Daniel Watanabe During World War II
The following text on Daniel Watanabe’s experience of World War Two was written using information from a 1995 Houston Chronicle Article Excerpt.
Many Japanese-Americans were children during WW2, and although seen through more innocent eyes, many still clearly remember the turmoil experienced bytheir family. Daniel Watanabe, 65, is one of these children who remembers. Now a biotechnology consultant in Houston, he was born in the US but soon moved back to Japan as a young child. He first experienced the war as a naïve 12-year-old and spent much of his teenage years hiding underground in his family’s small bomb shelter. Much of Watanabe’s everyday life such as finishing his homework was done under the protection of a concrete roof below ground. He recalled that initially, “Being that young at the time, and not knowing the facts, it was sort of an exciting time as I remember, ". Yet, as time passed, reality began to set in as his family’s struggles became evident. Living in Tokyo suburbs during the wartime meant that finding ample food was challenging due to food shortages. Watanabe clearly remembers having to travel with his family to the countryside in order find wild grass that could thicken their everyday soups.
On top of food shortages, daily frights of flames painting Tokyo’s Horizon meant life became much more frightening. However, only until later when Watanabe joined the US army as a translator, was he able to begin to piece his memories of the wars together. "It wiped out a lot of time when a young kid had time to play, go places and do things," he said. Looking back, Watanabe said the war was the hardest experience he has endured in his life.
References
1. Stefanie Asin, " V-J/PEACE, PROSPERITY AND PAIN/STIRRING MEMORIES/Relocation to internment camp was a nightmare for Japanese-American couple," Houston Chronicle (1995)
2. (IMAGE) Lendon, B., & Jozuka, E. (2020, March 8). History’s deadliest air raid happened in Tokyo during World War II and you’ve probably never heard of it. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/07/asia/japan-tokyo-fire-raids-operation-meetinghouse-intl-hnk/index.html