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Teruto "Terry" Tsubota (born in Pahoa, Hawaii, on July 28, 1922) is a second-generation Japanese-American, or Nisei, who was credited with saving hundreds of Japanese lives while serving as a Military Intelligence Service (MIS) combat translator with the 6th Marine Division during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.
Attached to the 4th Marine Regiment, Tsubota didn't fire a single shot during the battle but managed to rescue many people hiding in the caves, even disobeying orders. Tsubota stayed in Okinawa Prefecture after the war. In 1947 he married Kiyoko, the young local woman who had been conscripted as a nurse and survived the battle carnage and whom he met in a refugee camp; together, they raised three children. He has retired from the U.S. government service in January 1993.
Today, "Terry" remains a hero to the Okinawans as the man who personally prevented many of civilian suicides. In 2000 he accompanied Okinawa's governor and other officials during Bill Clinton's visit to the prefecture, and in 2004 he was one of the honored guests at the 59th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa held in the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum.
In 2007 the story of Tsubota and his fellow Japanese-American translators was told by James C. McNaughton in “Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service During World War II”.
References
- , Stars and Stripes, April 1, 2005
- Defiant soldier saved lives of hundreds of civilians during Okinawa battle, Stars and Stripes, April 1, 2005
- Thousands honor 59th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa, Stars and Stripes, June 25, 2004
- Book lauds unheralded Nisei translators, Stars and Stripes, June 23, 2007
External links
- WWII interpreter saved civilians: The Hilo-born soldier was honored for his efforts on Okinawa, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, September 26, 2004
- Living by His Father's Words, Marine Corps Bases Japan Home Page, July 18, 2008
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- 1922 births
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- American military personnel of World War II
- American military personnel of Japanese descent
- Japanese people of American descent
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