<Begin Segment 20>

AL: So when you were in the 442nd in Italy, what did you hear about the MIS guys? Did you have any sense of what was happening in the Pacific campaign?

AN: Yeah. How I got into MIS is very interesting. I was in Japan, and the third morning I was there, I got up, the Korean War started. And I don't think I was tapped to go to Korea, however, I didn't want to take any chances. So what I did was I heard about this MIS, Military Intelligence, and especially Counterintelligence.

AL: So this is during the Korean War?

AN: Yeah.

AL: Okay.

AN: And so I thought maybe I'll try this field. Instead of being a field officer all my life, I'm getting kind of old, at twenty-eight years old. [Laughs] I thought, well, I'll try a different field in the service. So I thought maybe I'll try intelligence. So I went over to his headquarters in Tokyo, Counterintelligence Corps, CIC, because I didn't know much about it, what kind of outfit it was. Then I found out that it was a really highly intelligence outfit, and that they had their own headquarters back in the States, in Maryland. And so I was interviewed, I was tested, they said, "Yeah. You want to change your branch of service?" I mean, not the service, but the occupation in the military. I tell them, "Yes, I do." Said, "Okay, we'll work on it." And so I was from the field of infantry, then I went into intelligence, that's how I got into intelligence. Then I found out what counterintelligence meant, and of course, I enjoyed that work very much. After I got through with Japan, I was sent back to this main school to further my education and so forth. And from then on, my military career was always counterintelligence school. And this is when I met many of the MIS people, because now, when I was in Japan, I saw these Niseis that spoke and wrote Japanese, and I know there were some of them from Hawaii. I said, "What are you doing here?" They said, well, during the war they got caught and they had to serve the Japanese army. After the war, they got jobs as Counterintelligence Corps because they know both the languages. And I know they were from Hawaii and from mainland, and they were good in Japanese because they were going to school in Japan. And that's how I got to know them. And so my entire career was spent in Counterintelligence Corps.

AL: So during, when you were back in Italy, like during the war, World War II, what did you know at that time of what the MIS was doing? Did you hear anything about the Pacific Theater, or were you guys just so focused on...

AN: Yes, yes, I heard about it, because there were a few from the 442nd that were recruited to go to MIS. Some of my friends went there while we were training, they recruited them. These were the young men that went to school in Hawaii and they were well-versed, as far as I'm concerned, in Japanese. So they were transferred into MIS. So I knew that they were there. But I never kept up with them. All I know is that... and until after the war, then I found out what they were doing and what they did. And I'm glad many of the things that they were now declassified, and now we have so many videos of what they did. And I think that should all come out. They did a terrific job as far as I'm concerned. They had dangerous missions kind of like the 442. Yeah, they did a good job.

AL: So if... I know you only went to elementary Japanese language school, but if you had been fluent in Japanese and you had your choice between, if you could go back and redo it, you had your choice between 442nd in Italy or the MIS in the Pacific, which one would you have thought was the better situation?

AN: Oh, I would have gone to Europe.

AL: Still go to Europe?

AN: Yeah. I'd prefer that than going, but I got no say in that. [Laughs]

AL: That's our uncle.

AN: Even when, like I said, even when we're 442, they pull you out. They pulled you out because they needed more MIS people.

AL: So after the rescue of the Lost Battalion, did you guys have any sort of a break before you went to your next campaign?

AN: Oh, yes. After every battle or between battle, or between battles, we always have a little break. We have to. We have to come back, pull back, rest for a couple of days, change our clothes, get all cleaned up, freshen up and go. We cannot continue two or three weeks without bathing and all that, we have to.

AL: How were you treated by the other U.S. units over there?

AN: Oh, we were treated real well. I think they were well aware of who we are. After several battles they said, "Hey, wait a minute, these guys are for real." So we had respect from all the units that we served with.

AL: What about the Germans when they first encountered Nisei? Were they surprised to see...

AN: Oh, yeah.

AL: Because Nihonjins are supposed to be their allies.

AN: Yeah, they were surprised. Yeah, they were surprised. Later on, of course, they found out that these Japanese boys are fighters. They found out pretty quick that, hey, these guys are for real, they don't mess around. And they had respect for us. In fact, some of them, I think, were afraid of us when we first came. [Laughs] I think we had a reputation.

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 2012 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.