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KS: We were told Red Cross International Treaty, you know, you, nobody can attack you in the water. That was a treaty. It was a treaty, we were told, so not supposed to be attacked. But I saw one day, I saw in the movie, one day in the TV that was saying... what was that? Oh, yes. I think it was this, and it was "Treasure Hunt," "Treasure Hunting." And this man was in the deep, on the ocean treasure hunt in the Philippine Bay, and I saw another, another Japanese Red Cross marked ship was sunk in the sea floor. And I said, "My gosh, we are one of them." We could be, and that, and the one was sunk in Sunda, Sunda, near the Jakarta, Sunda Strait. That was my friend that was on the boat, couple dozen, and they were same way, they're bombed. And this ship in the Philippines Bay, I saw by just accidentally. I saw in TV show the "Treasure Hunt." I said, "There is another one, my goodness." This was not only for us. It happened many times. There was not mistake, anything. They must be shoot us purposely, and there is international treaty. We are supposed to be, treat enemy or your side as the same as your own people like enemy or what. That's how we were taught, and it was not, it was complete. And so later on, this day, I saw the show of "Unsung Hero" which is submarine's people. It made me sick. I just, soon I look at it, I turn it off, TV, I just hate to see the "Unsung Hero." It may be wartime, but I don't know. Even the wartime, they shouldn't, they should not. But it was happened, so I knew, I hope everybody know this. I was one of the person. I happened to be, escape from that. But I wanted to know, everybody know about this, shouldn't have be, happen again International Treaty there. So that's why I tell them especially. I don't, I don't accusing them, but you know, their, maybe chief in charge person made them shoot, I guess. But still, still, I thought we were, we were really sank in the South China Sea. It's cold black sea.

And after that happened for about two, three days later, we went to South China Sea, you know. One day, I had little time, my work, so I went to the deck. I saw outside over the ship. There was just couple hundred of sharks on the side of the ship traveling with us. And I went to the other side, it was the other side same, sharks just put there, black and waiting, you know, back there just, together, and they're traveling with us for I don't know how many days, quite a few days. Then I ask the ship's people why this fish is traveling with us. And he told us they are waiting for the leftover garbage. In those days, I think they were threw away in the garbage, garbage in the ships, oceans, from ship, so the fishes wanted to have that, waited for that. That's why they were traveling with us. And I thought, "Wow." There was, few days ago, if we were, if our ship was, you know, bombed, and we were threw at, in the ocean, we won't be last very long. It made me really goose pimple when I saw that. That was happening on those days. It was scary. You know, after all, I thought I was really dying out there. Second torpedoes, really, I got hit, my ships. It's so close.

AW: It's amazing they avoided it.

KS: We need to go to the bow of the ship. I think vibrations happen and ships "whirrr" like that, you know, vibration, terrible vibration. I said must be hit somewhere, I thought, but it was very close, very close. And third one was very, very far away, just right before weapon sound, so then I realize we were safe. And our captain did zigzag course like that, you know, so they don't hit us, and he was a very experienced captain. And he told us not to talk, not a single word because the submarine radio will catch human voice easy just like you sit here, and so we are very quiet. But we just, just like that and kneel down on the floor, just pray and pray very hard, but that was nothing. But I thought why they wanted to shoot us, you know. In Japan, we had told us, they had told us we are not going to be attacked as far, under the Red Cross mark. There is a treaty; we are not, but it's happened. So maybe there are mistakes sometimes, but sometimes purposely done. I wanted people to know about it what was happened.

AW: Great story, you know. You're probably one of the few people that can tell that story.

KS: Yeah, I think so. I think so. There are not too many people. And I lost those two people, my group in that big hospital ship going back to Japan, late 1944. And half of us went to Burma area, and they never came back either. So we were one of the few very lucky came back to Japan. So when I go church, I really, you know, I really pray to the God that saved me, and I really appreciate it, appreciation. I really talked to the God about that experience.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2003 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.