Top of page

Wallace Amioka [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Cold War; World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 168th Language Detachment, 27th Infantry Regiment
  • Location of Service: Camp Savage, Minnesota; Japan
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/18089

View full service history

Wallace Amioka, born in Hawaii to Japanese parents, went to work for Shell Oil in 1931, right out of high school. From his home on December 7, 1941 he could see the smoke rising from nearby Pearl Harbor. For the next several days, rather than reporting to his job, he worked as a Civil Defense volunteer, helping those wounded in the attack. He joined the U.S. Army in January 1944 and was shipped off to snowy Minnesota for intelligence training. Amioka arrived in the Pacific Theater as the campaign to take Okinawa was winding down. He stayed on during the first years of the occupation of Japan, using his skills to bridge the language gap.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Wallace Shuzo Amioka Collection

Names

  • Military Intelligence Service (MIS) Veterans Club of Hawaii
  • Amioka, Wallace Shuzo
  • Tanabe, James

State of Birth

  • HI

Home State

  • HI

Headings

  • -  Amioka, Wallace Shuzo
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Cold War -- 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
    • Unit of Service: 168th Language Detachment, 27th Infantry Regiment
    • Location of Service: Camp Savage, Minnesota; Japan
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1945-1948
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Cold War

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Dates of Service: 1950-1952
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 09/19/2002)
  • Video: Hi-8/Digital 8 [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 09/19/2002)
  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 09/19/2002)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/18089

Cite as

  • Wallace Shuzo Amioka Collection (AFC/2001/001/18089), 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:

Military Intelligence Service Veterans Club Of Hawaii, Wallace Shuzo Amioka, and James Tanabe. Wallace Shuzo Amioka Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.18089/.

APA citation style:

Military Intelligence Service Veterans Club Of Hawaii, Amioka, W. S. & Tanabe, J. (1945) Wallace Shuzo Amioka Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.18089/.

MLA citation style:

Military Intelligence Service Veterans Club Of Hawaii, Wallace Shuzo Amioka, and James Tanabe. Wallace Shuzo Amioka Collection. 1945. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.18089/>.