Draft resistance, the Korematsu review and Nisei soldiers, April 1944

Vol. 18, No. 13, April 1, 1944. 8 pages. View this issue

The draft and the war dominated the news. The Supreme Court agreed to review the west coast evacuation order in the Korematsu case, while induction of Japanese American citizens went forward at camps such as Gila River. Twelve Heart Mountain men were jailed on draft evasion charges, and editorials by the paper criticized the Rocky Shimpo over the resistance. Larry Tajiri wrote on unrest in Japan, and Bill Hosokawa took on what he called periodical patriots in relocation centers. Soldiers were in the news too: Staff Sergeant Ken Omura died in New Guinea, and the 100th Infantry Battalion earned a Distinguished Service Cross and thirteen Silver Stars.

Other pages carry Mary Oyama on building friendships with Caucasian Americans, Galen Fisher’s Full Face and Profile, and Hito Okada’s report on contributions to JACL headquarters. Hitoshi aside, the sports page followed Wat Misaka of Ogden as Utah won the national basketball title. A new JACL chapter was organized at Murray, Utah.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Sergeant Was One of First to Get Training at Savage, page 1. DES MOINES, Iowa reported the death of Staff Sergeant Ken Omura, the first American soldier of Japanese ancestry killed in the southwest Pacific war, drowned in New Guinea. Omura was inducted before Pearl Harbor and was among the first Japanese Americans to complete training at Camp Savage.
• Nisei Soldier Wounded in Pacific, page 1. Cpl. Stanley Hiroo Yoshino, wounded on the South Pacific front in January, is convalescing at an Army hospital in Springfield, Missouri, according to his father. Yoshino graduated from the University of Washington and trained at Camp Savage before his injury.
• Nisei Induction Getting Under Way, Report, page 1. War Department and Selective Service spokesmen said induction of loyal Japanese American citizens into the Army is gradually getting under way. The department declined comment on reports that 28 members of a Japanese American battalion at Anniston, Alabama, refused training.
• Dissenters Removed To Stockade to Await Courts-martial, page 1. Brig. Gen. Wallace C. Philoon announced that 28 members of a Japanese American battalion at Camp McClellan who refused military discipline were moved to the stockade to await courts-martial. The rest of the battalion had accepted training willingly.
• Rivers Doctor To Enter Army, page 1. Dr. Herbert Hata of the Rivers hospital staff received a commission as first lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He was scheduled to leave for Pennsylvania on March 17.
• DSC, Thirteen Silver Stars Awarded Nisei, page 1. Secretary of Interior Ickes announced that one Distinguished Service Cross and thirteen Silver Stars were awarded to Japanese Americans from Hawaii fighting in the 100th Infantry Battalion in Italy. He also reported at least 58 Purple Hearts had been awarded to Japanese Americans in Italy.
• First Granada Draftees Report For Induction, page 1. Sixteen Granada residents who passed their army physicals were scheduled to report in Denver on March 27 for induction. The inductees are listed by name, including one who relocated to Grand Junction.
• Former Commander Praises Japanese Americans in Italy, page 2. Major James J. Gillespie, former commander of the 100th Infantry Battalion, praised the Japanese American soldiers under his command in Italy. He insisted they are just as American as anyone and criticized those who disparage them.
• Two Shelby Sergeants Win Promotion as Warrant Officers, page 2. Master Sergeant Thomas Nishitani and Sergeant Phillip N. Ichino were appointed Warrant Officers, Junior Grade, in the 442nd Infantry Regiment. Their service records and new duties are described, and Sergeant Charles M. Sugi was promoted to Master Sergeant.
• Blinded Nisei Soldier Writes to Rohwer Group, page 3. Pfc. Yoshinao Omiya, a blinded Nisei hero featured in Life magazine, wrote from a Pennsylvania hospital that he is learning Braille and answering fan mail. He says blind patients are getting around with canes and taking handicraft work.
• Nisei Soldiers March to Own Go for Broke Song, page 3. Pfc. Harry H. Hamada of the Combat Team Band wrote the music and words for an official marching song for the 442nd, titled Go For Broke. The song was arranged for the band after a former Philippine Constabulary bandmaster offered to write the arrangement.
• Three Wounded Veterans Of Italian Campaign Now Recuperating in California, page 3. Three wounded members of the 100th Infantry Battalion arrived at Dibble General Hospital in California after fighting in Italy. Sgt. Kiyoshi Ikeda, Cpl. Kenichi Itha, and Pfc. Takeo Daido described their combat experiences and hope to recuperate in Hawaii.
• Nisei Girl Leaves WRA Job To Enlist in Women’s Army, page 3. Kathleen Iseri, a former Gila River resident and WRA New York secretary, left for basic training at Fort Oglethorpe after enlisting in the Women’s Army Corps. She said she volunteered because she is proud to be an American citizen.

