A Second Lieutenant with a gold bar on your shoulder. And a set of wings. You made 150 a month. Plus 75 for flying pay. Which would you take . Why i became an airmen, its part of my life. I had a good time. Could you give us background . Why is that unit was formed . Segregation. Before june of 41, a black man couldnt train with a white man in joining the Army Air Core. And it took congress to establish a flying field and in alabama near tus key gee institute. They built an entire airfield. To train blacks to fly. To train. And it took an act of congress. Segregation, separate but so called equal. And the airmen started by the way, everybody remember old this is a president roosevelt. The civilian Pilot Training. Roosevelt started civilian Pilot Training because he felt there was a war coming on. A germany and england were fighting. And the United States didnt have an air force. And he knew that we needed pilots. He couldnt say okay, open up the flying field and train pilots. Because congress and the American Public would raised hell. Sneakily he started the civilian Pilot Training. Which means in each college there were training young people to the aviation. And one of the schools was tus key gee institute. The programs were prompted and supported by civilian organizations. And the civilian Training Unit was supported by the money. And she was on the board of the fund. And she was there to learn how to money was being spent. And she saw the men flying, and took a ride with chief anderson and the piper cub. And it was advertised that the blacks were starting to fly. I came along about half way through the program. And i talk about there i was and got shot down and all that stuff. Well get to that. Bob . Could you talk about where you grew up. And how you got into the United States army. Well, i was born in 1924. In coyote path. California. In the boondocks. Where the strawberries were. Anyway, my mom and dad had a farm there. I was born in coyote path. And went to school with marilynne monroe. She was very homely. Boy oh boy. She divorced her husband which was a hay patrolman. And blossomed out and in tenth grade. And pearl harbor came along. And i was in turn in camp. I didnt mind being in camp. And a lot of cool machine guns follow me down. Found out where a lot of machine gun was when i got in the service. In the camp, i didnt mind it. I didnt mind it at all. But three of us we the spotlight and we dug under the bafr issue wire fence and went up the river. And made a place where we can jump in and during the summertime. Because in the camp you had the line up to take a shower. Or bath. The women were had to go in one place and we have to wait until the women finish. Then we go in. It was odd. But eating the same way. You had to wait until 1643 was my camp. My number. Ill never forget that. Anyway, block by block and you eat block by block. You cant if you get sick, you just better lookout. Because there werent that many doctors there. Anyway, in school i had a doctor from usc was blind. And he couldnt hear the step of each of the boys and girl walking in. I told the class i was an old guy anyway. I said i wash this i took off my shoes and walked. Half way down he said bob where are you going . So help me god. And from cedar rapids, iowa. She asked if i wanted to get out of the camp. And finish school and in des moines, iowa. Drake university. I said sure. I went back and finished school in june 44. I joined a service. And they joined with the 442nd and went to camp in florida. There i went over seas with them. Could you talk about the 442nd and a similar reason for being set up is the airmen . Its the most decorated regimen in the United States army. Not one of us came out without a purple heart. Not one. My best buddy in norway got 18 shots in his leg. Up his chest. Hes alive. He lived through it. And we got together it was brothers and sisters we were really close. You folks there if you know somebody next to you or left to you fighting you better know what he or she does. Its very bad because in vietnam, i had a budty hes still alive but his men, anyway his radio man got shot and died in his arm. All he got was a purple heart. What good is a purple heart to a man when hes not a mother and father there . What good is the purple heart . Im asking you now. With the folks. Boy. So anyway, the gentlemen hit they took him to wisconsin. And i told the sergeant at that time, i said take my bronze star and put it on the grave. And he did that. And the mother and father of the son wrote and said thank you very much. That meant something to me. By golly you guys if youre fighting, you know each other. And youre together know what he or she is going to do. If you dont do that you wont survive. Bob, 442nd was a segregated unit. Can you talk about how you and your fellow soldiers felt about joining the army and serving their country . I had to join the army because we were segregated to show the u. S. Government that i was loyal. And i think the rest of japanese americans did the same. I dont know for sure. Its a rough war. Regardless of the navy and marines. Ill tell you you guys in the navy, thank you very much. Because if you have a challenge coin you get the army navy and air force. I have a challenge coin that says thank you for the may vi army. And air force. We dont do that. I thank you guys in the nay va and marines. I was in the marines for 30 years. I learn what they are. Different from the air force and the army. Thank you, bob. You want to talk about what i mentioned about the why the airmen joined and their feeling about serving . Number one this is my country. Damn it. Number one. Best country in the world. I got news for you, why where are you