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RB: So we covered most of those topics related to childhood and adolescence, but what sparked your interest in U.S. military, and was that decision that you made out of high school or did you plan to go to university and then later join the military?

MA: Yeah, I was not planning on joining on joining the military at all. As a matter of fact, during my timeframe, the Vietnam was going on, so the war was very unpopular. And I had never had any ideas of joining the military, but my best friend, he was, we were thinking about colleges, and I was thinking about what to do in applying to some Ivy League schools or whatever. And my friends said that he, I said, "Where are you going?" He said, "Well, I'm going to the naval academy." And I said, "Wow, more power to you." And his brother, who was two years older, had been going to West Point. And he told me that his brother thought that I would be a good candidate to apply to the military academy, and I said, "Well, that's not in my plans," and I don't have any, I guess, ambition to go into the military. But fast forward, he says, well, when he comes home on spring break, "He wants to talk to you." And so he did talk to me and he kind of had his brochure, and it was a hard sale, but I thought, wow, this is kind of interesting how they prepare you to be a leader, and you get a good education, and so that was my introduction to the military. So then I did apply and I did get an appointment. And again, the Vietnam War was in its height, it was not very popular. I knew that I felt self-conscious, hard to believe at that time, of wearing my uniform because people would be yelling some very derogatory things at me. And now I'm very confused because are they yelling at me because I'm Japanese American? Are they yelling at me because I'm wearing a uniform or both? I just, I was kind of perplexed about my identity at that time. So I never, at that time, intended to make the military a career. I thought I would pay my obligation and then move forward. But I really enjoyed the military life, the camaraderie, it did allow me to have many, many opportunities, it sent me to graduate school and post-doctoral school. And so I've been very, very fortunate, and so I've lived my entire career and life supporting the military or being in the military.

RB: So this was West Point that you were at?

MA: I did attend the military academy at West Point, and from there, I spent twenty-eight years of active duty. Then I retired, I took off my uniform, but I went to work back as a civil servant for the Department of the Army for another eight to nine years and then as I retired from the government, after that, I formed a consulting firm that represented some clients to defense industry, so I was able to kind of, I guess, assist them into getting into the offices of various leaders.

RB: What years were you at West Point, and what was it like being a Japanese American?

MA: I was there from 1972 to 1976, and I would say, oh, maybe there might have been a dozen Japanese, probably another dozen or so Asians. So out of a class of 900, so it was very, very small Asian American makeup. But I could sense that I was a minority. I could sense that this was an occupation and I guess a profession that the minorities, in order to, I guess, get along, you would have to kind of just get along and not stand out. If you were exceptional, whether you were an athlete or scholar, then that would be something else. But if you were just trying to make ends meet, if you will, you'd have to just try to not get your nose too much out in front of you.

RB: Were there any issues of discrimination or prejudice that you felt?

MA: They would just bark at me with the vernacular of some Asian epithet. But I don't think it was directed at me as a person, but it was just the military lingo if you will, of trying to get under your skin and see if you could cut it. So I never really detected any racial discrimination during school.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2023 JACL Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.