, but I think you can be more direct in your questioning. "How did you feel when you first saw your own men get killed or wounded?" "How did you feel when you were asked to help your own men wounded?" "How did you feel when you were patching him up?" "How did you feel when they were killed?" I think if you ask those direct questions, they'll answer you, or maybe they'll say, well, they might shrug it off. But I wouldn't hesitate to be direct. You got to get them out of there. It's in their heart. I'm sure you'll get some responses that way.

<End Segment 18> - Copyright © 2012 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.