Warren Nishida
Bio
Warren T. Nishida was born in Kula, Hawaii, on May 5, 1930, to Japanese immigrants seeking work in the sugar cane plantations. Eventually, his father left the plantation and opened a family farm which sold produce to the sugar cane camps. After attending Kula Elementary School and Maui High School, he was drafted in 1951. He completed six weeks of training at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu and then shipped out to Korea. Upon landing in Busan, he went directly to the Iron Triangle. Shortly after digging in at Sniper Ridge, he was wounded and eventually evacuated to Tokyo. After multiple surgeries in Honolulu, Hawaii, he was discharged from the United States Army. With the help of Veterans Affairs, he received training at a university in Oklahoma for mechanical engineering.
Video Clips
First Impressions of Korea
Warren Nishida describes seeing Korea for the first time in 1951. He provides a description of his trip through the countryside from Busan to the Kumhwa Valley. While traveling by train, he remembers the primitive housing and the surprise of finding out what farmers in Korea used as fertilize for their crops.
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Fearlessness of Youth
Warren Nishida elaborates on life as a soldier during reconnaissance and ambush control missions. During this discussion, he shares details about one dangerous encounter when he and his comrades capture two Chinese soldiers. When asked if he was afraid during these experiences, he reflects on the innocence and fearlessness you have during your youth. He expands on this reflection with details about the time he unintentionally became a target of the enemy.
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Wounded on Sniper Hill
Warren Nishida provides an account of the extraordinary events which left him wounded on Sniper Hill in October 1952. After his platoon leader found him unconscious at the bottom of a hill, he recalls his evacuation to a MASH hospital where they discuss the possibility of amputating his arm. Soon after, he recounts the trip to Tokyo and undergoing multiple procedures. His recovery from his wounds continued after his return to the United States. He recalls spending two and a half years undergoing twenty-one operations in Honolulu before his discharge in 1953.
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