<Begin Segment 23>

KL: Yeah. Since you had a career in the military, I was curious if you talked to African American World War II veterans and how you think the Japanese American military experience in World War II was different or similar to the black experience during World War II, and what people got out of it, or how it affected them.

AN: Well, I really didn't know too much about the blacks in World War II. I really don't. We had an outfit that we joined which was a black, because 92nd Division, they were all comparable. They were an all-black outfit, and we were all-Japanese American outfit. But as far as I'm concerned, we didn't have much to do with them. All we know is that they held the line while we were in France and came back, and they were still at the same place when we left. And so one of the guys was telling me as a joke, we asked one of the black soldiers, said, "How come you guys are still here where we left?" "Why didn't you guys make sure to go ahead?" Just a joke, I guess, a story. And then the guy in the foxhole says, "You know, when they tell us to attack, we just lean forward in the foxhole as far as we go." [Laughs]

KL: When you talked to other veterans after the war, do you think that black soldiers felt like they lost or gained anything in an integrated army?

AN: I really don't know about that outfit. All I know is about the air force, they did a real good job, black air force. I think now they came out in a movie.

AL: Is that the Tuskegee Airmen?

AN: Yeah, they were good. It's about time they were recognized. But come to think of it, I'd never heard of the 92nd. We were attached to them just for a little while until we finished the war. But... in fact, we know there was such thing as a whole division, and now we're three regiments full of black soldiers, we didn't even know that. We had, personally I had nothing to do with them, I never associated... I really don't know what happened to them.

AL: What about the interrelationships between the Caucasians and you talked a little bit about Colonel Young Oak Kim, but the other commanders within, within your unit, I mean, were there Japanese Americans who rose up to be commanders, or was it always Caucasians over...

AN: No, it was a good mixture.

AL: It was? Okay.

AN: Good mixture. In fact, a lot of the people like Dan Inouye and all that, they got battlefield commission right there on the spot.

AL: What was Daniel Inouye like over there during the war? I mean, he's very famous now, but just as a soldier, were you with him?

AN: Well, he was a good soldier, he was in E Company next door to me. And, of course, of his one acts, so he went through, lost his arm, and he became a hero. Because Daniel and I, we grew up together, and he was always a bright kid, with good head on him. So it didn't surprise me that he had good leadership capability. He was good. So he deserved... I heard about when he got hit, but I didn't know what happened. And later on I found out that he was sent back to the United States because he lost his arm in that one battle, but he lived. He was an officer then. So that's what happened.

AL: I know you mention in your book about Sadao Munemori, who received the... he's the only Japanese American to receive the Medal of Honor during the war period. His mother, his brother, his sister were in Manzanar. And we actually have his mother's blue star banner that she hung in her barrack window, and his sister, Yaeko, who died in 2004/2005 had sent that to us, and she said, "Mom had this in the barrack window, and when he was killed, she took it down, put it in this wooden box." And his sister Yaeko said, "I never want to see it again. You guys can have it if you want, I never want to see it again." And we have it in our exhibit. I'm just curious about, over there, the guys from the camps. His mother was in Manzanar when he received the Medal of Honor, she was under armed guard at Manzanar. When you look back on that, what do you think about that?

AN: Well, frankly, I didn't know about that until way afterwards. I didn't know anything about it, except what you folks read and I read, because I never with him in the same... well, we were in the same outfit, but I never knew what he had done. So I really don't know too much about it except what you have.

AL: Were there any acts that you would consider acts of heroism that you saw over there that have never been recognized?

AN: No. To me, everything was just regular. It was not act of heroism. Everything was combat to me, so unless it was really outstanding, like what Danny Inouye did or something like that. Like for instance the Congressional Medal of Honor, four of them belong right with me in my outfit. I didn't know anything about it until it came out the names came out, I said, "Wow." Joe Nishimoto and three others. I said, "They were with me," but I didn't know what they did that was so outstanding. So I guess I wasn't looking or I didn't pay any attention. To me it was just another battle. But just how much, I don't know, because I've never seen them there.

AL: Did you go to Washington recently for the Congressional Gold Medal?

AN: No, I didn't.

AL: Did you receive one?

AN: Yes.

AL: What was that like? I mean, how did you feel in getting that seventy years later?

AN: Oh, was, I was... our church, every Fourth of July has a program, patriotic program, and they heard about me getting one, so they asked a congressman over here, a congresswoman, that always attends, she's not a Mormon, but she always likes to attend our service, I mean, the program. So they asked her to come over and present me the award. But that's what happened this last July. So they wanted to make a big thing out of it, patriotic thing, so I said go ahead, so we did it. That's the way I got it, so the congresswoman mentioned that, "Since Colonel Nishimoto wasn't able to attend the service in Washington, D.C., I will make a formal presentation." [Laughs] That's it.

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 2012 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.