going to go . If you dont like the country, leave. Im serious. Everybody wants to raise hell. Now as a black man i know segregation went on for 350 years. This country got free labor. Think about it. Whats slavery means. You work a guy from morning tonight. Free labor. If this country had not had slavery, you will never have the civil war. You will never have jefferson, hamilton, washington, raise all kind of hell. Fighting among thepss to make sure you have the country. If you did not have slavery, you wouldnt have the civil war. You would never have martin loouter king. And all the rest of the that made this country so great. It aint perfect. We still got a heck of a lot of crazy cooks. In this country. Think about it. The main thing is that you are here learning the basics. We depend on young people. To come in and take apart, vote, become part of this country. And help to make this country better. I aint leaving. I cant drive my cadillac through the jungle. Think about it. Ial yans are not going back to italy. Germans not going back to germany. Think about it. Theyre getting ready to deport some young people born as children here. And didnt go through the green, thats part of it. Why we join the Army Air Core and the army, prevented from fighting. Segregation. Evilness. But thats part of my life. Talk about flying. Had you flown before . No. Learned how to fly as an airmen. Tell me about your solo flight. I grounded. Our training was exactly the same as white training. Nine months. It was primary with a steer man. Basic and advance. Three mornts each in each phase. And it was exciting. Learned how to fly. Learned how to ground loop. Flying underneath the bridge in detroit. Oh gosh. But, in combat, i flew long range escort missions. Where you in the squadron we had four. We accompanied the b 17s and 24s from italy to germany. Italy to austria. Italy to. We flew top cover above the bombers. And as colonel davis often said, stay near the bombers. Dont go off chasing germans. And trying to get some victories. Every american bomber that you protect you protect ten lives. Because every b 17 had four officers, pilot, copilot, navigator, bomber. And six enlisted men. Every time you save and protect a bomber you save ten lives. This was our mission. To protect the bombers going from italy to germany. On the last mission, we had to radar stations. On the coast of Southern France. Before the invasion of Southern France in august of 1944. Hold that thought. Ill pick you up. Bob, you went to italy first is that correct . I didnt stay with. From there i went to france. Talk about going with the 101st. How did that happen . I was in aircraft spotter. And i volunteered for the 101st airborne. Which was in france at that time. And aapproved it. I was the only japanese american going into the airborne. The only one. And. Why were you received . Dont get mad now. None of the caucasians or there comes a jap or something. Its a slang name. Anyway, it was nothing like that. So my mentor was a guy i dont know if anybody heard of him. Martin . Hes 95 and hes still jumps out of the airplanes. He became my mentor. If it wasnt for that gentleman i wouldnt be here today. He showed me how to survive in the cold. With four feet of snow. That summer. 506. Yes, sir. Also had e company which we know about. We dont know too much about g company. In the movie band of brothers. Dont believe half of what you see in there. I know captain winters. And just like. Just like the airmen. Dont believe everything. Well talk about that later. Cap pain winters claims they went through all that first. If you go, all the memoirs are e company. Captain winters. Dont talk about general pat tons out fit. The 555. Do you know about the 555 . Nickel. The only nickel i know is the black parachute unit. 555 was the transportation. They were all black. They took us in. And the germans attacked. And they fought with along with us. We dont say nothing about the 555. Its odd. Through history you can see that. Anyway from bas done i went into hag gnaw. Liberated the last concentration camp. And people were saying oh, there was no such thing. Or the other concentration camps. I saw. Well talk about that later. Anyway. I liberated hag gnaw. Ill tell you another story before he asks me another question. And well stop. Captain ken was to me right. I was in the middle, and there was a dead jewish gentleman there. With his mouth open. And i told i said says get something to cover him. And another gentleman came out out of the camp, open pd his mouth. Took out his teeth and put his mouth and walked away. Its in the book. Ill ask him the next question. There you were flying over france. Shooting at radar detachments. And what happened next . Well, we came in at 15,000 feet. All four of us. And cleared a a beautiful day. And peeled off and dropped tanks. I reached and hit the switch. The tank didnt come off. The other three guys left me. Because they picked up speed. And theyre doing about 250, 300. And im back here shaking the stick trying to get the damn tanks. By the way 110 gal lan tanks on the underneath each wing. Finally got them off. And they were approximately 2 or 300 feet in front of me. Yard yards. Rammed everything to the wall. Pushed them through. Water injection to pick up speed. Ill catch hell when i got back the crew chief has to put in new valves and because i had water injection in the engine. Thats another story. I caught up with hem all four of us. Going in about 400 miles per hour. Firing at these radar stations. Hes number four, to my right, i saw him get hit. Before we got to the the stations. And black smoke coming out of him. I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I got hits on