James Shigeo Shimabuku
Bio
James Shimabuku was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on June 8, 1928. He graduated high school in 1946 and worked for a while at Hickam Air Field. He enlisted in the Army in 1949 after convincing his parole officer to let him enlist despite having a police record. He was transferred to Japan as a driver for military officials and was then sent to Korea once the war started. He arrived in Pusan and described encountering waves of Chinese forces and having to learn to sleep despite gunfire all around. He offered insight as an Asian-American fighting against other Asian cultures. He revisited Korea later in life and was pleased with the progress he saw. His wife, Dorothy Shimabuku, shared how her husband’s war experiences had negatively affected his quality of life and his interactions with his family. He eventually settled in Nevada to receive treatments for his mental and physical health through various veterans programs.
Video Clips
Waves of Chinese Forces
James Shimabuku recalls the situation in Pusan upon his arrival and recounts making his way up to Suwon. He describes encountering waves of Chinese. He shares that when the Chinese soldiers in the front died, the Chinese soldiers behind them would pick up their weapons and continue pushing forward.
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Asians Fighting Asians
James Shimabuku describes how he felt about being an Asian-American fighting against other Asian cultures, such as North Koreans and Chinese. He adds that the differing cultures in Hawaii saw themselves as island people rather than a particular Asian ethnicity. He recalls the different names they used for differing groups of Asians.
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/james-shigeo-shimabuku#clip-2
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Sleep Deprivation and Thoughts on Fear
James Shimabuku recounts the difficulties of trying to sleep with shrapnel falling around the troops. He offers an account of a fellow soldier moving dead bodies and shooting an enemy soldier who was still alive amid the bodies. He shares his philosophy on fear and states that one either lives or dies.
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/james-shigeo-shimabuku#clip-3
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Effects of War
James Shimabuku's wife, Dorothy Shimabuku, shares how experiencing war had a negative impact on her husband. She describes him as being very commanding while raising their family and details his bouts with nightmares. She details moving with him to Nevada to help him seek medical and mental care at a newly-built veterans hospital.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oduw6UA4Vg8&start=627&end=783
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/james-shigeo-shimabuku#clip-4
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