Hoichi Kubo had an early start in learning the Japanese language. Every afternoon after regular school and each Saturday he attended Japanese classes, for a total of 12 years. When he was drafted into the Army in June 1941, his desire was to serve in the 100th Infantry Battalion in Europe. Because of his Japanese language background, however, he was transferred to the Military Intelligence Service (MIS).
<br><br>Assigned to the 27th Infantry Division, Kubo took part in invasions of Makin, Majuro, Tsugenjima, and Okinawa. During one incident, he learned that a captured Japanese civilian turned out to be an employee of the Japanese Navy. The prisoner told Kubo's team about a planned <i>gyokusai</i> (an attack by all forces with intent on annihilating the enemy) on July 7, 1944. Information from another captured soldier confirmed this story. Because of this revelation, U.S. forces were well prepared to face the attackers.
<br><br>Though Kubo was involved in diverse assignments as a language specialist, he is most famous for cave flushing work. The most well-known incident occurred in 1944, when he single-handedly convinced Japanese soldiers into releasing more than 100 Okinawan civilians from a cave in Saipan. He willingly descended a cliff to enter the cave and disappeared for hours. All he had with him were a hidden pistol and K-rations. Once inside the cave, he talked with the soldiers and shared his food with them. When asked why he served the American side and not the Japanese, Kubo replied with a legendary Japanese story about a son and his father facing each other on a battlefield. In the story when the father asked his son how he could fight against him, the son answered: "If I am filial, I cannot serve the Emperor. If I serve the Emperor, I cannot be filial."
<br><br>Right away the soldiers understood Kubo's position. Kubo had successfully won them over. For this heroic act, he received the Distinguished Service Cross, becoming the only Nisei who served in the Pacific to receive this high honor.
<br><br>After the war, Kubo acted as a liaison with the Japanese military personnel. In 1946 he returned to Hawaii and entered the food business, first at Hunt Food Corporation, and later in his own enterprise, the Aloha Supermarket in San Jose, California. Later, he and his brothers sold the business and Kubo worked for a competing market chain until his retirement in 1984.
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I was in on the start and on the finish....I saw planes coming through Kole Kole Pass on December 7, and on Okinawa I saw more Japanese planes, those special planes with the green crosses on them, that were taking the Japanese surrender party to Manila to give up.
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