A Serendipitous Meeting

This is Herbert Yanamura. Earlier this week, my sisters and I brought my Mom to visit Aunty Grace, my Dad’s sister, who is in a skilled nursing facility. Her daughter and son-in-law were visiting from California, her son was there, and we all had a nice visit. Herbert is also at this facility; he is a World War II hero, having served in the 442nd Battalion and as a linguist with the Military Intelligence Service. Herbert came out of his room to visit with us, and small world, he knew our Dad back in Honaunau on the Big Island. This was when my Grandpa decided to move his family to Kona to try his hand at coffee farming. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out, so the family moved back to Oahu. Herbert shared that he was a year older than my Dad, Keiji, so that would make Herbert 95 years old today. He told us that he and my Dad played together often and that my Dad had to walk very far just to get to school. He also said that they enjoyed playing baseball and that my Grandpa was such a baseball fan; he would watch games and cheer loudly, raising his hands in the air.  Herbert demonstrated, and we laughed, recalling that Grandpa enjoyed watching our brother Roy playing baseball.

We asked Herbert to share about his time in World War II. He was thoughtful and spoke quietly but with clarity to details. It is evident that he understood the importance of sharing his story with us as one of two hundred soldiers, recruited from the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, to serve as linguists with the Military Intelligence Service.

When I got home, I searched for more information about him. I found out that Herbert was a war hero, but like many of his generation, he was modest about his heroics. The Battle of Okinawa in April 1945 claimed the lives of 50,000 American soldiers, 100,000 Japanese soldiers, and over 140,000 Okinawa civilians. In June of that year, Herbert saved the lives of 1,500 villagers in Madeira, Okinawa through his repeated appeals over the loudspeaker to surrender to US troops. (Read the story of Herbert’s bravery here.) In 2013, Herbert attended a ceremony at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Museum, and he met Hatsuko Tomori, who was a 10-year-old girl back then. It was Herbert’s appeals that led to her family coming out of hiding. (Read that story here.)

World War II was an opportunity for Americans of Japanese Ancestry to prove their loyalty to their country. They did so honorably, despite knowing that many of their family and friends were stripped of their rights and interned in concentration camps. We need to hear stories from people like Herbert; he is a true American hero. I am so glad we had the opportunity to talk story with him.