The men in Toddy’s OSS (Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA) unit were sent to Louisiana for rifle training.
In Virginia, they learned how to print propaganda. Then they were shipped to Calcutta, India, where they printed and spread propaganda against the Japanese Army in Asia. After seven months of service, he returned to the US and worked in the field of plastic fabrication in Washington, DC, near his sister.
It’s hard for me to imagine what it must have been like for a 19-year-old to go from suspected enemy in a detention camp to busboy to butcher to OSS agent in India. He always said to me, “The war was all about hypocrisies and ironic times.” I am grateful for his stories. He really took the time to raise me to have an open mind, and to learn “street smarts” along the way.
I miss my dad a lot, but I can still hear his voice: “Sit on top of the fence for a minute,” he always said, “until you’ve understood both sides.”
About the contributor: Tracy Takayanagi Hui was born and raised in Berkeley, CA in the early ‘60s. An Asian Studies program in the 4th grade made her realize she was third-generation Japanese American. She continued her Asian Studies at San Francisco State University and volunteered at Friends of Topaz events because her grandparents and parents were interned in Topaz. She worked in retail until retirement and currently lives in San Francisco.
Copyright 2019, Tracy Takayanagi Hui. All rights reserved.