When Tamamoto was introduced to Jan’s father, he couldn’t believe his eyes. I didn’t know he had a girlfriend till then." He wanted me to meet his girlfriend Jan’s parents. "There in the gym before the ceremony started, Owen, my second son, approached me. "About 30 years or so later, my first son, Warren, graduated from UH-Manoa medical school, so my wife and I flew over from Hilo to attend his graduation ceremony," Tamamoto said. He worked at the sugar mill at Ookala, got married and raised a family. Once on the top deck he thanked me gratefully and that was the last I saw of him."Īfter serving in the Army, Tamamoto came home to Hawaii. "I slung my duffel back on to my shoulder, grabbed hold of his bag and struggled up to the top deck. He was just too weak after a week of seasickness. When the ship got into port at California, Tamamoto realized that his friend would never be able to climb out of the ship’s hold three decks below, lugging his big duffel bag. Many times I shared my meals with him," Tamamoto recalled. "There on, I always brought him apples, oranges, biscuits, bread and whatever I could get hold of. He offered to help him up to the top deck for some fresh air, but the man was so sick he couldn’t bear to move. "A day out of Honolulu Harbor, I noticed that the guy above my bunk never got out of his bunk, always lying down," Tamamoto said. There, the soldiers boarded a troop transport and set sail for San Francisco, where they would disperse to various Army bases for more training. He spent two weeks at the Helemano Army camp near Wahiawa before being transported by pineapple train car to Honolulu Harbor. Harayuki Tamamoto, who grew up north of Hilo, was 21 years old and recently inducted into the Army. It was September 1944, in the last year of the Second World War.
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