“Our very first mission was the worst one. We flew Nippon Nemesis, which was the first plane. After we completed our mission, our plane was badly damaged. There were 72 holes in the plane and the bomb bay doors wouldn't close. Our pilots said that…

“When we weren't flying, well, we'd still go up in the air. Actually, in between missions, we would take off and cruise around the islands, mostly for bombardier training. Between Tinian and Guam is an island called Rota, where we'd head for our…

“Prior to that, I figured it was just an excursion. You know, a piece of cake, more or less. But Kwajalein was scorching hot and smelled awful. We spent quite a while there, and I kept thinking, what kind of cards am I being dealt? We still didn't…

"After we finished this long flight of 3,000 miles, we were sent to Topeka, Kansas. Topeka had an airfield, and it served as a staging area. There, we were equipped with all of our overseas gear. We still didn't know our final destination. They…

“It was our final training preparation in Pyote, Texas. We were to take a long flight across the States. What we did was board the plane around mid-afternoon. It would be a 3,000-mile flight, equivalent to the flight to Japan. And we still didn't…

“We were completely in the dark. We had no idea how we progressed from step to step. The first time I saw a B-29 was in Pyote, Texas. I had no idea where B-29s were stationed, but of course, it's a bomber, and apparently, it was being used somewhere…

“My knowledge of Morse code was basic – just dots and dashes. I didn't know what specific combinations meant and the only distress signal I recognized, was SOS: three dots, three dashes, three dots. That is the only thing I knew. But as far as all…

"Yes, rationing started early. People who owned cars would get a ration stamp for five gallons of gas per week. Of course, there was a black market too, with counterfeit stamps just like today. But for the most part, there was quite a bit of…

“Their mother died and so, when these children (Monica and Tonneke) were left motherless then someone fostered them, and they were sort of offered to my mother and my grandmother…So my grandmother said ‘well sure we’ll take them’ because that means…

“I had different duties as (a) ‘healthy’ prisoner. I had the kindergarten in the morning while the mothers were working in the fields. If the children were tired from sitting, we would make a walk, looking for pretty stones, count the leaves on the…