 |
| Tom T Kanno in Italy 1944 |
I found an Oral History that my grandpa, Tom T Kanno, had recorded in 1971. I shared this with my family and my sister replied with, "Did you hear his voice when you read that?" I know that I did. I savored the time with his voice echoing the words I was reading. Read it in this link here. I have also included it below:
Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Tom Kanno. The interview was conducted on February 5, 1971, by Everett Neiswender. Mr. Kanno discusses his career in the military during World War II. EN: Where did your ancestors come from? TK: Japan. EN: Was there some Korean ancestry in there somewhere? TK: No they came from Fugushima, Japan. No Korean ancestry at all. EN: How long has your family been settled in the United States? TK: Oh I think about 65 years. EN: OK, this was 65 years before the outbreak of World War Two, right? TK: Yes, that's right. EN: I understand there were three internment camps for people of Japanese ancestry in the Intermountain West. One was in Idaho, one was in central Utah, and one in Arizona, which one was your relatives sent to? TK: Well, before the evacuation started in California, they had moved back up here to Ogden. So, there wasn't any internment camp involved. EN: Oh I see, is this the period after which they moved permanently to Ogden? TK: Yes, right. EN: And your family has remained in this vicinity since that time, is this right? 1 TK: Yes, that's right. They have been here since Ward War Two, and before that we used to live around here before World War Two. EN: Oh I see, I didn't knew that. Now on your entering the service, where did you enlist at? TK: Los Angeles, California. Right after Pearl Harbor I went down to enlist and they told me I couldn't enlist unless I had my birth certificate, so what I did was write to Boise, Idaho to get my birth certificate. As soon as I received it I joined the Army. EN: How long did this take? TK: Oh it took about two weeks. EN: In what year did you enlist? TK: In 1942 - January. EN: Where did you take your basic training? TK: Well, I started from San Pedro, went up to Everett, Washington and stayed there for I guess about two months, then we went to Santa Barbara and got bombed; so, from there they shipped us clear into Kansas. We stayed there for about a year and a half. From there we went to Fort McClellan, Alabama for our basic training. EN: Your organization is the one that participated in the Italian Campaign I understand. Is this true? TK: Yes, that is correct. We started from Italy, went up into France and in to Germany. EN: Where were you taken prisoner of war? TK: In France, in I believe they call it Burieres, France. EN: How long a period were you in the prison camp? 2 TK: Well, I was there a little ever six months in Stalag No. seven in Germany. EN: I remember a good friend of mine that entered the service with me was shot down over the POLESTEI oil fields in Romania and he was sent to Stalag No. three. He spent three years as a prisoner of war. What was the designation of the organization you were in? TK: The outfit I was with was the 442nd Combat Infantry Regiment. EN: How long did you stay in that organization? TK: We left here in September, we left the United States in September and got up there about the end of September. I was with the outfit for only about a month and a half. EN: Okay, since this was the most decorated outfit in the United States Army, what awards did you get? I understand that it was the Bronze Star instead of the Silver Star you received, is this true? TK: That is right. I received the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Combat Medical Badge, and a ribbon with three bronze stars on it. EN: When were you discharged from the service? TK: Oh let’s see, it was in November, 1945. EN: That's strange, I was discharged in November, 1945. Where were you discharged? TK: Fort Douglas. EN: That's odd, how long have you worked at Hill Air Force Base? TK: I have worked up here 20 years now. EN: In other words ever since you left the service? 3 TK: No, not exactly. I went to Idaho far two years to do some farming up there, and then I came back, and started here in December, 1950. EN: Oh I see. Okay Tom thanks a million for the interview.
Every time that I do a search, something
else pops up. I probably do a search every month or two. There is so much
history about many of the members of the 442nd but not more than my Grandpa's name, rank, serial number and unit.
After arriving in Italy, Grandpa was sent to the Vosges Mountains of France. Bruyères, France was liberated after a battle between German Forces and the 442nd from October 15-18, 1944. They moved to the town of Biffontaine from October 19-24 and Grandpa was a medic there. The following snip shows the dates of battle for each town.
Stanley Akita’s history of being captured is the same as Grandpa. They were in the same group carrying wounded back to Bruyères from the fighting in Biffontaine, France and were captured on October 23, 1944: http://www.the442.org/battlehistory.html. I know this because Grandpa once told me, after reading this same story in his book, that he remembered the 2 guys running past him.
One thing I am certain about is that his
combat time was little more than 3 weeks! I’m sure that even though being a POW
for 6 months was bad, it was much less stressful than combat.
I'm sure I'll find more information but for now, I need to record this here so it's not just fractal notes and memories.
A favorite image of mine, Bruyères, France filled with Nisei Soldiers. 1944 vs 2013 and it looks the same - even the fountain.
 |
| Bruyères, France, October 18, 1944 |
 |
| Bruyères France, June 2013 |
On a side note, I'm sure that these 3 soldiers were pulled aside for a photo shoot. They are the same 3 in both photos and were taken in the area of Bruyères, France.
Comments
Post a Comment