Densho Digital Archive
Manzanar National Historic Site Collection
Title: George T. "Joe" Sakato Interview
Narrator: George T. "Joe" Sakato
Interviewer: Tom Ikeda
Location: Denver, Colorado
Date: May 14, 2008
Densho ID: denshovh-sgeorge-01-0040

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TI: So we, where we last left off, you were, you were injured, you made it back...

GS: Made it back to the hospital.

TI: ...to the aid station, the hospital.

GS: So I was at Epinal for... I got wounded the 4th of November, and then Thanksgiving coming up, before Thanksgiving I was to get on a plane to go to England. I was able to walk, so ambulatory, so they put me on a pile of ropes and, with my records, plane's ready, then they got orders that the weather changed, so they bumped me off the plane, but my records went with that plane. So then Thanksgiving I was at Epinal, Christmas coming, I'm still in Epinal.

TI: So what happens is when you get separated from your records, it's almost like you become lost, I mean, they don't know what to do with you?

GS: They don't know where my records are. So I had to start new ones. After Christmas, then I finally went to England, flew to England, got to Birmingham hospital and then I hear this engine going "Brrr," pretty soon it stopped. And all the patients were ducking under beds and ducking under tables and the guy says, "Get under the table." What, I didn't know what's going on. Pretty soon I hear, "Boom." That's my first experience with the V-2 bombs, jet-propelled bombs. Soon as the engine stops, it's gonna drop. So went right over our hospital and went to the next town over, Coventry, and exploded. So then I get out, so I'm in the hospital at Birmingham and finally got to go to board ship and traveled to New York City in five days, I was in New York. The Statue of Liberty, that's the prettiest sight I ever seen. I was happy; I was home. But I still wasn't home, I had to get over to Camp Killmer, and they sent me to another hospital towards Central for a couple days and then I was transferred to Vancouver, Washington, hospital in Vancouver across from Portland, Oregon. Then my kid brother sends me a newspaper clipping, Redlands, California, newspaper says, "George Sakato received the Distinguished Service Cross." So he sent me this clipping, "Why didn't you tell me you got the medal?" "I didn't get no medal." So I get the newspaper clipping and I tell the chaplain at the Vancouver hospital, says, "How come the hometown paper knows about it but I don't know anything about it?" So he says, well, he'll look into it. In the meantime, they transferred me to Mitchell Convalescent Hospital (near) San Diego. So going around doing the exercise and going up and down, finger ladder up and down, finally I was discharged January 31, '45, I was discharged. So the colonel says, "Wait, a medal came. Our band is on furlough and they'll be back next week and we'll have a parade and you can get your medal." Then I says, "Well, they've got three boys getting discharged with me, and they're going to Phoenix and they're gonna fly back home to Hawaii. You're gonna have to change their flight schedule." "Oh." [Laughs] So we couldn't have, do that. So he pinned the medal on me in his office, so I got the Distinguished Service Cross. So I came home and my brother finally got discharged and came home.

TI: Well, when you first got home, what was that like for your, your parents and your sisters and all that?

GS: Oh yeah, they thought it was great. But I did come once on a furlough once, and I had a can of takuan, took it back to camp, to the hospital, and went to the PX and Hawaiian boys, cases of beer, cases of beer, opened the takuan bottle and the GIs on the other end of the PX drinking beer, and, "Who died?" [Laughs] "Who died?" Says, well, they opened all the windows and everything, takuan was smelling." Oh, the Hawaii boys, we were happy, we were just eating takuan. So that's... and after that, we got discharged and we came home, was able to meet the family and we got together. Henry, he got discharged, so he says, "Well, what are we gonna do?" "We gotta go on a vacation, we gotta go see the country." So he got a car and we drove to Indianapolis, Indiana, Chicago, then we went to Denver and Windy Yonehiro was in Denver, so we thought we'd go see an old friend from Denver. Then he introduced me to some girls, and well, we stayed there for a whole week, had to wire home for some money back home. But in the meantime, I communicated with my future wife.

TI: So that's when you met Bess.

GS: That's when I met Bess.

TI: And this was Bess Saito that you met?

GS: Uh-huh. So then I asked her to marry me and then finally got married. Then we were traveling to Santa Fe, New Mexico, on a bus, stopped at the bus station and ordered some coffee. We get, two Indian girls, they wouldn't even wait on us 'cause we were Japanese, the "Japs." Indian girls to not wait on us is something else.

TI: And so what did you think at this point?

GS: Discrimination.

TI: 'Cause here you were a decorated war hero, and you...

GS: They didn't know what to think. All they saw was "Japs." So then I went to National School, I was working, I was going to become a diesel mechanic, so I was learning diesel mechanic, and then in the meantime, nighttime, I was, worked at the post office, pick up mail and deliver to the airport.

<End Segment 40> - Copyright © 2008 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.