Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Milton Zaslow Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Military Intelligence
- Location of Service: Hawaii; Mariana Islands; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Japan; Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/27130
After taking an intensive college course in Japanese in 1942, Milton Zaslow found himself in charge of Japanese-American soldiers translating captured documents in hopes of gaining a strategic edge in the intense fighting in the Pacific Theater. In reading his men's mail for censorship purposes, Zaslow was touched by an irony: those with families in the internment camps back in the States were writing letters to boost the morale of their loved ones, instead of the other way around.
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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PlayAfter taking a Japanese-language course, recruited by the Army; total immersion in another course at the University of Michigan; assignment to Camp Savage in Minnesota to work with Nisei soldiers; attitude of Nisei whose families were in internment camps. 00:06:02.8 - 00:11:58.0
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PlayForming his ten-man team; spending one night in San Francisco before shipping out and getting around a curfew law restricting his men. 00:12:47.6 - 00:15:26.1
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PlayAssigned to the Navy Command in Pearl Harbor, where no Japanese were allowed; separate offices set up; working on captured diaries and other material; night life for his men. 00:16:05.2 - 00:17:53.7
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PlayCaptured materials they worked on in Hawaii; first assignment in the Pacific Theater, on Tinian, attached to the Marines; his men mistaken for enemy soldiers; taking over for the Civil Affairs people, who had no language skills to work with the natives. 00:18:15.1 - 00:23:05.5
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PlayMarines as a different breed of men; trying to persuade Japanese soldiers to surrender; defusing land mines. 00:23:11.3 - 00:25:09.7
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PlayIn Okinawa on the day Hiroshima was bombed; celebrating the end of the war; reading mail of his soldiers for censorship purposes. 00:27:37.0 - 00:31:05.7
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PlayTwo classes of Nisei, those from Hawaii and those from the mainland; recognizing one of his men fifty years later at a large gathering of Japanese American veterans; his gratitude for working with them. 00:31:17.4 - 00:33:49.3
About this Item
Title
- Milton Zaslow Collection
Names
- Zaslow, Milton
- Japanese-American Veterans Association (JAVA)
- Shima, Terry T.
Home State
- Maryland
Headings
- - Zaslow, Milton
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Military Intelligence
- Location of Service: Hawaii; Mariana Islands; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Japan; Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Dates of Service: 1943-1946
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 2004-11-17)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2004-11-17)
- Video: MiniDV [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-11-17)
- Video: VHS [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2004-11-17; 2006-03-03)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/27130
Cite as
- Milton Zaslow Collection (AFC/2001/001/27130), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- online text
- video
Additional Metadata Formats
Part of
Wars & Conflicts
Service Branch
Location of Service
Service Unit
Highest Rank
Discharge Status
Gender
Home State
Interviewee
Interviewer
Organization/Affiliation
Featured in
- Jewish Veterans of World War II  | Diverse Experiences in Service  | Serving: Our Voices  | Veterans History Project Collection  | Digital Collections
- Military Intel: In the Field  | Military Intel: The Inside Story  | Occupations and Specialties in Service  | Serving: Our Voices  | Veterans History Project Collection  | Digital Collections
- Jewish Veterans of World War II  | World War II (1941 to 1945)  | Serving: Our Voices  | Veterans History Project Collection  | Digital Collections