A best-selling book could be written about Turnbow-Higgs Post 240 member Mike Masuda. His life is one that has included many unusual events.
Mike was the sixth of eight children, five boys and three girls. All were born in the United States. He and two brothers, Nori and Jimi, served in the U. S. Army during World War II. Jimi received a Purple Heart for wounds he received in the Italian Campaign. A fourth brother, George, served in the U. S. Army during the Korean conflict.
This is where Mike's life becomes unusual. A fifth brother, Kazuto, served in the Japanese Army during World War II. It is believed Kazuto was lost at sea in about 1943. He was aboard a Japanese ship, which was transporting Japanese troops from Japan to China. The ship was apparently torpedoed by an American submarine. In about 1914, when Kazuto was two years old, an uncle took Kazuto to live with him in Japan. Kazuto never returned to the United States.
Shortly after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Mike, his parents and other siblings were placed in detention, at a fair grounds, near their home in Fresno, CA. It was designated an Assembly Area. All of his parent's property was seized. Their bank accounts were frozen. Their guns, knives, ammunition and a shortwave radio were confiscated from the Masuda family. In early 1942, the family was transferred to a camp at Jerome, AR, which was located in the extreme southeastern part of the state. Mike remained at the camp until early 1944, when he was released to work in Chicago.
He later worked in a cafeteria kitchen at the University of Michigan. He was reclassified from 4C to 1A, and was drafted into the U. S. Army in December, 1944. He had earlier tried to enlist, however he was turned down due to his Japanese ancestry.
Mike was born in California on April 5, 1924. His father, Mataichiro Masuda, and his mother, Tasu Hataoka Masuda, migrated to the U. S. in the late 1800s. They were married in California in the early 1900s.
Mike and his wife, the former Jo Ann Hashimoto, were married in 1951. They have lived in Stephenville since 1958. They have two children, a daughter, Michelle; a son, Dwight; and five grandchildren.
For many years, Mike's job was sexing day-old chickens. He has been retired for about 15 years.
Mike became a member of Turnbow-Higgs American Legion Post 240 in 2001. Life member, Dr. Philip Price, (Deceased) a retired Stephenville optometrist at the time, encouraged Mike to join the American Legion. When Mike refused, Dr. Price wanted to know why. Mike said, “I’m afraid I might not be welcomed in a veteran’s organization.”
Finally convinced, he submitted his application and on the night he was unanimously voted into membership, Mike was asked, as all new members are, to say a few words about his World War II experiences. When he finished, according to and witnessed by one of Post 240’s oldest members, Brad Thompson, Mike Masuda received the first ever standing ovation, and none have occurred since.
Today, Mike Masuda is one of Stephenville's most respected citizens. (last two paragraphs added by Legionnaire Brad Thompson, Historian)
