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RB: It's a really difficult conundrum to imagine what any of us would do in that kind of, same shoes as the Nisei soldiers. So during this time period, your active duty in the military, where were you living? Were you kind of stationed all over the country at different bases?

MA: Stationed all over the country and internationally. I had a tour in Korea supporting the Republic of South Korean government and army there. So spent much time in Germany, also with several units out there. So it was a mix of domestic and international assignments.

RB: What was it like being in Korea and were there any sort of adverse reactions to your Japanese heritage?

MA: Yeah, that's an interesting question. Again, I was sort of naive. I didn't think that there would be any reaction. I'm wearing a green uniform, I'm an army officer. But my friend made a comment, they said, oh, you know what? You better... kind of joking, he said, "You better be careful what you say," and I didn't really appreciate what he was saying. And then I got over there and I was a liaison officer. I was an American officer working with the Korean R&D group. And so my counterparts, all Korean officers, some of the senior ones would look at my name. And then I started getting interrogated like where was your family from, and where were you from? I said, "Well, I was born in the U.S. My family, my mother and father were born in the U.S., and my grandparents immigrated in the 1890s. So then I could see them softening up about, but there was very direct questioning about if I was really an ethnic Japanese or was I Japanese American? And then I kind of found the nuances of what that dialogue was really trying to point to.

RB: Yeah. I can imagine that that may have been a concern at times, given the history of Japanese...

MA: Right. So then I did a lot more research about what had transpired during the Second World War, how the Empire of Japan colonized Korea, and so I can understand again. So again I was in a conundrum, because I said, "Wow, this is so convoluted and complex," it's not straightforward. But I guess, like, I do now, I try to treat everyone with dignity and respect. So I could understand the questioning, the line of questioning, however, it did set me off a little bit.

RB: While you were living abroad, did you have a chance to visit your family?

MA: I did. I probably visited half a dozen times. My children were in high school at the time, or junior high and high school. And so in the sports leagues, we would go to Japan and play other Asian teams. So it was an opportunity to visit Japan. I guess really, for me, it was my first opportunity to be in Japan, so I really thought, wow, this is somewhere I could really connect to. I mean, being in Korea, it was kind of a unique experience, too, because I see everyone with the same, that looks alike, and I'm like, wow, I'm not a minority anymore, I'm kind of like a majority. Everyone has black hair, I mean, I used to have black hair, but everyone looks the same. But when I went to Japan, I even felt more connection. And I said, "Wow, this is how my relatives treat each other," and I really like the orderliness of things and just the way the beauty of the country and just the, I guess the precision of things. It just allowed me to appreciate my heritage a lot more.

RB: I can imagine. And what a great opportunity, especially for your children at that age.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2023 JACL Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.