Oral History Videos

Takejiro Higa
Interview Length: 2:08

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:
Interviewer: Okay, so now you in Okinawa.  What was the first thing you had to do and what were you thinking coming back to Okinawa for the first time in five years?

As the troop ship assemble of a beachhead, you know, west coast of Okinawa, one island, appeared in the horizon.  I had tears on my eyes knowing that my relatives all out there.  But I had a duty to perform.  I had no choice.  It was different with my brother.  My brother spent only 3 years, I spent 14 years.

Interviewer: So you were really torn?

So my feeling was, why must I land, of land to the land, on the land of my ancestor.  Even though you know, this is war.  But I have a duty to perform, I'm American citizen.  I have to do duty to perform, I've got no choice.  I've got to go in.  So that was my initial feeling.  But as things start to progress, of course things got more hard, you know, more tense, yeah.  And that personal feeling disappeared and duty performance became more, what you call, what's the word you use when you look at the paramount.  Yeah, paramount.  I think that's the proper word.