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James Mitsuo Furukawa at the Shuri Museum, Naha, Okinawa, Ryukyu Island [1946]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Division Headquarters, Language Detachment, 441st Intelligence Corps
  • Location of Service: Hawaii; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Baltimore, Maryland; Korea; Japan
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/8091

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"The smell of death … is something that stays with you for a lifetime." (Video Interview,

Even though he was a civilian, James Mitsuo Furukawa had an eyewitness view of the war's mayhem from the beginning. The Hawaiian-born son of Japanese parents, he was 16 years old and working in construction at the time of the attack. Seeing planes flying overhead on December 7th, he assumed, like many, that the military was conducting routine drills or maneuvers. After the smoke had cleared, he worked with construction crews to restore damaged buildings. Drafted into the Army in 1944, he served mainly as an interpreter, but was no stranger to bloodshed. During the invasion of Okinawa, he helped to set up a MASH hospital; he received a Bronze Star for his heroic efforts in rescuing patients after the hospital was bombed.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Interview / Recording

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About this Item

Title

  • James Mitsuo Furukawa Collection

Names

  • Shima, Terry T.
  • Japanese-American Veterans Association (JAVA)
  • Furukawa, James Mitsuo

Home State

  • Maryland

Headings

  • -  Furukawa, James Mitsuo
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Asian

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Division Headquarters, Language Detachment, 441st Intelligence Corps
    • Location of Service: Hawaii; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Baltimore, Maryland; Korea; Japan
    • Highest Rank: Major
    • Dates of Service: 1944-1966
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)
  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2003-07-10)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [16 items] -- (collected 1946-1998)
  • Video: MiniDV [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-07-10)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/8091

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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:

Shima, Terry T, Japanese-American Veterans Association, and James Mitsuo Furukawa. James Mitsuo Furukawa Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.08091/.

APA citation style:

Shima, T. T., Japanese-American Veterans Association & Furukawa, J. M. (1944) James Mitsuo Furukawa Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.08091/.

MLA citation style:

Shima, Terry T, Japanese-American Veterans Association, and James Mitsuo Furukawa. James Mitsuo Furukawa Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.08091/>.