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Teruto "Terry" Tsubota (July 28, 1922 – May 22, 2013) was a second-generation Japanese-American (Nisei) and a former United States Marine. Born in Pahoa, Hawaii, Tsubota was credited with valiantly saving hundreds of civilian lives while serving as a Military Intelligence Service (MIS) combat translator with the 6th Marine Division during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, when he was attached to the 4th Marine Regiment.
After the war, Tsubota stayed in Okinawa Prefecture. In 1947, he married Kiyoko, a young local woman who had survived being conscripted by the Imperial Japanese Army as a nurse and whom he met in a refugee camp. Together, they raised three children. He retired from the U.S. government service in January 1993. Tsubota remained a hero to the Okinawans as the man who personally prevented many combat deaths and civilian suicides during the battle. He accompanied Okinawa's governor and other officials during Bill Clinton's visit to the prefecture in 2000, and was one of the honored guests at the 59th anniversary of the battle held in the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum in 2004.
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.
Teruto Tsubota died in Lihue, Hawaii.
References
- ^ Defiant soldier saved lives of hundreds of civilians during Okinawa battle, Stars and Stripes, April 1, 2005
- At 60th anniversary, Battle of Okinawa survivors recall 'Typhoon of Steel', Stars and Stripes, April 1, 2005
- WWII interpreter saved civilians: The Hilo-born soldier was honored for his efforts on Okinawa, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, September 26, 2004
- 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
- Obituaries for Sunday, June 2, 2013, The Garden Island