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"From my point of view, America is a nation in the process of trying to live up to its dreams." (Video interview, 1:20:28)

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   Warren Michio Tsuneishi
Image of Warren Michio Tsuneishi
Warren Tsuneishi, November 1944
War: World War, 1939-1945
Branch: Army
Unit: 306th Headquarters Intelligence Detachment, XXIV Corps
Service Location: Camp Savage, Minnesota (8/1943-2/1944); Camp Blanding, Florida (3/1944-4/1944); Fort Snelling, Minnesota (5/1944); Fort Lewis, Washington; Schofields Barracks (5/1944-8/1944); Leyte Island (Philippines-10/1944-3/1945); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands-4/1945-8/1945); Korea (9/1945-1/1946)
Rank: Technical Sergeant
Place of Birth: CA
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Born on the Fourth of July in California, Warren Tsuneishi was the son of Japanese immigrants. After Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entered World War II, his family was evacuated to Heart Mountain, a Japanese internment facility in Wyoming. But Tsuneishi craved freedom and the chance to serve his country, in spite of his family's confinement. He volunteered for the Military Intelligence Service Language School and served in the Pacific, translating captured documents that gave U.S. forces a big advantage in securing the Philippines and Okinawa.

Interview (Video)
»Interview Highlights  (11 clips)
»Complete Interview  (82 min.)
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»Photo Album (6 photos)
 Memoirs
»View List (4 items)
 Official Documents
»Honorable Discharge Papers
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 Video (Interview Excerpts) (11 items)
His brothers' involvement in the war effort. (01:23) Volunteering for the Military Intelligence Service Language School. (08:57) An American knowing that Japanese is part of his emotional makeup. (03:28)
Attending Syracuse University. (02:22) Evading confinement. (02:15) Visiting Dachau as a point of comparison. (01:14)
His family relocated from their home. (03:43) His split identity as a Japanese American. (09:11) The Army's inconsistent policy of dealing with Japanese American soldiers. (02:20)
His duties as a translator of captured documents. (09:33) Dealing with the wartime image of Japanese as cruel and barbaric. (01:21) 
  
 Memoirs (4 items)
Memoirs MIS in the War Against Japan Biographical Information
Curriculum Vitae  
  
 
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  The Library of Congress  >> American Folklife Center
  October 26, 2011
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