Paying it Forward

I came across an interesting piece online by the Lovell Chronicle (Lovell, Wyoming, is a small town near the state’s northern border with Montana): a throw-back feature called “From Our Files” including clips from the December 22, 1949, issue – 75 years ago today. The one that caught my eye was about Henry Schmidt, a local resident who had traveled to Billings MT the week before to meet Paul Haruo Kasai, a Japanese teen coming to America for his education. The short clip explained that Schmidt, a civilian captured on Wake Island in December 1941, was a starving POW working in a shipyard toward the end of the war and the boy’s father shared food with him. In return, Schmidt promised the father that if he survived the war he would “give the boy a break” and help him get an American education. The Chronicle reported that Schmidt planned to help Paul work on his English and become familiar with American culture and enroll him in a nearby high school soon.

According to my Wake Island files, Henry Schmidt was born in 1911, arrived on Wake in November 1941 as a 30-year-old, single, heavy equipment operator, and barely a month later became a prisoner when the island fell to Japanese forces. With hundreds of others, he was sent first to Shanghai War Prisoners Camp at Woosung in occupied China. Late in the war Schmidt was transferred to camps in Japan where prisoners were put to work in shipyards and factories. He was liberated in an unknown camp in the Tokyo area. His prewar “Blue Book” photo shows a handsome, friendly face, but I know nothing else about Henry Schmidt or his family. He passed away in 2002 in Missoula, Montana; there is no burial record.

Still, I was impressed by the thought of Schmidt following through on a promise made during the desperation and chaos of war. We do not know how the starving prisoner met the Japanese man – whether he was another shipyard worker, a storekeeper, or (not likely) a prison guard. In any case, both risked terrible punishment for sharing food. Clearly it was more than a one-time occurrence if they also shared family information and contact information. On a whim, I searched for the boy’s name online and was surprised by what came up.

The search produced two possibilities: Paul Haruo Kasai, PhD, a renowned Japanese American chemist and Haruo Kasai, MD, PhD, a groundbreaking neuroscientist in Japan. While there is little background for the latter except that he graduated from the University of Tokyo School of Medicine, sources show a middle-aged man, still very actively engaged in neuroscientific research. On the other hand, a biographical profile of Paul Haruo Kasai in the “World Biographical Encyclopedia” (a potentially questionable biographical database at prebook.com) gives his birthdate as January 30, 1932, in Osaka, Japan, and his arrival in the U. S. in 1950. That matches the 17-year-old boy flying into Montana to meet his sponsor, Henry Schmidt, in late 1949. Kasai did not waste any time getting that education: he earned a BS in Chemistry at the University of Denver in 1955, a PhD from UC-Berkeley in 1959, and launched a lengthy career as a research chemist in the U. S. The biographical profile names his family members, including his father, Shunki Kasai. I did not attempt to contact Paul Harou Kasai, so cannot confirm these details, but I like to think that Schmidt helped launch the promising career of this talented scientist.

I can imagine Henry Schmidt and Shunki Kasai, huddled in the shadows as Kasai furtively passes a small bundle to Schmidt. In low voices they talk haltingly about their families, including Shuri’s gifted adolescent son. The grateful American promises to repay Shuri’s generosity by helping the boy after the war. It is a parable for the Christmas season: share with others in need and pay it forward when you are on the receiving end.