442nd Champion Swimmer

Pvt. Takashi Hirose, Co. M, 442nd Inf., is one of the champion swimmers in the Combat Team. He has made four trips to the mainland to compete in various swimming meets. His swimming career began at the age of four; he entered competitive swimming at nine, and won his first championship when he was fourteen. In 1941 he became national 100 meter champ at a meet at St Louis, Mo. He has been a member of the All American swimming team, the post-Olympic team, and has participated in the Pan American games in South America. In 1940 he was offered a scholarship at the University of Ohio. Unable to accept it at that time, he postponed it until the next year, but at that time the University of Southern California in Los Angeles offered him another scholarship. Planning to accept it in February of 1942, he returned to the islands to continue working until February. War broke out Dec. 7, 1941, so he put away the idea of returning to the mainland to accept the scholarship. He joined the territorial guard and worked in the fire department until his voluntary enlistment. He misses the water and hopes to be able to find a swimming spot soon as he would like to keep in shape to be able to attend the swimming meet in New York sometime in the future.