Oral History Videos

Choichi Shimabukuro
Interview Length: 1:56

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:
Interviewer: How has the war experience changed your life?

Well, for me, my character has changed.  I was a timid country boy that was afraid to get up and speak for myself.  But when I went through all this hardship, at least now I have a little bit more guts to stand up and say something.  You know, seeing people go through all that hardship, and yet, things like people that come back and they are, they call it what, "shell shocked," something like that.  Don't take them cheaply.  That person took as much as he can.  So, don't look down on them.  Some people can take more, some people less.  They call it battle fatigue.

Interviewer: Did you see a lot of battle fatigue?

Well, not on the front lines because most of them are pulled back already.  Of course we see them just about starting to have to need rest, go back and rest, get things straightened out or be rotated home.  And when you see people get killed like that, you know, you don't know when you’re going to get killed.  And sometimes, I think back of the hurricane we had, Iniki, my wife and my family, "why you going out there?” But I don't tell them the war is worse.  This is only five hours; war is 24 hours, everyday.  You know, you see guys get blown up.  You don't know when you’re gonna get killed either.  So it's tougher to take.  And most of us came through that.