James Mukoyama was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. And although his parents were Japanese immigrants, he says he’s had “a Norman Rockwell life.” He was in the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys State, junior ROTC in high school, and ROTC and Pershing Rifles at the University of Illinois. He was commissioned through ROTC in 1965. After taking excess leave to complete a master's degree in 1966, Mukoyama went through IOBC (infantry officer's basic course) and airborne school at Fort Benning, volunteered for Vietnam, and was sent to Korea instead, where he served as a platoon leader on the DMZ with the 2d Division. He deployed to Vietnam in 1969, where he spent a month as S-3 with the 9th Division at Dong Tam, then commanded B Company, 9th Division, and ended up as the G-3 plans adviser for the ARVN II Corps in Pleiku. He describes great leadership, and talks of the warrior code; he recalls packets of soy sauce and an MG Midget. Mukoyama also discusses moral injury, the Sermon on the Mount, and praying for the families of three dead Viet Cong laying at his feet.
Key Words: Chicago, Illinois, Avondale Grammar School, Carl Schurz High School, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys State, junior ROTC, University of Illinois, Navy Pier, Champaign-Urbana, ROTC, IOBC (infantry officers basic course), Benning School for Boys, Pershing Rifles, S-3, recondo battalion, The Hardcore, Fire Support Base Dickie, Fire Support Base Danger, Alert, Battle, Claymore, Dagger, airmobile, Lake Shore Drive, MG Midget, Sermon on the Mount, post-traumatic stress disorder, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), moral injury, Military Outreach USA, warrior code, personal moral code, Special Forces, Montagnards, Vietnamese Rangers, Ben Het, ROKs, Desert Storm I, TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command), charm school (general officers' orientation course)
Key Names: Norman Rockwell, Colonel David Hackworth, President Nixon, Don Meyer, Dewitt Cook, Jesus, Major Tu Ta De, Freddie Franks, Ken Burns, Lynn Novick