Mary Saito Tominaga and Kazuo Saito video interview (November 2, 2010), Japanese American National Museum

Transcript

[VISUALS: Video of Camp Amache (Grenada) in the snow, George Saito’s ID card, video of marching Japanese American soldiers, Western Union telegram announcing George Saito killed in action, photos of George in uniform, Mary Saito Tominaga and Kazuo Saito being interviewed, still photo of flag being presented at funeral. ]

Mary Saito Tominaga: George was a real American you know, he really believed in America and he felt that the right thing to do was to volunteer. They volunteered from camp. So I was in camp in Hamachi, Colorado when they left. They just went on the army truck and left, goodbye.
Kazuo Saito: Late in the war when the European theater was going on, Calvin and George are over there you know, in the fighting in the European theater. By volunteering and going I believed I think that was sufficient evidence as to, without talking about it you know, his actions speak louder than words I think.
Mary: But when George passed away, that was just a real shocker. I was in my 20s, 21, 22… just like that like the bottom fell out. I mean George was the family favorite. He… he…. he…. I’m sorry. Yeah.

This object is part of the story , which is about Loyalty.

Amache, Loyalty, Telegram to a Father

Watch this video of George Saito’s brother Kazuo and sister, Mary.

  • Based on what they say about him in this clip, why do you think George decided to join the army?
  • What can you gather about George from this clip? What type of person was he?
  • Where was the Saito family living when George left to join the army?
  • Did you notice the photograph of George and his brothers Calvin and Shozo? How are they all dressed in the photograph?