Interview with David H. Segal

My interview with David Segal was a thorough interview that took almost two hours. I
was a little nervous, but we covered a lot of ground during the interview. Mr. Segal provided a
very sobering picture of the horrors and tragedies of war, so this was an emotional interview at
times for both myself and the interviewee. He recounted an instance of friendly fire with the
Gurkha fighters and was open about many of his hardships such as amoebic dysentery and
malaria. He had many positive things to say about Dr. Norman after the interview and disclosed
to me a great detail about his family life. During the interview, Mr. Segal would often transition
suddenly during mid-sentence and could be difficult to follow at times. Given his age, his life
story frequently merged together during the interview process. His experiences of poor food and
little outside help in the China India Burma war theatre confirmed what historians have called
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Europe First strategy, where all the best food and equipment
went to the European continent to fight the Nazi regime. The subject did most of the talking
during the interview and while I had a complete questionnaire ready, I did not use all of the
questions. Instead, I allowed Mr. Segal to open up about his life and his service, which was a
very insightful and· educational experience. My overall impression of Mr. Segal is that he has
been through an incredible amount of difficulties as a result of his service in India and Burma.
From a medical perspective, it is incredible to note that Mr. Segal is still alive given his exposure
to amoebic dysentery, malaria, and the numerous amounts of surgeries he has had in his lifetime.
The process of interviewing Mr. Segal was an insightful one and I hope will be of use for future
scholars and his family.