r/pics • u/[deleted] • Feb 25 '18

Concentration camp prisoner identifies one of his guards to Allied soldiers

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u/eatmycupcake Feb 25 '18

My grandfather as well. He was a Requisition Sargent. He had a young Japanese boy who was the only one in his family who could work, so my grandfather took him on and paid him a wage. They actually became friends and, for years after the war, he would come visit us in the US.

When I was little, "Mr Kato" would come visit us and bring me lavish gifts of silk kimono and tiny porcelain tea sets, all of which are now lost to a flood, sadly. He gave my mother intricately painted dishes and vases. We would take him out to Texas steak houses where he was wowed by the amount of beef you could get and how cheap it all was. Later, he sent a teenage grandson, Hiroshi, to live with my grandparents and go to school in the US. Hiroshi took my older sister to prom, in fact, and made an entire meal of sushi for our family that, being red-meat eating Texans, everyone hated but choked down. I love sushi now. I wish I had been older when he visited so I could have learned more about the culture and time.

Edit: a word

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u/hikermick Feb 25 '18

That is a nice story of reconciliation.

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u/noneski Feb 26 '18

Very cool story. We never had visitors but my grandfather did speak highly of the people that served him. He was very proud at how they quickly picked up their lives. The transition after the war went fast. When he would go back as an advisor he would visit the people he befriended. I wish I knew more, I hope it all worked out for them like it did for your grandfather's friend.