K03, Ayako Horiuchi ‘02, Matthew Ehmke, Chaplain, 1939, United States
I asked Father Matthew Ehmke about his experiences during World War Il. Although he was only six when the war ended, it actually changed his lifestyle. His stories were informative and very interesting. I would like to write about some of the biggest impacts that the war brought to him and his family.
Father Matthew was born in 1939, the same year when Hitler invaded Poland. Father Mathew says he knew what the year 1941 symbolized, not because it was his second birthday, but because it was when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Father Matthew says rationing had the biggest impact on him because daily products such as sugar, meat, and gasoline all became limited. He told me how his family recycled milk cartons, crushed tin cans, and collected ration coupons as a present on someone’s birthday. He remembered saving sugar coupons for months for his sister’s birthday.
I can’t recall the last time when I tried to recycle or save daily products, but during war, everything becomes limited and the idea of “taking things for granted” would disappear. He told me how his grandmother recycled aluminum foil, which she used to spread them out neatly after being used. Although he was still six, he had to practice “black-outs” in case there was an attack. He and his family would turn off all the lights and draw up all the curtains and stay quiet. He says he can’t remember many negative parts about the war and that relieved me a lot.
However, he says that there was a lot discrimination towards the Japanese. They were called “Yellow Japs,” and he remembers how the picture slide of General Tōjō Hideki used to scare him. His parents used to say “eat everything on your plate so we can beat the Japanese!” He says that there was a lot of prejudice and racial epithets.
When a son was lost at war, a sort of flag was hung on the windows. Father Matthew drew the flag to me and described its details. If there was a star in the middle, it meant that two sons had been killed. Even though he was only six, I am sure that the impact of the war was big, but Father Matthew told me that he can’t remember any dreadful experiences and negatives.
He remembered clearly when the war ended and where he was. He was at his friend’s birthday party, when suddenly, church bells rang and rang, factories blew their whistles, cars were pressing their horns, and he said that he was scared! But, after knowing that the war had ended, he was most delighted and happy.
Father Matthew emphasized what a waste war is. Look at Japan and the U.S. now: the two countries are allied, so what was the point of all the suffering of Japanese-Americans due to prejudice and discrimination? What was the point of all the lost lives of young soldiers? Father Matthew told me that he loves Japan, and that he is amazed how the Japanese don’t talk much about the war. He has been in Japan for nearly seven years, and he says he loves Japan!