Wartime Memories

Author: Glenn Scoggins

  • Sumeet Meerani

    L09I, Sumeet Meerani ‘04, L.H. Meerani, Grandfather, 1916, India I interviewed L.H.Meerani, my grandfather, in November 2002. Sumeet = S: Where were you at the time of World War II ? How old were you then? L.H. Meerani = LHM: It started in 1939 and ended in 1945. I was in Hyderabad, in Sindh province.…

  • Mariko Kōda

    L08, Mariko Kōda ‘04, Grandmother, 1929, Ōsaka I interviewed my grandmother about the beginning of World War II, when she was only 12 years old. She lived on the outskirts of Ōsaka, so she wasn’t attacked directly. American planes bombed the center of the city in March 1945. She went to school until she was…

  • Keiko Kawamura

    L07, Keiko Kawamura ‘04, Hiroko Ogawa, Grandmother, 1922, Manchuria On November 10, 2002, I interviewed my maternal grandmother, Hiroko Ogawa. She was born on August 1, 1922, and she is now 80 years old. Question: Where are you born? Answer: I was born in Dairen [now called Dalian] in Manchuria [northeastern China]. At that time…

  • Remi (Lemi) Sekine

    F07, Remi (Lemi) Sekine ‘97, Grandfather, 1925,   Shizuoka, Ibaraki, Gifu In December 1995, I asked my grandfather about his experiences during World War II. He was born in 1925, so he is 70 years old now. When my grandfather was 19 years old, he enlisted in the Japanese Army. It was on April 20, 1944…

  • Ichitarō Ōmura

    J06, Ichitarō Ōmura ‘01, Mr Inoue, Grandfather, 1928, Kyōto, Hiroshima I interviewed Mr Inoue, who is my maternal grandfather, to learn about World War II. I heard that he was in the Naval Academy, but I didn’t hear exactly what he was doing or why he joined the Naval Academy. I rang him on Saturday…

  • Aya Onouchi

    J07, Aya Onouchi ‘01, Mitsuru Onouchi, Grandfather, Aichi, Manchuria In November 1999, I interviewed my paternal grandfather. Here are his memories of World War II. My name is Mitsuru Onouchi. I was born and raised in Okazaki, in Aichi prefecture. When I was 14, when I left middle school, I went to China. Since I…

  • Sayaka Satō

    J08, Sayaka Satō ‘01, Sachio Fukui, Neighbor, 1925, Shizuoka, Tōkyō, Tochigi I was able to interview Mr Sachio Fukui, who is 74 years old. Mr Fukui is a neighbor who lives across the street from my house. Mr Fukui experienced the Second World War, and he shared the experiences and feelings he had during those…

  • Masaru Takebe

    J09, Masaru Takebe ‘01, Seiichi Aiki, Grandfather, 1915, Niigata, Yokohama: Kōnan-ku, Manchuria The best way to find out about a major historical event is to ask someone who was actually there. Often, though, they might be too old or no longer alive. If the events which took place were not too long ago, there is…

  • Kana Tatsuno

    J10, Kana Tatsuno ‘01, Yoshikazu Kuraoka, Neighbor, 1919, Chiba, Aichi, Manchuria My name is Yoshikazu Kuraoka, and I just turned 80 this year. I live in the neighborhood of Kana, and I’m an acquaintance of her father. This interview took place in my house on November 6 and 14, 1999. I was born in 1919,…

  • Naho Yamada

    J11, Naho Yamada ‘01, Masako Yamada, Grandmother, 1925,Yokohama: Naka-ku I interviewed my paternal grandmother, Masako Yamada, who is 74 years old, at my house on Friday night, October 29, 1999. Until 1942, the Japanese Army and Navy were conquering the Asia-Pacific area rapidly. But after the Battle of Midway took place in June 1942, when…