Yosh Kawano's Cubs' connection aided his release, Tony Ruzicka said, when a club employee wrote to request his presence with the ballclub. He worked for the Cubs in 1943 and 1944, his nephew said, before he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was deployed overseas with the Army, where he worked as a translator in the Philippines and New Guinea, Frank Kawano said. Yosh returned to the Cubs after the war, embarking on a career that spanned 37 managers, 12 general managers and two owners. For years Kawano used his own money to purchase bats and balls and hats and socks for the players, keeping a detailed ledger of which players still owed him money for equipment.