Kenneth Aijiro Tashiro
Bio
Kenneth Aijiro Tashiro enlisted in the United States Army in 1947, after graduating from high school, to help pay for his education using the GI Bill. He specialized as a Japanese translator in the Army Language program, having learned Japanese from his grandmother as a child. After attending training at the Army Language School in Monterey, California, he received additional training in Japan. He left for Korea on July 4, 1950, arriving in Busan. He interacted with the ROK, Korean civilians, and North Korean prisoners of war while speaking Japanese. His letters home described the horrors of war and the effects it had on Korean civilians.
Video Clips
Answer Me in Japanese
Kenneth Aijiro Tashiro describes his job as a translator and interpreter in Japanese during the Korean War. He explains his interactions with the ROK and Korean civilians. He reflects on his experiences with North Korean prisoners of war.
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/kenneth-aijiro-tashiro#clip-1
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The Chaplain and the Wounded
Kenneth Aijiro Tashiro shares his experience of volunteering to help transport a group of wounded soldiers. At one point, an Army chaplain instructed him to leave in order to save himself, assuring him that he would stay with the wounded soldiers. He recalls later learning that the chaplain, along with all the wounded, had been killed.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxHkrowa2hQ&start=807&end=914
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/kenneth-aijiro-tashiro#clip-2
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The Horrors of War
Kenneth Aijiro Tashiro describes how he wrote letters home detailing the horrors of war. He expresses his compassion for the civilian population and their experience of the conflict. After leaving the Korean War, he reflects on the fate of the people he encountered during that time and wonders what happened to them.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxHkrowa2hQ&start=1036&end=1117
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/kenneth-aijiro-tashiro#clip-3
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Video Transcript