Thomas Kiyoshi Tsubota was born in January 1915 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He had two brothers and one sister. His father was a cook and his mother was a housewife who washed clothes for pay. Tsubota delivered the clothes and also worked in the Dole pineapple cannery. He made sure the machines ran properly. He used the money for his summer trips to Japan. He graduated from high school in 1934 and took his first trip to Japan the next year. Tsubota lost his father when he was only 11 years of age. Tsubota's parents were from Hiroshima [Annotator's Note: Hiroshima, Japan]. He was the sprinting bicycle champion of Hawaii but could not find the necessary sponsorship to attend the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles [Annotator's Note: Los Angeles, California]. It was during the Great Depression and no one had funds to help him try out for the Olympics. While he attended college in Japan, he was told not to stay there by his mother. He returned to Honolulu even though he could have managed a large business if he stayed. He had dual citizenship and returned to Honolulu. A friend stayed in Japan and ended up fighting the Chinese in Manchuria [Annotator's Note: overlapping historical and geographic regions of Russian and China in Northeast Asia] with the Japanese Army. Tsubota returned to the United States without knowing if he successfully graduated from college. He briefly trained with the Japanese Army on Mount Fuji [Annotator's Note: Mount Fuji, Honshu, Japan] and was concerned that he would meet one of those officers in Burma [Annotator's Note: Tsubota later served in Burma, present day Myanmar, with the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)]. He worried they would kill him. He did not meet any of the officers he trained under. All the other graduates from his college became officers in the Japanese Army. Tsubota thus had extensive experience both in the United States and in Japan. In middle school and high school, he trained in judo [Annotator's Note: Japanese martial art]. He was never bullied in school as a result. After college, he entered the banking profession in Hawaii. He was interviewed for the draft in June of the year before the war started on 7 December [Annotator's Note: with the the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941].

Thomas Kiyoshi Tsubota trained at Schofield Barracks [Annotator's Note: in Honolulu, Hawaii] as a member of the 298th Infantry Regiment in Company G [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 298th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division]. Schofield was next to Bellows Airfield [Annotator's Note: Bellows Field, now Bellows Air Force Station in Waimanalo, Hawaii] where the Army Air Forces had a base with P-40 fighter planes [Annotator's Note: Curtis P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft]. Because of his prior military training while he studied in Japan, Tsubota rose in the ranks quickly. He was promoted to sergeant. On the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], he saw Japanese aircraft strafe his location. None of the P-40s rose to meet them. He witnessed the capture of one of the enemy midget submariners [Annotator’s Note: Type A Ko-hyoteki midget submarine]. The captured man was interrogated. Later, while on guard duty, the second of the submariners was discovered drowned. Tsubota's blanket was used to cover the dead man. Tsubota saw the Japanese submarine while in the United States. After the attack, the troops prepared themselves in their rifle and machine gun pits for a potential Japanese invasion. That never happened. After seven months, the 298th was shipped to Camp McCoy [Annotator's Note: now Fort McCoy, Monroe County, Wisconsin] in Wisconsin. It was cold there. Tsubota interviewed as a linguist. He went to Camp Savage in Minnesota [Annotator's Note: Camp Savage in Savage, Minnesota] to aid in training Japanese-Americans. He was the sergeant in charge of his barracks. It was manned by second generation boys mostly from the internment camps [Annotator's Note: Japanese internment camps were established inland from the United States West Coast following the attack on Pearl Harbor]. Tsubota's military background and language skills helped them through their training. After graduation, he received a "best soldier" rating. Tsubota would later graduate from Washington University [Annotator's Note: unable to identify which Washington University] in economics. Tsubota had relatives who lost everything because of their internment. He fought to prove his loyalty to America. After Minnesota, he escorted his trainees to Mississippi. He learned there that he was selected for a dangerous mission with only a 50 percent chance of survival. He agreed to go if he received a 30 day furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] in Hawaii after returning alive. That was followed by a period of waiting.

Thomas Kiyoshi Tsubota and other Japanese-American linguists were divided into teams. They were members of Merrill's Marauders, 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional). Many of the men in his battalion had previous experience with the Japanese at Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal Campaign, 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943, Solomon Islands]. Tsubota had no teammate to work with. Promotions for him were restricted by a bias against his ancestry. White troops advanced quicker than him. The Marauders trained in India next to a river. Passage to India had been through New Zealand and Australia to avoid Japanese submarines. Many were seasick on the ship but not Tsubota. He was used to traveling by ship to visit Japan. In India, the training was in the jungle where the men were taught to live off the land. Tsubota did not like the bland taste of the fish he caught so he never ate the fish in India. The training also entailed river crossings. He had a friend who was a good singer. When they went hunting, Tsubota could not bring himself to shoot a deer with her fawns. Tsubota carried a heavy M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand] not the light carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine] carried by officers. His first combat was at Walawbum [Annotator's Note: Walawbum, Burma; now Walawbum, Myanmar; 4 March 1944]. He spotted a patrol of ten Japanese approaching. His orders were not to fire because some of the Marauders were in the proximity ahead of him. When the Americans did open fire, all the Japanese were killed. The bodies were removed from the trail. One of the dead men had a family photograph album. When Tsubota showed it to his colonel, the officer cried. One soldier who was a Guadalcanal veteran collected gold teeth from the dead Japanese. The Marauders were taught to closely follow their comrades in the jungle. They even put phosphorus on their backs to better spot a friend ahead of them. Some of Tsubota's friends died in the combat. They encircled the enemy instead of digging in. Roy Matsumoto [Annotator's Note: Army Master Sergeant Roy Hiroshi "Ranger Roy" Matsumoto; Matsumoto's oral history interview is also available on this Digital Collections website] climbed a tree and provided information to his unit. Tsubota was with the communication group at Walawbum. It was the Marauder's first large battle. The focus was on fighting.

