Hawaiian Nisei volunteers arrive at Camp Shelby, and a general’s remarks

Vol. 16, No. 15, April 15, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

The new Army combat team and the debate over Japanese Americans’ place in the country filled this eight-page issue. About 2,500 volunteers from Hawaii arrived at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to join mainland recruits, and the War Department awarded the Legion of Merit to three soldiers from Honolulu. On the other side, Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt told a congressional subcommittee that “A Jap’s a Jap,” and an editorial answered him on the opinion page. The paper also reported that James Hatsuki Wakasa, 62, was shot and killed by a military police sentry at the Topaz center.

Columns by Bill Hosokawa and Robert Hosokawa, a report from Joe Oyama on resettlement from the Jerome center, and Stephen Pearce’s review of Pardee Lowe’s memoir sit alongside news from California, Utah and Colorado. Page 8 prints a list of 112 Topaz volunteers, and Mine Okubo’s prize at a San Francisco art exhibition is noted on page 2.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Three Hawaii Nisei Awarded Legion of Merit for Special Services, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department awarded the Legion of Merit to three American soldiers of Japanese ancestry from Hawaii for meritorious service between December 1942 and February 1943. The nature of their assignments was not made public.
• Hawaiian Nisei Volunteers Arrive at Camp Shelby to Start Training in U.S. Army, by P.C. Staff, page 1. About 2,500 Japanese American volunteers from Hawaii arrived at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to join mainland recruits in forming a combat team. Commander Colonel Charles W. Pence addressed them, and observers praised their discipline during the train trip.
• Utah Volunteer Leaves to Join Combat Unit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. George Utsunomiya of Murray, Utah, became one of the first mainland Japanese Americans inducted into the new combat team. Tadao Sako, rejected at first but later passed, was also set to be inducted.
• Two Eastern Nisei Called to Service as Army Officers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Brothers Ken and Sim Asai, both Cornell graduates and reserve officers, were called to active duty in the field artillery and quartermaster corps. Sim leaves a wife and two children in Boston.
• Artist Chris Ishii Wins Promotion to Rank of Corporal, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Chris Ishii, a former Walt Disney artist, was promoted to corporal in the U.S. Army and is working in New York on an army educational film. He was previously stationed at the Amache relocation center.
• Nisei Corporal in Australia Writes to Colorado Paper, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Corporal Narihiko Yamanaka, now serving with the U.S. Army in Australia, wrote to the Rocky Mountain News about confusion over Australian currency. He had studied engineering and trained at Fort Leonard Wood before going overseas.
• Wisconsin May Use Nisei Help in Scrap Yards, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Wisconsin Scrap Iron Dealers association studied employing Japanese Americans from relocation centers in scrap yards. A WRA official announced an education program would begin after local residents objected to nisei working in truck farming.
• Manzanar Service Flag to Have Three Hundred Stars, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Manzanar is making a service flag with nearly 300 stars to honor residents serving in the U.S. Army. Each star represents one service member from the center.
• Ken Tashiro Seeks Enlistment in New Army Combat Team, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Ken Tashiro, a former Los Angeles resident now in Cincinnati, is seeking to enlist in the nisei combat team at Camp Shelby to avoid an expected draft call. His wife and children remain at the Gila River center.
• Release List of Volunteers at Utah Center, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A publication lists 112 men from the Topaz center who volunteered for the army’s nisei combat team, with names grouped by former city of residence. Volunteers came from San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and other localities.

Incarceration & Redress

• Topaz Resident Killed by Shot Fired by M.P., by P.C. Staff, page 1. James Hatsuki Wakasa, 62, was shot and killed by a military police sentry at the Central Utah relocation center after ignoring warnings. A military board of inquiry was investigating, and Wakasa had served as a cooking instructor during World War I.
• “A Jap’s a Jap,” Declares Army Commander; Repudiates Citizen Rights of Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt told a congressional subcommittee that Japanese Americans, citizen or not, were a dangerous element and should not return to the West Coast. He stated that about 110,000 people were removed from coastal areas and that two Supreme Court cases challenging the orders were pending.

