With his dad now in the custody of the Justice Department, Frank Hayashi’s mother, sister, and broth

With his dad now in the custody of the Justice Department, Frank Hayashi’s mother, sister, and brother ended up in Gila River Camp, in Arizona. Frank and his mom’s brother were sent to Manzanar (so that his uncle wouldn’t be alone). From there they went to Chicago, where Frank went to an Army recruiting center and found he was in demand for his language skills and was sent to the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) school at Fort Snelling, Minnesota..The need for men in the Pacific was urgent and Frank shipped out to Australia as one of a small group of MISers transferred to the Marines Corps. “I was in the Army, but I was on a TDY, Temporary Duty, to the Marines and I got into the 3rd Marine Division,” Frank explained..“We were only used by high-ranking Marine officers.” Frank’s first assignment was to interpret for the Marine Colonel interrogating the captured Japanese soldiers from Tarawa. To reduce some of the tension, Frank told them it wasn’t him but the officer who was asking the questions, but also warned, “If you keep lying to us, we’re not going to feed you.” Frank got along well with his officers and was frequently given cigarettes and candy, which he used as “bait” for the Japanese officers, knowing that they responded better to thoughtfulness and respect. As soon as any new info came in they would interview a prisoner to verify names or units to gain more knowledge of who these combatants in the field were, and their weapons and likely tactics. Sometimes they even woke them in the middle of the night when the need was urgent..Mrs. Hayashi returned to Japan after the war and Frank, now stationed there, went to visit her. She didn’t know that he had left Manzanar and joined the Army. She said, “You were born in the United States. I guess it makes sense for you to be fighting for your own country.”Read the rest of his story in Shane Sato’s The Go For Broke Spirit. -- source link

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