Nisei in the draft and the Kuroki broadcast ban, January 1944

Vol. 18, No. 4, January 29, 1944. 8 pages. View this issue

Japanese American soldiers and their treatment at home ran through this eight-page issue. NBC explained why it barred Technical Sergeant Ben Kuroki from the Ginny Simms program, and the editorial “Freedom of the Air” condemned the decision. Selective service for Nisei was reinstated, and the Arizona JACL chapter, Heart Mountain leaders and Idaho and Pasadena draft boards all responded. In Washington, Attorney General Biddle proposed an amendment to the Nationality Act, and John Provinse told the House Immigration Committee that most Japanese Americans were loyal. Harold Lavine, Bill Hosokawa and Saburo Kido wrote on the campaign against them and on General DeWitt’s report.

Other pages covered the 100th Infantry’s casualties in Italy, Governor Earl Warren on Tule Lake, a Los Angeles court ruling in the Oshiro lease case, and a report that the War Relocation Authority might move under Harold Ickes. Larry Tajiri wrote on postwar policy for Japan, and Pearl Buck appealed to Californians for fair treatment of Japanese Americans.

What’s in this issue

National

• NBC Explains Act Barring Japanese American Soldier From National Radio Program, by P.C. Staff, page 1. NBC explained its decision to bar Technical Sergeant Ben Kuroki, a decorated Nisei turret gunner, from appearing on the Ginny Simms program, citing the controversial nature of the Japanese American question on the West Coast. The last-minute ban drew criticism as inconsistent with NBC’s other programming featuring Japanese American soldiers and commentators advocating restrictions.
• War Relocation Agency May Be Placed Under Ickes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Washington Post reported that the War Relocation Authority may be transferred to the Department of the Interior under Harold Ickes. The move was reportedly drawn up with the President’s approval, and WRA director Dillon Myer’s staff would be given the option to remain with the agency.
• Pearl Buck Asks Californians for Sanity on Race Attitudes, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Author Pearl Buck appealed in Asia magazine for Californians to treat Japanese Americans fairly, warning that the West Coast’s conduct is being watched across Asia. She argued that denying rights to citizens of Japanese descent would harm America’s standing with the colored peoples of the world.
• WRA Director Raps Coast Attempts to Reduce Nisei to Second Class Citizens’ Status, by P.C. Staff, page 7. WRA Director Dillon Myer, speaking at a Los Angeles Town Hall meeting, condemned West Coast campaigns to make Japanese Americans second-class citizens as aiding Tokyo propaganda. He defended WRA policies and argued mass detention would violate constitutional safeguards.

Military & Veterans

• Army Silver Star Decoration Given to Nisei Soldier, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Staff Sergeant Kazuo Kozaki, known in Salt Lake City, received the Silver Star and Purple Heart for gallantry in action in October 1943. He is the first Japanese American to win the Silver Star.
• 120 Japanese Americans Killed, 98 Wounded in Recent Action of 100th Infantry in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department identified Japanese American soldiers killed and wounded in Italy, with casualties believed to be part of the 100th Infantry Battalion’s total losses reported by Secretary Stimson. Next-of-kin listings were largely in Hawaii.
• Leaders Praise Draft for Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Heart Mountain leaders including Yosh Kodama, George Nakaki, and Shig Masunaga welcomed the War Department’s reinstatement of Nisei selective service. They saw it as a rebuttal to those questioning Japanese American loyalty and an end to a long-standing injustice.

