Class Note 1943
Issue
July-August 2022
Disappointments? I’ve had several in my 101 years of life. It was in January 1946, 76 years ago, at Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California, in the Bay Area.
Earlier in the day our troop ship, MS President Monroe, had finally docked in San Francisco Bay. Four thousand gleeful soldiers had boarded the ship in Leyte Gulf in the central Philippines. World War II had ended on August 15, 1945. Scuttlebutt was that our ship might be one of the last to “bring the boys home”! I had been counting the days as the ship neared the Golden Gate. What an emotional and precious moment it would be to hear Mary’s voice again! It had been two long years of separation. Those were exciting years—going from Australia up through the various islands; from Leyte, our outfit went south to the island of Mindanao, where we were when the war ended. Just the mere thought of being with Mary again gave me the strength and spirit to overcome those days and nights. In retrospect, I think I was the only Nisei linguist on the ship. I heard later that more than 600 Nisei linguists, the majority of them from relocation centers, were awarded battlefield commissions to second lieutenant in Manila. They became an important and vital cog in the Army of Occupation and the democratization of Japan. Why and because? Well, those linguists had no home to return to. Their families were still behind barbed-wire fences back in the States. Many linguists would become career military, some would marry native-born Japanese gals and would retire as officers. Through the years I met many linguists and their war brides and welcomed them heartily. During WW II Japan was our worst enemy. Today Japan is our staunchest ally in the Pacific—no doubt about it!
“Sorry, soldier, I know where you are calling from. There is no listed telephone number at that address on 27th Street in Los Angeles.” I thanked the phone operator as my heart sank. Oh, what a big disappointment! (Note: A home telephone was impossible to get during wartime and shortly thereafter.) Suddenly, I reconciled myself, knowing that I would see my Mary in four days in person! Then I thought of my best friend of 18 days, good Sam of New Jersey. Thanks for the memories!
—George Shimizu, 2140 Sepulveda Ave., Milpitas, CA 95035; (408) 930-2488; marymariko@comcast.net
Earlier in the day our troop ship, MS President Monroe, had finally docked in San Francisco Bay. Four thousand gleeful soldiers had boarded the ship in Leyte Gulf in the central Philippines. World War II had ended on August 15, 1945. Scuttlebutt was that our ship might be one of the last to “bring the boys home”! I had been counting the days as the ship neared the Golden Gate. What an emotional and precious moment it would be to hear Mary’s voice again! It had been two long years of separation. Those were exciting years—going from Australia up through the various islands; from Leyte, our outfit went south to the island of Mindanao, where we were when the war ended. Just the mere thought of being with Mary again gave me the strength and spirit to overcome those days and nights. In retrospect, I think I was the only Nisei linguist on the ship. I heard later that more than 600 Nisei linguists, the majority of them from relocation centers, were awarded battlefield commissions to second lieutenant in Manila. They became an important and vital cog in the Army of Occupation and the democratization of Japan. Why and because? Well, those linguists had no home to return to. Their families were still behind barbed-wire fences back in the States. Many linguists would become career military, some would marry native-born Japanese gals and would retire as officers. Through the years I met many linguists and their war brides and welcomed them heartily. During WW II Japan was our worst enemy. Today Japan is our staunchest ally in the Pacific—no doubt about it!
“Sorry, soldier, I know where you are calling from. There is no listed telephone number at that address on 27th Street in Los Angeles.” I thanked the phone operator as my heart sank. Oh, what a big disappointment! (Note: A home telephone was impossible to get during wartime and shortly thereafter.) Suddenly, I reconciled myself, knowing that I would see my Mary in four days in person! Then I thought of my best friend of 18 days, good Sam of New Jersey. Thanks for the memories!
—George Shimizu, 2140 Sepulveda Ave., Milpitas, CA 95035; (408) 930-2488; marymariko@comcast.net