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John Junji Katsu [detail from video interview]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: United States Zone Constabulary; Military Government Office
  • Location of Service: Germany; Fort Bragg, North Carolina
  • Highest Rank: Technician Third Grade
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/89308

View full service history

"It was just like being thrown into a prison, with no recourse." (Video interview, 18:11)

The youngest of seven children born to Japanese immigrants, John Junji Katsu was 14 years old and living in San Francisco, California, on December 7, 1941. In February 1942, his family-along with all others of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast-was ordered to report for internment. Held first in horse stalls at Tanforan Racetrack and then at the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah, he observed the tremendous resiliency and perseverance of his family and the entire Japanese-American community as they were stripped of their rights as citizens. Leaving the camp to attend high school, he was drafted in 1945, and served in Germany during the immediate post-war occupation era, where he wound up teaching classes in the principles of democracy to German youth.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • John Junji Katsu Collection

Names

  • Frederick County Veterans History Project
  • Katsu, John Junji
  • Pritchard, William S.
  • Sears, Sylvia L.

Home State

  • Maryland

Headings

  • -  Katsu, John Junji
  • -  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

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: United States Zone Constabulary; Military Government Office
    • Location of Service: Germany; Fort Bragg, North Carolina
    • Highest Rank: Technician Third Grade
    • Dates of Service: 1945-1947
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was interned at the Tanforan Racetrack Japanese American Internment Camp in San Bruno, California, and Topaz Japanese American Internment Camp, Delta, Utah, before joining the service.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2013-01-25; 2013)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2013-01-25; 2015-05-20)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/89308

Cite as

  • John Junji Katsu Collection (AFC/2001/001/89308), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Frederick County Veterans History Project, John Junji Katsu, William S Pritchard, and Sylvia L Sears. John Junji Katsu Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.89308/.

APA citation style:

Frederick County Veterans History Project, Katsu, J. J., Pritchard, W. S. & Sears, S. L. (1945) John Junji Katsu Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.89308/.

MLA citation style:

Frederick County Veterans History Project, et al. John Junji Katsu Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.89308/>.