Incarceration & Redress

• Take Steps to Insure Security at Tule Lake, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The WRA announced security measures at the Tule Lake segregation center, including a fence separating the evacuee settlement from the administration area and an expanded internal police force. Troublemakers are being segregated, and an isolation area is planned for those who cause trouble.
• Three Thousand Will Be Affected in Nisei Draft in Idaho Area, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Between 2,500 and 3,000 Japanese American citizens aged 18 to 38 in Idaho will be called for pre-induction physical examinations under the new selective service orders. Induction records must be approved in Washington, D.C.
• Pasadena Board to Reclassify One Thousand Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Selective Service Board No. 190 in Pasadena is preparing to reclassify approximately 1,000 Japanese Americans formerly held at Santa Anita for induction. Draft questionnaires are being mailed to eligible Nisei, some still in relocation camps.
• Threats from Neighbors Force Eviction of Japanese American Wife from West Coast Home, by P.C. Staff, page 2. June Arrii Terry, a Martinez native and wife of a non-Japanese husband, was forced out of her rented home after neighbors threatened her and protested her return. The ACLU offered aid, but the family moved out before any remedy was pursued.
• Martinez Group Protests Action Against Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Six Martinez residents wrote a letter to the Contra Costa Gazette protesting threats against June Arrii Terry, an American citizen whose brother was honored by the local American Legion. The letter appealed to constitutional principles and warned against war hysteria.
• Family Resettlement Possibilities Seen in Nebraska, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rev. Daisuke Kitagawa, field secretary for the Committee on resettlement, studied resettlement possibilities at the Tri-County irrigation project in central Nebraska. He spent two weeks at Heart Mountain investigating the opportunity.
• Judge Rules for Evacuees in Oshiro Case, by A. L. Wirin, page 3. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carl A. Stutsman ruled that a Japanese American evacuee was excused from further liability under a Little Tokyo hotel lease due to wartime evacuation making the lease’s purpose frustrated. The decision was supported by JACL and ACLU as amici curiae.
• Justice Department Will Act to Protect Loyal Nisei from Pending Congress Legislation, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Justice Department reportedly will warn the House Immigration Committee that bills to denationalize Japanese Americans, especially those serving in the armed forces, are illegal. Committee members expressed doubts about the constitutionality of stripping citizenship by legislation.
• Biddle Sees Amendment to Nationality Act, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Attorney General Biddle proposed an amendment under which Japanese Americans who make a formal written renunciation of nationality would lose citizenship, as an alternative to bills he criticized as constitutionally doubtful. The proposal was submitted to both houses on January 25.
• WRA Official Affirms Loyalty of Great Majority of Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 3. John Provinse, acting WRA administrator, told the House Immigration Committee that perhaps 4,000 American-born Japanese might renounce citizenship if able, and estimated 90 percent of citizens of Japanese ancestry are completely loyal. About 1,200 youths volunteered for the armed services from relocation camps.
• Evacuee Held for Entering Coast Region, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Masanobu Hata was arrested in Blythe after entering the Western Defense Command to retrieve his car, obtaining gas coupons along the way. He had requested permission from the WRA but received no reply before going anyway.
• Gov. Warren Raps Agency On Tule Lake, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Governor Earl Warren criticized the return of Tule Lake to civilian control and said WRA practices were inconsistent with California’s safety and military security. He claimed the agency had lost the public’s trust through loose discipline.
• Favorable Court Decision Will Free Many from Liabilities Imposed by Army Evacuation, by A. L. Wirin, page 3. Special counsel A. L. Wirin describes the Oshiro decision, in which a Los Angeles judge excused a Japanese American lessee from a Little Tokyo hotel lease after evacuation. Wirin argues the ruling protects equal treatment under law and may free other evacuees from similar obligations.

