#goforbroke

With my OC, Theodore "Teddy" Watanabe, and a tribute to Teruo "Ted" Fujioka

I was fortunate to meet Goro Sumida a number of times on my visits to Hawaii. He definitely had a fighting spirit, Ohana (love of family), and as my friend would say, he was "Kolohe” or a rascal. He did not have a college education, but he did make it up in street smarts. He was already in the Army when Pearl Harbor got bombed. He said he could see the planes flying around. Later that evening, a Sergeant put a 45 pistol to his belly and told him, “Turn in your weapon.”Luckily for the Army and America, he got his rifle back. During combat they had to maneuver past mines and booby-traps in the rivers. Trip wires and “shoe mines” that were made of wood so it could not be detected. Another mine, affectionately called the “castrator,” had a 30-caliber shell that shot up and disabled you in an unfortunate area. Their solution was to place toilet paper over the mines so others knew where not to step. He used an army issued Thompson sub machine gun or “Tommy Gun” and he called it “junk” as it was not accurate. He would saw off the wooden stock so he could place it against his side and use it more like a pistol. He demonstrated this to me moving side to side so he could “shoot ‘ em” using small bursts at short range. He remembered a round from a German Panzer tank exploded near his buddy, completely burying his friend. He ran over, frantically digging him out with his hands. He was able to pull him out. While unconscious, his friend was still alive, and is still alive today. Leighton “Goro” Sumida 100th Battalion Separate (Original member), U.S. Army

The Pain Is Compulsory,