When Kazuo Tomasa joined the Army at age 18, he had never left Oahu, let alone traveled to the mainl
When Kazuo Tomasa joined the Army at age 18, he had never left Oahu, let alone traveled to the mainland. The world beyond Hawaii was very big and there was much to see that he had never come across before. Imagine growing up where most Haoles (white people) have the real money and influence and knowing you’re not one of them, and then coming to Fort Shelby, Mississippi and seeing a similar tension, but this time it’s not directed at you but another minority. The southern states of the mainland had very strict laws of segregation, dividing access to buildings like restaurants and theaters and even buses between “White” and “Colored.” In this case, “Colored” meant African Americans. Most Japanese Americans were confused by these labels and then surprised when they were told that they were “white.”In “Basic Training,” Kazuo learned the skills that all American soldiers are expected to master, in order to give them their best chance at survival and to protect their fellow soldiers. He learned to clean and maintain his rifle, how to shoot, use his bayonet, some hand-to-hand fighting techniques, and then his training took a turn in a whole different direction. Though he had no medical background, Kazuo was placed in the Medical Corps because there was a great need for medics on the frontline. He got between three to four months of training before he shipped out to Europe..Kazuo said, “There wasn’t much time to spend with the wounded, you just did your best to patch them up and moved on.”.Read more of Kazuo’s story as well as the others in “The Go For Broke Spirit” -- source link
#100th battalion#nisei veterans#japanese american#eo9066#japanese internment#shane sato