the target. We shot up the buildings. The radar. I go across the target, at about tree top height. No more than 200 feet. Boom. The damn thing came through the floor. Through the top of the canopy. We had heavy wearing heavy gloves. Were on oxygen. Naturally. The mission. I had to get out. We were doing about 400 miles per hour. 380. All i know everything was red line. Oil pressure, water. So fort forth. I have to get out. Fire come up in in the floor. So we pull back on the stick, and i think i went up. I got up about 800 feet. I dont know. Maybe 1,000. And going up you reach the lever, pull the red lever. And canopy goes off. Im up here and meanwhile as you go up with your left hand youre racking on the wheel. Which your wings go down. Right here i turn the stick loose and quite naturally the nose drops. Abruptly. When the nose drops, bang. I hit the bar. You had straps here straps here. With a big buckle. They came loose. Im thrown out. As i go out i go i see the tail go by. And theres a fire go by. And normally if you bail out, you count 1, 2, 3, then you pull the d ring. Im sorry, the parachute came out. Im sitting on the parachute. And you pull the d ring. Which the big cable. And a parachute opens. Naturally i came out and the tail goes by and the fire. I look down and see the damn trees. I said oh hell i pull out Something Real fast. I remember looking at it. Then saying god damn it too low. And bang. The parachute popped. And im swinging when it bang. You swing, i hit the trees. Thats how close. Im trying to get loose. All of a sudden i hear his voice. I said oh hell, you got me. The damn german. That gun looked like it was that big around. That was the introduction to my nine months in germany. As a pow. The german soldier saw a little gold bar and by the way, i knew he was excited. Looking at this brown skin. And im excited because i dont know whether he was going to shoot or not. Anyway, after we got on the ground, he saw my gold bar, and he saluted. All i could do was return the salute. That was my introduction to nine months in germany as a pow. Thank you. So, talk about you talk about liberating the camp. Where were you at the end of the war . In up in hitlers hide out. We went down and. And stayed in germany for a whifl the war was over . Yes. I transferred into the 82nd airborne. The 508. And i helped make the the jump school. Where i jumped 318 times. Lets talk about that. You were a pow for nine months. Where were you at the end of the war . The camp i was in was pushed near mu nick. We were liberated by the third army. I saw him riding on a tank. As he came through and knocked down the barb wire. And we were liberated by him. We were there sitting for a day. And somebody said, theres a place down the road with a lot of dead people. What you talking about . He says they have dead people down the road. So we hooked a jeep, liberated the jeep. Liberated. You can smell a place the mile before you got to it. Now, everyone is sitting here you have been saturday morning barbecue. And the odor of barbecue your neighborhood. Well, this odor is Something Like that, but ill never forget it. The ovens were warm when we passed. Where they were burning bodies. Piles and piles of dead bodies. We wept into a room and there were under the table, as long as this table and covered with hair. They gas the people, and then cut off their hair. And used the hair for seat cushions. Somebody was there with pair of pliers pulling out the gold. The table covered with dentures. And somebody today when i tell this horrible thing, they said jeff, things like that never happen. God damn it. The atrocities i saw. Back off. I hate it. Thank you. We can go on because both of these gentlemen had careers after world war ii. Sdwl oh yes. I fought is notsnotty nosed bra. I was a teacher. We have about three minutes left. Four minutes left. I told them and i told you that perhaps we have a time for a couple questions. Does anyone have a question . You did liberating of concentration camps. Did you have any knowledge of that was goin on that genocide before you went into germany . And before you went in . And if not, what was that experience like for your company. What was that like for you, like realizing that was going on . First of all, the United States at that time didnt advertise. No life magazine. You have telephones today your transportation. And knowledge. We were not nobody knew about it. In the United States. I dont know why the press was that way. And it was a disgusting to me. Over bearing. Anything . Well, i dont know about him, but what i dont understand im not against him. Why did he take his vehicle to go see that. And all the dead bodies. I know what a dead body is, i know what it smells like. He didnt until he got in there. By golly i know what it smells like. In vietnam we were the same way. And i dont want to never see it again. All i can say. Thank you. Any other questions . Alex parker from virginia tech. When you were in pow camp, what did you do to keep yourself going, keep your buddies going and make sure you survived . In the camp itself, let me open this up. This is my book. In the camp itself. We had time enough to read to the classes. We had music. And the pow camp. We were treated as officers. As human beings. And we didnt have enough food. We starved. I went from 119 pound down to 116. At that time. That was a skinny brat. We had time to draw pictures. I have a book here. We drew pictures, and i brought these home. Reproduced them. For a book. We had classes and music. Classes in literature. Classes in chemistry. Classes. We did everything. Life was normal. Thank you. We dont have time for questions. But lets give a round of applause for these