Thomas Kiyoshi Tsubota [Annotator's Note: with Merrill's Marauders, the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)] walked many miles to the initial destination because General Stilwell [Annotator's Note: US Army General Joseph W. Stilwell, Sr.; commander of American forces in the China-Burma-India Theater] had been forced to march out of Burma by the Japanese. Stilwell did not believe in trucks taking the troops on the Ledo Road [Annotator's Note: an overland supply route to China from India] to their objective. The Marauders ended up marching 700 miles during their time in India and Burma. When offered the opportunity to ride a horse, Tsubota could not do so because he lacked the horsemanship skills to do so comfortably. He found hanging on to a mule's tail was a better means of travel. Piper Cubs [Annotator's Note: Piper J-3 Cub light observation aircraft] would fly in and out of small landing fields. When some prostitutes with the Japanese Army were interrogated, the major question was the prevalence of venereal disease among the enemy troops. It apparently was not a problem except the best looking of the women did in fact have the disease. While at the hospital, Tsubota aided the nurses by carrying medicine. His appearance disturbed some of the men in the ward until they were told that Tsubota was a Merrill Marauder veteran. Until then, Tsubota thought they might shoot him. He was in the hospital for a few weeks. He even helped with changing bandages until news came of General Stilwell recalling all walking [Annotator's Note: walking wounded or wounded men who could still get around under their own power] Marauders. When he returned to Myitkyina [Annotator's Note: Myitkyina, Burma; now Myitkyina, Myanmar], Tsubota had a foxhole next to Stilwell, his son [Annotator's Note: [Annotator's Note: then US Army Colonel, later Brigadier General, Joseph W. Stilwell, Jr.], and an aide. A Japanese soldier surrendered because he had not eaten in days. When fed, he could not digest the food and had to be treated. Tsubota missed the action at Nhpum Ga [Annotator's Note: Nhpum Ga, Burma; now Nhpum Ga, Myanmar; April 1944] that the 5307th fought. The Japanese were strongly in force at Myitkyina. They were hard to drive out. The shelling was vicious. A Chinese soldier was disintegrated by an incoming round even though his foxhole was extremely deep. Stilwell eventually led the capture of the airfield at Myitkyina. It was the one time that Tsubota saw "Vinegar Joe" [Annotator's Note: nickname for General Stilwell] smile broadly. Stilwell was the only Allied leader allowed to command Chinese troops by Chaing Kai-shek [Annotator's Note: Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was the leader of the Republic of China between 1928 and 1975].

Thomas Kiyoshi Tsubota was given credit for his service [Annotator's Note: with Merrill's Marauders, the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)] by a board of review and allowed to return home. He had 11 malaria [Annotator's Note: mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite] attacks while with the Marauders. After leaving Burma [Annotator's Note: now Myanmar], he traveled to Cairo, Egypt where he had freedom of movement. He and a friend met some women who questioned why he was not in an internment camp. He explained that he was with Merrill's Marauders. [Annotator's Note: A brief conversation between Tsubota and the interviewer ensues on communication difficulties they had previously experienced.] Tsubota went next to Iran, North Africa, and then to Naples, Italy. He shipped out of Naples bound for the United States and Boston [Annotator's Note: Boston, Massachusetts]. He then traveled by train to California. When delays in transit to Hawaii occurred, he took a 30 day furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] to see a relocation camp at Butte, Arizona [Annotator's Note: Butte Camp, Gila River War Relocation Center, Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona]. He visited relatives. He spoke of the action in Burma. When he was given a gasoline coupon, he gave it to a friend who was delighted. He departed San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] about the time the war with Japan ended. When he reached Hawaii, he immediately took his discharge. Readjustment to civilian life was difficult. He obtained a federal job with the quartermaster in the Army Disposal Office. He also worked in the Navy Bank. He became a real estate investor. He also performed rental repairs and painting on the side which he continues to do. He pitches in to help his children have a better livelihood. Tsubota and the other Japanese Americans translators with the Marauders are honored as a group in the Ranger Hall of Fame. Roy Matsumoto [Annotator's Note: Army Master Sergeant Roy Hiroshi "Ranger Roy" Matsumoto; Matsumoto's oral history interview is also available on this Digital Collections website] was individually inducted into the Hall of Fame. For Tsubota, he went into the service to perform his duty. Currently, he tries to help the renters who have difficulty making their payments.

[Annotator's Note: Thomas Kiyoshi Tsubota and the interviewer review a photograph album that he had kept during and after the war.] Commentary on photographs ensues.