Wartime Memories

Author: Glenn Scoggins

  • Lok Shung Lau

    B03C, Lok Shung Lau ‘86, Chang Chin-Tao, Mother, 1936, Yokohama: Naka-ku, Nagano I asked my mother about her memories of World War II. She was born in 1936, and she is now 49 years old. Q: How old were you during the war? A: I was about nine when the bombing of Yokohama occurred [on…

  • Cheri Holmes

    B02U, Cheri Holmes ‘86, Great-aunt, 1912,   Nagano, Yokohama: Kanagawa-ku I interviewed my grandmother’s sister in May 1985. She is 73 years old, and she lives near my house in Kogaya, Kanagawa-ku. I wanted to preserve her memories of the war. Q: Where were you during the war, and how awful was it? A: I was…

  • Kinami Furukawa

    A02, Kinami Furukawa ‘85, Grandmother, c 1906, Yokohama: Naka-ku, Isogo-ku  In May 1984, I  interviewed my grandmother about her experiences during World War II. She was born around 1906 and is 78 years old now. I didn’t suffer or have much trouble during the war, compared to other people. I was about 35 years old…

  • Charlotte Hedderman

    A03U, Charlotte Hedderman ‘85, Mother, c 1930, Fukushima, Yokohama: Isogo-ku, Naka-ku I really learned a lot from this interview, but in truth I really didn’t want to do it. There are many reasons, but the main one is that I didn’t want to ask my mother to tell me things that she didn’t want to…

  • Tetsuko Iwasaki

    A04, Tetsuko Iwasaki ‘85, Manabu Iwasaki, Grandfather, 1929,   Tōkyō, Yokohama: Tsurumi-ku, Shizuoka The experience of a world war naturally occupies a large part of a person’s memory. Each day was a struggle to keep on living. Soldiers were in danger of being shot to death at any moment. The constant fear of death over…

  • Motoni Katayama

    A05, Motoni Katayama ‘85, Mrs Ishikawa, Piano teacher, 1925, Tōkyō On Tuesday, May 15, 1984, I interviewed my piano teacher, Mrs Ishikawa, about her experiences during and after World War II. Q: How old were you in 1945? A: Well, it’s such a long time ago! [Laughs] I was twenty years old then. Q: Where…

  • Hiroko Maru

    A06, Hiroko Maru ‘85, Sumie Maru, Mother, 1936,  Aomori In 1984, I interviewed my mother about her wartime memories. She was born in 1936 and is now 48 years old. Q: How old were you when World War II started? A: I was five when the war started and eight by the time it ended.…

  • Maria Roe

    A07U, Maria Roe ‘85, Yoshie Spangler, c 1940, Daniel Abe, c 1940, Hyōgo, Chiba, Family friends I’ve collected some comments on World War II and the American Occupation, from friends of my mother. They were both too busy for full interviews, so I talked to two different people in May 1984. They are both in…

  • Mari Tamura

    A08, Mari Tamura ‘85, Keiji Sugiyama, Grandfather, 1906, Tōkyō My grandfather, Keiji Sugiyama, was born in the year 1906. Although he did not actually go fight in the war, he has very vivid memories of it. The following is my interview with him about his experiences during World War II. I talked to him in…

  • Leda Elliott

    B01U, Leda Elliott ‘86, Setsuko Suzuki, c 1933 In May 1985, I interviewed Mrs Setsuko Suzuki. She was born around 1933 and is now 52 years old. Q: How old were you when you experienced World War II? A: Around 11 years old, I think. Q: Were you able to stay with your family all…