Ted Soyeshima used to attend Japanese school every Sunday. He also learned to speak Japanese at home, mostly out of necessity since his parents spoke limited English.
<br><br>The U.S. Army came for Soyeshima in September of 1941. Back then, however, he and his brother were the sole supporters for their family and thus asked for a deferment. In a little over a year, Soyeshima decided to volunteer for the military while being interned at the Gila River Detention Camp: "I was just determined to get out of camp."
<br><br>After his language studies, he went to Australia to join the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS). His primary work involved interpreting for Caucasian officers during their interrogations of POWs. Later, he received an assignment with a military police unit in the Philippines. At POW Camp One, he assisted in the processing of prisoners and civilians. A few months after the war ended, Soyeshima received his discharge papers.
<br><br>During the Occupation years, like many other Military Intelligence Service (MIS) linguists, Soyeshima assumed civil service roles as interpreter as well as a liaison and training officer. He also served as chief of the document center for the 500th Military Intelligence Group. In his work as an interpreter, Soyeshima remembers orienting and training MIS newcomers to his unit on Japanese culture and customs.
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I'd take them out...to industrial facilities, educational areas and so forth....to show them what the local culture was like....so that they'll know what to expect when they get out there....Because what you learn at the school and what you see there, you know, it's entirely different experience.
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<br><br>Having volunteered to go back into active service, Soyeshima participated in the Korean War as a liaison and administrative officer in his first tour, then as an operations officer during his second tour with the G-2 I Corps Group. After the Korean War, he resumed his training and administrative work in Japan as a civilian.
<br><br>After serving 16 years abroad, Soyeshima returned to the United States in 1972.
