<Begin Segment 23>

SG: What other assignments did you do for Military Intelligence?

BO: Well actually, actually, it's the intelligence work, but it's headquarters company, student company first sergeant. Headquarters company, headquarters company, in there they have, you could have ten first sergeants that's A company, B company, C company first sergeant which I was, and sometime I would have two company. Of course, one time I had three, but they took that one, took one away. But two was the highest I got, first sergeant. But you know, you just can't get around to meet all the guys in the company and know their face and name. That's what you're supposed to do to recognize them. I know your name? No, I don't know your name. That's how fast my brain is. Only thing I ask you is to take the dog tag off. And you think I could write? I scribble, so I put down X, star, and I show, "This your name?" He looks at it. I close it in my notebook, no name. They know that I don't take name down. I don't care whether they're unshaven or what it is. If he didn't pass, I just let it go. He better remember to do it right the next time or else I'll take the name down, dirty trick. I didn't get caught. If they asked me for my notebook, I have to give it up and show them, but that's private property. I had that on my side, so I didn't show them anything.

SG: How did the Hawaiian Nisei and the mainland Nisei get along?

BO: [Laughs] Oh, boy. Well, when the Hawaiian boys came along, I was first time very excited for them, that before they got me was the first time for them. I lift my bunk up and move it into their barracks, and I slept in it, and they didn't know whether I was a part of the student or part of the headquarters which I was a headquarters. I tried to pick up the lingo and lived with them and learned how to, that's how I got to live with the Hawaiian boys. With the others, they go town, and just go outside. Oh, they really get beat up, gang fight outside. But me, no. I stayed with, I slept with them as a part of the family.

SG: So the mainland boys would beat up the Hawaiian boys?

BO: No. Hawaiian boys are gang fighters. They beat you up, so you better stay cool or stay inside. Mainlander, kotonk, they don't know, no brain. They walk right out in the trap.

SG: Why did the Hawaiians hate the mainlanders so much?

BO: How come? But that's the way it is. Just because we don't talk like them and all that, you know. I joined them. I talk like them, yeah, pidgin English, and joined them. I'm not bashful. The others think they're so good. They don't, that's where the trouble is at. Boy, I learned that one fast. I got to live too, you know. Well, I guess you guys are going to stay here till midnight.

SG: So was, did your, rest of your stay in the military was there in Minneapolis?

BO: Huh?

SG: The rest of your duty in the military was with Intelligence?

BO: Yeah, all the way through [inaudible]. Wherever I get assigned, then I go and don't make stink about it, because the officers, they're all beginners. They're first time facing all, it's happening so fast that they got to do something. And in the field, they're asking for more help. You're going to have some rest. They're out there by themselves and can't get rest. So if we could send somebody in there to relieve him, yeah. It's a mess. So part of where we're shipping those boys, the liberty ship going to San Francisco or Seattle then comes a -- send them to Florida. Why the hell Florida? We're going to fly them over through over to Africa and go that way, safer. It just depends upon the war, they start flying over to Africa. We can't lose one man even, very expensive, valuable men, and that's what General Willoughby, he says, "These boys are a secret weapon in the Asian Pacific Theater," and it's saying shortened the war two years, two years lots, and saved two million lives and all the equipment that's required to do it. That's us. We are all backbones, everybody. They're making them over there in Minnesota or where you're at, all working.

SG: What were your superior officers telling you when you're in Minnesota?

BO: Superior officer?

SG: Yeah.

BO: Superior officer, he can't say nothing because he's lost himself, because if it wasn't for the sergeant, he's lost too, and he'd be shipped out. So what are you going to do? Keep your mouth shut and just rely on the sergeant. That's exactly what they did. You go ask them, and they don't know nothing. They won't tell you that the school was going in ten time, my company going up ten time or not. That's when I got married, went back. They grew ten time, and they were all lost. And what they do since we had so much men, you had the job, high CTO in St. Paul, coal detail in St, Paul, wintertime. Then they have a utility detail or they have a KP in every company, a day room orderly, latrine orderly. Who the hell want to do the latrine orderly each company, student company? That was our job, get rid of men. Get rid of the, for whoever is qualified for furlough to go to camp, give it to him. So we just gave furloughs to go to the various camp. And then before they go oversea and was allowed to give them three-day pass, hundred a day. So hundred goes out today, hundred tomorrow; third day, another hundred goes out. That's 300 guys already. Then the fourth day, the first sergeant's coming in. How about our detail? Who's who? See? What happened to this guy? What happened? That was a big headache we had. Plus, if we shipped ten, ten, ten company of men, it takes ten company of men and they form a new company; the mess hall, supply room. They change our classroom, and they made a place to stay. And all that different company, I, J, K company, well, we ship them. Okay. All the male was coming over to operate. Well, K company, but then the headquarters won't stockade company and send them to K company. They send everything to us, and we're supposed to sort them out and then send to the various company. That's chicken, so we had to have boys working like mad at our place. So we had lots of money, and we get so much on the dollar at the canteen. So the captain, he buys fourteen cases of beer, fourteen cases. So what happened? First time, head for town. I don't want to be near the place. And I don't know how many kegs we drank, but one keg is confidential, and they took the other keg of beers, they took it to each mess hall and gave each one a keg of beer to drink. Where's that one beer, one keg? Well, there's happened to be a Hawaiian wino in one of the tarpaper... he drunk, stinking all day long. He drunk down in the main theater. Then you check his room, the one keg in there was empty. So the sergeant major, Hawaiian, sergeant major, he refused to try regain his officer's rank. I don't know what rank he was supposed to get. He refused, and then he goes back. When he goes back, he said, "Handcuff the wino to you, and then you take him back to Hawaii," so he does that, take the Hawaiian back to Hawaii. When he gets to Hawaii, he's just beaten up almost dead because he refused to work for the rank that he had before. It's a shame, to let it slip by. Makes sense?

SG: Uh-huh.

BO: You're not writing anything.

SG: We're getting it all on tape.

BO: Yeah, I know. [Laughs] Let's see now. What else I got? Oh, the listening post. Now, Shig Mihara was a Gresham High School student with me. Ed Okada was in Vancouver. Those are farmers' boys. They were listening post in Camp Savage listening to Japan military or whatever, I don't know. And the student, they go and go to this radio station. They listen in and write down what they're talking. They got to practice so listen in to the radio. That's what happened at Camp Savage right in the middle of U.S.

[Interruption]

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 2004 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.