Albert Yamamoto was born and raised in Seattle until he was 13 years old. In 1940, his father took the family to Japan for a visit, and then announced that Albert and his sister would be remaining to go to school there while living with his grandparents in their small seaside village. When war broke out, Albert was forced to remain there. Out fishing one day, Al encountered a periscope peering at him in his dinghy, and later learned that the top secret training base for midget submarines was located a stone's throw from his grandparents' home. Albert's father chose a quasi-military school for him that required reinstatement of his Japanese citizenship. Albert's dual-Japanese citizenship was coincidentally approved by General Tojo (soon to be Prime Minister) on Pearl Harbor Day. During his school days, Al narrowly missed the "opportunity" to become a kamikaze pilot but was allowed to remain a student. With fluency in English and Japanese he served many times as an interpreter for both sides in the war. Unable to return to the US until 1947, Yamamoto was drafted and served with distinction as a linguist in the U.S. Military Intelligence Service. Now 88, Mr. Yamamoto's reflections offered a rare peek into history from a first hand perspective. Thank you to Host Steve Hance (two weeks in a row!) for bringing us this interesting speaker.
