Q: Did he have a sense of humor?
SACKTON: Yes he did. I think the conventional wisdom is he was very very
austere, very reserved, didn't have a sense of humor. He actually did have a
sense of humor, a little bit on the droll side, but it came out every now and
then.
I remember one day he came to the office a little bit more excited than
usual. He stopped by the desk of Larry Bunker, who was the Administrative
Aide, took care of some of his administration and asked Larry had he seen some
of the signs in English that had been cropping up all over Tokyo. Early on,
the people in Tokyo wanted to be American and they want to adopt the language,
they were putting up signs in English and of course, some of the English was a
little fractured. And, one thing that the General liked particularly was a
sign that said, "Matsumoto Tailor, Ladies Have Fits Upstairs" and he thought
that was great. Another one he thought was funny, I didn't quite see the humor
of it, but he thought it was funny. It was "Niamoshto Steel Works, We
Specialize in Screws." He he thought that was funny.
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