Murata, Kenny: my armed forces recollections (May 22, 2008)

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Interviewee: Murata, Kenny, b. 1936

Interviewer: Pratt, Will

An interview/narrative of Kenny Murata's experiences during World War II. Interview took place on May 22, 2008.

Rank: Lieutenant-Colonel.

ABSTRACT: Lieutenant-Colonel Kenny Murata Murata_K_0593_01.mp3 0:35 Grandparents from Japan 1:00 Father left prior to interment 1:20 Lived on 4th Ave. Ran boarding house, grocery store 1:40 Mother also had seamstress. 2:00 From Yamaguchi Ken 2:25 Attended Japanese Canadian language school after primary school. 2:55 Mixed public school in Vancouver. 3:40 Family well provided for. 4:25 Sudden change with Pearl Harbour. 4:45 Interned in Tashme 5:30 Making own fun in Tashme. 6:10 Half-brothers had to go to road camps. 6:45 10 avenues of tarpaper shacks. Big families got their own shacks 7:05 Ice on inside of walls. 7:50 Winter sports within the camp boundary. Sledding. 8:10 Fishing. 8:30 RCMP posted in entrance. 9:30 Road gangs formed baseball teams. 11:05 Mother a Buddhist that later became Anglican. 11:45 Options given: To Japan or move west 12:10 Mother chose to go to Winnipeg. 13:40 In lifetime only a few racist incidences in Canadian. 14:50 Joined cadets in Winnipeg. Motivation: following his brothers lead. 15:45 Went to RMC Kingston. Failed first year. 16:45 At review of cadet parade officer says he should go to military college. 17:30 Had fun at high school, didn't study, enjoyed sports: basketball, rifle team. 19:15 Camp Dundurn with Cadets. 21:15 Had to go to University of Toronto for a year to get Bachelor of Applied Science 22:10 Basic training part of daily training at RMC. 23:25 Kingston 1956-61 24:20 Joined PPCLI before leaving Kingston. 25:20 Met his wife in Esquimalt: 1PPCLI. 25:50 No problems taking command. Not much turn-over. 26:30 Allegiance: Platoon, company, Unit. 26:45 ¾ tonne trucks used as armoured personnel carriers 27:30 Exercises in Wainright. 28:20 Transport officer by this time. 29:25 Gasoline shortage, vehicles strewn across road. 30:45 Knew rotation for NATO in Germany, forewarned. 31:50 Limited specific training for Germany. 32:30 Noisy trip in Yukon. 32:50 Secured accommodations, then wife came over. 33:48 Fort Macleod, Lahr Germany. 34:15 Jewish owner of home. Watched winter Olympics on TV. 35:30 Thoughts on the German people, their curiosity of Orientals. 36:10 Germans tired of foreign troops on their soil. Uncooperative. 37:55 2IC of rifle company in Germany. D coy. 39:30 Vacations from Germany. 40:05 Money went far. 41:05 George Brown CO of PPCLI, relations with the Brown family. 42:00 Contact with Brits and Belgians only in competitions. 43:55 Aboriginal Corporal wins the boxing championship. 44:20 First to use the M113 armoured personnel carriers 45:35 Night infiltration on exercise. 47:10 Problems adjusting from wheels to tracks. 47:55 Anti-tank weapons in rifle company. 106mm. 48:45 Problems with old radio system. Voice procedure was good. 50:00 Dances and celebrations within the camps. 50:50 Good chef, good food. 53:45 1973 Military Vehicle Technology Masters degree, all armoured vehicles. 56:35 Gained ability to judge armour for procurement. 57:20 Proving grounds in Ottawa. 58:05 All terrain available on grounds. 58:50 1967-8 Staff officers course in England. 59:55 Light Truck tested and passed, but Volvo not chosen due to political decisions. 1:00:40 Frustrations with politics in procurement. 1:01:30 Foreign Affairs and International Trade arena. Karl Schreiber. 1:07:45 No Regrets in military. 1:08:15 1979 Peacekeeping in Egypt, closed out the contingent, rewarding. 1:09:45 CO of Service Battalion, multinational contingents supported. Logistics duties shared with Poles. 1:10:50 Still tension with the communists. 1:12:15 Opinions of Unification. Efficient in some ways, but regimental identification lost.

In Collection:
Contributor Subject Language Keyword Date created Relation
  • Part of the Will Pratt collection of interviews.
Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 sound recording (MP3)
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 60.10867, -113.64258
  • 51.5, 10.5
Additional physical characteristics
  • Original sound recording (WAV) also available.
Physical repository Collection
  • Canadian Military Oral History Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • MK_593
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • September 24, 2009
Technical note
  • Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 24 kHz. Digitized by JF, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2009. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
Rights
  • This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
DOI

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