Oral History Videos

Hideto Kono
Interview Length: 2:13

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:
Now, on other incidents on Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima is where, because our submarines were very active in that Iwo Jima vicinity.  Many of the unrelated military, Navy, Supply and troops.  When they are sunk, they would come over into Iwo Jima.  So, even among the Japanese, there were not people whom they knew each other.  Well, one day we got a call, and I went with another fellow from Kagoshima.  And there was this well which was diagonally built.  And when you looked in, there were two people there.  And this guy was kind of dark and short.  He started calling them out.  He said, “you know, war is over.  I'm here.  I was with the 145th Kagoshima outfit, and I'm taken good care by them of me.  The military here.  So why don't you guys come out?”

They won't come out at all.  So I took off my helmet and I looked down and said, “see, why are you staying there?  No point in staying.”  They came out.  And so we had post-interview.  I said, “why didn't you come out when this fellow was asking you to come.”  And he said, “you know, they had felt that this guy was a Korean who the Americans were using to persuade us to come out and then be killed.  Get interviewed and killed.”  But when he saw me, I had my helmet out.  So he said, “here is a true Japanese.  He looked like Japanese.”  So I thought, they said they felt safe and came out.  We all had a big laugh, you know.