Community

• Topaz Evacuee Killed in Dump Truck Accident, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Roy Mayeda, 58, foreman of a Topaz farm project, was killed when a dump truck accidentally dumped its load on him at the Central Utah relocation center. He is survived by his widow, daughters, and sons.
• Lutheran Church Opens Hostel in Minneapolis, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The United Lutheran Church in America opened a hostel in Minneapolis for Japanese American evacuees, its first such enterprise, in cooperation with the WRA. The Rev. R. H. Gerberding described it as an expression of Christian kindness and loyal cooperation.
• War Record of Granadans Told Colorado Peace Officers, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Harlow Tomlinson, internal security officer at the Granada camp, reported to the Colorado Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association on the wartime service of Granada evacuees. He noted 127 were training in an army combat unit and others served in intelligence and translation roles.
• Heart Mountain Holds Conference, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Five speakers, including William McKee and Masao Satow, addressed a three-day conference at Heart Mountain organized by Thomas R. Bodine and sponsored by the national YM and YWCA. The institute was the national YMCA and YWCA’s contribution to center residents.
• Japanese Patients on Coast Receive Gift Subscriptions, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Cornelians of Denver sent Christmas gift subscriptions to Colorado Times and the Pacific Citizen to Japanese American patients in eleven hospitals on the west coast. More than 250 greeting cards were also sent.
• Plan to Relocate Evacuees on Ford Plantation Dropped, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A plan to relocate one hundred Japanese American evacuees on Henry Ford’s Georgia plantation collapsed after applicants sought permanent positions rather than wartime work. Manager J. F. Gregory withdrew the offer.
• Noted Columnist Reports on Rivers in N Y Times, by Anne O’Hare McCormick, page 8. New York Times editor Anne O’Hare McCormick visited the Rivers, Arizona relocation center and described it as a strange new city. She observed that evacuees’ fears held back relocation and called on Americans to educate the public.
• California Legion Censures Lechner for Washington Trip, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The California Department of the American Legion unanimously censured John R. Lechner, a restrictionist advocate, for representing himself as speaking for the Legion during a Washington trip. The censure was reported in the California Legionnaire.

JACL

• Arizona Chapter JACL Hails Nisei Induction, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Arizona JACL chapter sent a telegram commending the War Department for reinstating selective service for Nisei and urged every Japanese American to contribute to the war effort. The message was signed by President Tsutomu Ikeda.

Commentary

• Freedom of the Air, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns NBC’s decision to bar Ben Kuroki from the Ginny Simms broadcast based on his Japanese ancestry, noting the network’s own commentators attack Japanese Americans. It calls the explanation unacceptable and urges public protest.
• No Thanks!, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial rejects Tokyo propaganda expressing sympathy for Japanese Americans, pointing out that Japan has fabricated horror stories while Nisei soldiers fight in Italy and the Pacific. It says Japanese Americans will resolve their problems as Americans.
• Brutality at Bataan, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns the War Department’s report of Japanese treatment of American and Filipino prisoners of war, describing starvation and murder. It calls on Japanese Americans to increase enlistment, war bond purchases, and material support.
• Oshiro Test Case, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the Los Angeles verdict in the Oshiro case, which clarifies evacuee obligations under pre-evacuation leases. It notes this is the first ACLU case involving property rights of evacuees.
• Post-War Policy for Japan, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri examines emerging American government thinking on postwar Japan, including retaining the emperor as a stabilizing figure. He reproduces a letter from an Issei writer proposing democratic reforms in Japan.
• Exposing the West Coast Racists: Newspaper PM Charges Coast Press, Politicians, Profiteers, by Harold Lavine, page 5. Harold Lavine of PM accuses Hearst and McClatchy newspapers, the California Joint Immigration Committee, and politicians of leading a hate campaign against Japanese Americans. He argues their push for restrictive legislation amounts to a campaign to make lynching popular.
• Nisei Draft Takes Edge Off DeWitt Report, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa argues that General DeWitt’s final report on evacuation contains unsupported claims, such as enemy radio transmissions never prosecuted, that could fuel racist arguments. He notes the report’s significance lies in what it leaves unsaid.
• Premature Orchids, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Idaho Falls Register praised California’s agriculture board for upholding evacuees’ right to resume farming, but the board later rescinded its resolution under pressure from Governor Warren. The reprinted editorial notes the praise proved premature.
• The Report from General DeWitt, by Saburo Kido, page 6. Kido questions the accuracy of General DeWitt’s justifications for mass evacuation, including claims of submarine attacks and spying near defense plants that predated Japanese settlement. He argues the report’s innuendos unfairly stigmatize Japanese Americans on the Pacific Coast.
• On Back-Talk, by Gurney Binford, page 6. Binford writes in praise of the Pacific Citizen as a valuable record countering race prejudice against Japanese Americans. He commends the paper’s factual approach to answering hate propaganda.

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