Togue Uchida was born in October 1917 in Stoughton, Wisconsin and lived there until he was 12 years old. He moved to Madison, Wisconsin after his father lost his job due to the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. His father found a job working for Burgess Battery Company. His mother took care of the owner's children. In 1936, the owner's family moved to Chicago, his family moved with them. Since Uchida already graduated from high school in 1934, he stayed in Madison to attend University of Wisconsin. He did not enroll into college right after he graduated from high school because he was afraid of being hazed by the older classes. He received a degree in Art and Music in 1941, right before Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Uchida's life changed dramatically. His family was considered an enemy because his father was of Japanese descent. He received a draft notice in 1942 and reported to Fort Sheridan, [Annotator's Note: in Lake Forest, Illinois] for a physical where he was denied into service due to a physical disability in his hand. Later, he was drafted again and accepted into the Army and was sent to basic training in Fort McClellan [Annotator's Note: in Anniston, Alabama] and trained with an all-white unit. In the meantime, he applied to an aerial reconnaissance program because he had experience in photography. After he completed basic training, he received orders for a secret mission. He boarded a truck and was dropped off at Fort Thomas [Annotator's Note: now Fort Thomas Military and Community Museum in Fort Thomas, Kentucky] where he joined other Japanese Americans soldiers. He was given the task of re-painting all the street signs around the town, and he helped with an officer's family. He really enjoyed his time at Fort Thomas. He often went to Cincinnati [Annotator's Note: Cincinnati, Ohio] and attend USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations, Inc.] shows. He also acted as an agent to a singer, named Harvey. He got him into shows and helped him with his overall presence to the audience. After about a year, Uchida received orders to report to Fort McClellan for more basic training, but this time, with all-Nisei [Annotator's Note: first generation Japanese American] regiment. He was assigned as the company artist. He drew a map and had everyone speculate where D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] would take place.

In 1944, Togue Uchida and 700 others were sent to Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy] where he joined the 100th Battalion [Annotator's Note: 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate)]. Uchida listened to radio reports when he first learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. His family was stunned by the news. They became close with their neighbors because their daughter was engaged with a man that lived in Hawaii. His family kept close with their religious groups and did not experience hostilities because of their ethnicity until after Uchida was sent overseas. His family's house was inspected, and their radio was taken away. When he was training at Fort McClellan Annotator's Note: in Anniston, Alabama] with an all-white regiment, he did not receive any bigotry towards him. He was allowed to go into the officer's club and enjoyed his time there. In July 1944, he left the United States on a liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] that took about 12 days to get across the ocean. He felt like he had a migraine [Annotator's Note: a type of intense headache] for most of the trip. He spent time on the deck reading as a distraction. Uchida ate his meals standing up because there was not a lot of room on the ship. He disembarked at Naples and was given liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] because the war was at a stalemate. In the fall of 1944, Uchida was assigned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team [Annotator's Note: Company K, 3rd Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team] and sent to Marseille [Annotator's Note: Marseille, France]. He and his unit travelled to the north of France where they had their baptism by fire in October 1944. Their mission was to rescue a lost battalion [Annotator's Note: 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division]. It was raining and snowing during the six and seven days of constant fighting. While they searched for the lost battalion, they liberated the small towns they encountered. Uchida's company and one other company reached the lost battalion first. His company only had 17 survivors after the attack.

Togue Uchida [Annotator's Note: with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team] spent Thanksgiving [Annotator's Note: 23 November 1944] and Christmas [Annotator's Note: 25 December 1944] near the Maginot Line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by France in the 1930s]. Uchida found and cut a holly tree and they used the silver from the cigarette packages as tinsel. He made Christmas cards out of paper he could find. After standing guard for a long period of time, he developed trench foot [Annotator's Note: immersion foot syndrome]. He was sent to a French hospital and stayed there for two weeks as the nurses bathed his feet with warm water twice a day. He then went to Cannes, France and traded his cigarettes for perfume to send home to his mother and aunts. He met two older ladies that owned a design shop and fed him and a friend a "beautiful feast." Uchida's unit received new orders and was sent to Leghorn, Italy. His unit's mission was to move up the boot of Italy, clearing out any Germans. Uchida captured dozens of prisoners and took them back to Headquarters. During his time in Italy, Uchida took part in the charge at Banzai Hill [Annotator's Note: nickname for a battle by the unit at the Volturno River in Italy; the soldiers yelled "banzai," the term for Japanese human wave attacks called Banzai charges]. A German grenade nearly hit him but got his canteen instead. When war ended, Uchida was in Genoa, Italy overseeing POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war]. After the war, Uchida took a trip to Switzerland. The Red Cross gave him a camera and film. He photographed a lot of battle scenes postwar, including at award ceremonies. His unit received a Presidential Unit Citation [Annotator's Note: PUC, originally called Distinguished Unit Citation, awarded to military units for extraordinary heroism, on or after 7 December 1941]. Most of his unit was sent back to the United States, but he remained in Italy to oversee the prisoners. He left the Europe and arrived in the United States in December 1945. He was discharged in the same month.

Togue Uchida found a job at a photography studio after he returned home from Europe. His first job was to photograph seniors at the University of Wisconsin [Annotator's Note: The University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin]. Then he helped with a second studio where he met a lady who open the door for him and becoming acquainted with well-known photographers at a convention Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois]. He was offered a job by one of the photographers in Nashville [Annotator's Note: Nashville, Tennessee] and after Uchida married his wife, they moved there in 1947. They remained in Nashville ever since [Annotator's Note: Interviewer pause interview. Video goes black at 0:54:34.000-0:55:11.000].

Togue Uchida [Annotator's Note: with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team] had a mission to rescue a lost battalion [Annotator's Note: 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division]. Uchida had no idea what was going on at any given point. He just followed orders to "move up" from his commanding officer. The weather conditions were cold and snowy. He was given duty to stand guard and eventually developed trench foot [Annotator's Note: immersion foot syndrome]. Today, he still suffers from the effects of it. A signal man Uchida knew from his time in combat eventually became the first White House photographer for President Johnson [Annotator's Note: Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969]. While in combat, Uchida was often given orders to climb a tree and wait until he was told to shoot. He was often given orders to capture prisoners and bring them to headquarters. After Uchida's regiment freed the lost battalion, they ran off, so Uchida never saw any of the solders. The commanding officer wanted to recognize Uchida's regiment for their bravery, and when the regiment showed up only 17 had survived. Uchida received veteran benefits for some of his health problems due to his time in World War 2. Uchida received the Congressional Gold Medal [Annotator's Note: highest award bestowed by United States Congress] for his service with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He was also published in a several World War 2 publications. [Annotator's Note: Video goes black at 1:15:31.000-end].