Takeshi "Tak" Yoshihara: A Quiet Struggle

 

 

There's a humble man living in Honolulu who isn't one to let people know of his extraordinary history. We finally persuaded him to sit down and share it.

Takeshi "Tak" Yoshihara is the first Japanese American admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD. He also is a former internee, whose family was held for three years in so-called "relocation centers" that America built during World War II. Now retired after a Navy career as an officer, Mr. Yoshihara recounts in A Quiet Struggle what life was like living in internment camp cubicles. Despite that loss of freedom, you'll hear him express great gratitude for his country and what it's done for him.

 

Takeshi Yoshihara (image)

   
 AUDIO
 TRANSCRIPT

Takeshi "Tak" Yoshihara: An Historic Journey

 

 

After hardships during the Great Depression and World War II, Takeshi Yoshihara became the first Japanese American appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy. In this conversation with Leslie Wilcox, Takeshi talks about what made him an unlikely Naval Academy candidate, and his journey through the ranks and, eventually, to Hawaii.

 

 
   
 AUDIO
 TRANSCRIPT