The Two Worlds of Jim Yoshida

by Jim Yoshida

5-2

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I raced through this book due to the fascinating subject and easily-read narrative. Jim Yoshida was an American citizen of Japanese heritage who was trapped in Japan during a family visit as US-Japan relations dissolved during WWII. He was then drafted into the Japanese army. I was most interested to read a first-hand experience in the Japanese army since such stories are rare. While Jim and his unit endured outrageous brutality from their officers (common), demanding marching orders, and malaria and one day were forced to commit atrocities while in China, Jim did not experience much combat at all and no starvation in any SE Asia jungles. He did survive a long-term near-death illness and then worked as an interpreter on a Japanese hospital ship. Equally interesting was his experience in the Korean War where he was an unpaid volunteer with the US army while he was in limbo trying to figure out how to be allowed to go back to the US to live as a citizen. This is quite an interesting story and told with openness and honesty. Definitely a story to save for history.