National

• California Legion Seeks Restrictions Against Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The American Legion’s California executive committee adopted resolutions urging seizure of evacuee farm machinery and keeping evacuees confined to relocation centers. The measures reaffirmed earlier resolutions on restrictive treatment of Japanese Americans.
• Canadian Evacuees Organize to Protect Property Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Canadian evacuees of Japanese ancestry formed an association to resist the federal government’s plan to liquidate their property. Legal opinion suggested the arbitrary liquidation exceeded government powers, and the custodian appointed evacuee representatives to advisory committees.
• FBI Director Says Japanese in Hawaii Not Responsible for Espionage Before December 7, by P.C. Staff, page 2. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover told a House subcommittee that espionage before Pearl Harbor was committed by Japanese government agents rather than the Japanese population in Hawaii. He reported no sabotage in Hawaii afterward and little trouble with Japanese residents.
• State Senate Would Revoke Nisei Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The California state personnel board awaited an attorney general opinion before dismissing 94 state civil service employees of Japanese ancestry. Most employees in relocation centers requested hearings before the board.
• Release of Loyal Evacuees Advocated by Seattle Paper, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorialized that evacuees actively loyal to the United States should be released from relocation centers to make better use of them. It also argued that loyal Japanese of military age should share in the obligations of citizenship.
• Government Requisitioned Cars of Evacuees, Says L.A. Times, by P.C. Staff, page 2. According to the Los Angeles Times, the federal government requisitioned 61 automobiles left by evacuees at Santa Anita. The report also described state efforts to seize evacuee farm machinery under eminent domain for California farmers.
• Toledo Drops Opposition to Nisei Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. After WRA official Harold S. Fistere opposed a resolution against employing Japanese Americans, the Toledo city council tabled it. Fistere also said he knew of no plans to establish a nisei camp in Toledo.
• Sen. Chandler Submits Formal Report on Trip, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Senator A. B. Chandler’s committee recommended that loyal evacuees be drafted or placed in essential jobs and that disloyal evacuees be placed in internment camps. The report found strife in the centers and called for separating loyal and disloyal evacuees.
• Dual Citizenship Issue Raised by El Dorado Group, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Farm bureau directors in El Dorado County approved resolutions seeking to end dual citizenship and bar persons of Japanese descent from citizenship. They also backed a bill restricting alien Japanese property ownership.
• Tenney Group Wants Army to Control Camps, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Tenney Committee on Un-American Activities recommended placing all activities relating to Japanese ancestry residents under army control for the duration of the war. It also urged segregating pro-Axis evacuees and passing legislation denying citizenship to dual nationals.
• Resolution Aimed at Native-Born Japanese Passed Unanimously, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The California state senate unanimously approved a measure favoring cancellation of citizenship for American citizens of Japanese ancestry with dual citizenship. The bill was sent to the assembly.
• Hearings on Chinese Exclusion Laws Put to Vicious Use by Japan Propaganda, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Representative Samuel Dickstein’s House committee will hold hearings on May 4 on repealing laws barring Chinese from permanent residence. Dickstein said the exclusion laws had been used by Japanese propaganda against U.S. relations with China.
• California Group Opposes Citizen Rights of Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The County Supervisors Association of California memorialized the legislature and Congress to ban Japanese language teaching and bar persons of Japanese ancestry from citizenship and land ownership. San Mateo’s board chairman said it did not necessarily reflect his board’s views.
• Outside Workers Must Live Within Project, Rules WRA, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The WRA barred commuting of workers from the Minidoka center to outside employers, saying it discourages relocation. Seasonal labor camps and a relocation office in Salt Lake City were planned to help workers.

Arts & Entertainment

• Topaz Artist Wins San Francisco Art Association Show, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mine Okubo, a nisei artist at the Topaz relocation center, won the artist fund prize in the San Francisco Art Association’s seventh annual exhibition of drawings and prints. A San Francisco Chronicle critic praised her drawing of soldiers on watch.

Community

• Utah Education Board Planning Visit to War Relocation Center, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Utah state advisory committee of education planned an all-day visit to the Topaz center to study conditions and help set educational standards. The group included university and college officials and was hosted by the Topaz school superintendent.
• Rights of Colorado Nisei in Civil Service Defended, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Colorado civil service commissioners defended the right of Sam Harada, a nisei, to continue as a file clerk in the State Health Department. Governor Vivian had not given permanent approval to the appointment and suggested a possible transfer.
• Young People’s Meet Held at Tule Lake, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The second Young People’s Christian Conference was scheduled at the Tule Lake relocation center with over 500 delegates expected. Speakers included former northern California YPCC leaders.
• Princess Makes Monthly Visit to Manzanar, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Princess Henrietta Nakashima, an actress, singer and dancer from Hawaii, visits the Manzanar center monthly to see her husband Mike Nakashima. She has appeared in several recent motion pictures.
• Parent-Soldier Group Being Formed at Hunt, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Japanese American Parent-Soldier association is being organized at the Minidoka center among parents and wives of soldiers. More than 800 men there volunteered for the special combat unit, with medical exams scheduled.
• Wyoming Newspaper Is Proud of School Record on Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The University of Wyoming student paper, the Branding Iron, noted there had been no unpleasant incidents involving nisei students on campus. It praised the community’s tolerance and criticized those who made no distinction between Japanese nationals and American citizens.
• Warren Says State Not Actively Opposing Return of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. California Governor Earl Warren said his state was not keeping evacuees from returning and that citizen Japanese had as much right to own property as anyone. The discussion at a western governors’ conference also touched on Arizona’s hostility toward evacuees.
• Report WRA Will Not Release Evacuees for Geneva Steel Jobs, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The WRA said no evacuees would be released to Columbia Steel’s Geneva works after workers protested the plan. Evacuee workers were to be brought in only for farm work instead.
• Santa Barbara County Supervisors Oppose Return of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Santa Barbara County board of supervisors unanimously objected to returning Japanese evacuees to the Pacific coast. A supervisor argued it would hurt farm worker morale and food production.
• California Governor Declares Nisei Have Right to Own Land, Predicts Thousands to Return, by P.C. Staff, page 3. California Governor Earl Warren told a western governors’ conference that citizen Japanese had as much right to own property as anyone and predicted thousands would return. Arizona’s governor opposed keeping evacuees permanently.
• Manzanar Physician Joins Staff of Nevada Hospital, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dr. Tom Watanabe left the Manzanar center to join a private hospital staff in Las Vegas, Nevada. He had served eleven months as head of the center’s X-ray department.
• Chapters! Pacific Citizen Fundraising and Membership News, by Teiko Ishida, page 6. JACL League treasury reports list chapter remittances, individual contributions, and reprints of two articles. It also covers a group of Poston residents departing for sugar beet farming in Montana.
• Possibility Evacuees May Get U.S. Housing Help Reported, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The National Housing Agency established war housing centers where new arrivals can get information on available accommodations. Relocation officers may also assist persons seeking housing through local agencies.
• Nisei Combat Unit to Fight Two-Front War, Must Defeat Enemies Abroad, Overcome Prejudice at Home, by P.C. Staff, page 8. University of Hawaii president Gregg M. Sinclair praised the nisei combat team at a McKinley high school ceremony honoring volunteers. He called the team a victory for Americanism and said it must also overcome prejudice at home.
• Nisei Nursery Workers Get Jobs in Monroe, Michigan, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Fourteen nisei began work for the Greening Nursery company in Monroe, Michigan, with ten more offered positions. WRA supervisor Harold Fistere described the workers’ loyalty and the company’s patriotic hiring.

Commentary

• Gen. DeWitt and Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns General DeWitt’s statements that Americanism is determined by race and ancestry, which contradict President Roosevelt’s endorsement of the combat team. It argues his remarks throw into question the evacuation, which Japanese Americans accepted with sacrifice.
• China and the Peace, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial urges that the postwar peace extend the Four Freedoms to all races and highlights Institute of Pacific Relations proposals for regional self-government and Chinese representation. It notes Chinese delegates’ warnings against race hatred and the need to democratize defeated nations.
• American Labor Looks Ahead, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial examines the history of labor opposition to Oriental immigrants and notes that CIO leaders now favor repealing exclusion laws. It argues labor’s acceptance of Asian workers is important as nisei are resettled into private industry.
• Vagaries, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A column of brief items about nisei soldiers parading in Honolulu, Hawaiian volunteers’ privileges, and Japanese American performers and writers. It also notes the decline of Japanese American representation in Hawaii’s territorial legislature.
• Report from the Midwest: “There Are No Watchtowers, No Fences with Barbed-Wire”, by Robert Hosokawa, page 5. Robert Hosokawa describes a spring morning in Kansas City, his daily walk, and grocery shopping with ration books. He reflects on his life outside the camps, where there are no watchtowers or barbed wire.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa criticizes Colorado Governor Vivian for saying he was concerned about the civil service appointment of nisei Sam Harada. He argues a public official should defend constitutional rights rather than bow to public criticism.
• On Books, by Robert R. Tsuda, page 5. Robert Tsuda reviews recent books on Pacific affairs and Japanese language instruction. He also notes a growing number of books depicting Japanese and Chinese American assimilation.
• Ann Nisei Says: Toys for Children Can Be Made Easily at Home, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A household column explains that simple homemade toys are often better for children than expensive store-bought ones. It gives suggestions for cloth toys, wooden blocks, blackboards, and easels.
• Evacuee Comment: Trend Strikes Jerome Center, by Joe Oyama, page 6. Joe Oyama describes a sudden wave of resettlement at the Jerome center after registration and explains why residents there were hesitant to leave. He notes the geographic isolation, unfavorable publicity, and limited outside contact contributed to the change.
• Russia and the Post-War World, by Peter Wood, page 6. Peter Wood summarizes former ambassador Joseph Davies’ views on Russia’s desire for peace, religious freedom, and cooperation with the West. Davies argues Russia should be dealt with as any great power.
• Pardee Lowe’s New Book: Chinese American Describes Life in U.S. Community, by Stephen Pearce, page 7. Stephen Pearce reviews Pardee Lowe’s memoir Father and Glorious Descendant, which tells the story of his father’s life in America and the family’s experience of assimilation. The book also recounts the author’s encounters with employment discrimination.

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