Community

• Hunt To Recruit Women As Drivers And Mechanics, page 1. The Minidoka Motor Pool plans to replace men leaving for the army with women drivers and mechanics. Training will be conducted for interested applicants.
• Fellow Workers Give Birthday Fete For Evacuee Girl, page 2. Mrs. Lucy Fujii, a former Minidoka resident working for the Bloomfield Mfg. Co. in Chicago, was surprised with a birthday party by her coworkers. She said the gesture showed how friendly Chicago people are to the Nisei.
• Evacuee Accepted As Cadet Nurse at New York College, page 2. Naoko Nakamura, a former Tule Lake and Loomis resident who resettled in Indianapolis, was accepted by Adelphi College as a member of the U.S. Nurse Cadet Corps. She had worked as a nurse’s aide at the Tule Lake base hospital.
• Calling All Chapters: Contributions, by Hito Okada, page 6. National JACL reports contributions to headquarters and new Buck-a-Month Club members. It also notes associated member renewal bulletins being prepared for mailing.
• Nisei Girls Join Caster Dance Parade, page 7. The Chicago Nisei Society League and Kalifornians Club announced a Caster Dance Parade at the Swanky Skyline Ballroom on April 9. The event features Ben Stacks and his Syncopators.
• Vital Statistics, page 7. The vital statistics section lists births, deaths, and marriages among evacuees at relocation centers and elsewhere. It records births at Gila River, Granada, Heart Mountain, Rohwer, and Manzanar.
• Ann Nisei’s Column: Package Mixes Will Save Time, by Ann Nisei, page 7. Ann Nisei offers recipes for homemade pastry mix and biscuit mix, explaining how to save time by preparing them in bulk. She includes variations for biscuits, butterscotch rolls, cinnamon rolls, and quick coffee cake.
• Murray JACL Chapter Organized, page 8. A new Japanese American Citizens League chapter was organized at Murray, Utah, with several former Salt Lake chapter members. Dan B. Shields, U.S. district attorney, spoke at the meeting and urged a speaking campaign.

National

• 200 Salt Lake Students Sign Petition for Fair Play to Nisei, page 1. More than 200 young citizens of Salt Lake City signed a petition urging the city commission to reject denial of business licenses to Japanese Americans as unconstitutional. The petition cited the U.S. Constitution and the Utah Enabling Act in support.
• U. S. Supreme Court Grants Review of Evacuation Order, page 1. The Supreme Court agreed to review the constitutionality of the west coast evacuation order in the Korematsu case, which affects more than 70,000 American citizens of Japanese ancestry. The ACLU argued the order denied due process and classified citizens by ancestry.
• California Nisei Soldier Seeks to Anglicize Name, page 1. Arthur Katsuyoshi Ushiro of San Jose petitioned to change his name to Arthur Robert Castle, citing spelling difficulty and his military service in Australia. A hearing on the petition is set for April 26.
• Three Nisei Soldiers Vow Death of Brother in Japan, page 1. Three Japanese American brothers in the U.S. Army pledged to kill their fourth brother, a Japanese army officer, according to former correspondent Royal Arch Gunnison. Gunnison said the letter from the soldiers condemned the officer as a traitor to the American way of life.
• Salt Lake Mayor Praises Cooperation Of Nisei Group, page 1. Salt Lake City Mayor Earl J. Glade praised the city’s Japanese Americans for fine cooperation after none applied for new business licenses for over a month. He said unrest over the problem had apparently been quieted.
• Drafting of 1,000 Gila River Center’s Evacuees Proceeding Without Incident, page 2. Induction of about 1,000 unmarried Japanese American citizens at the Gila River relocation center at Rivers, Arizona, is proceeding without incident. About 150 eligibles have been examined, with no reported refusals to report, unlike at Poston.
• Noted Commentator Criticizes Detention Of Nisei in Centers, page 2. NBC commentator H. V. Kaltenborn called the detention of Japanese Americans in concentration camps unworthy of the United States. He urged people to fight for tolerance especially in wartime.
• Warrants Issued For Arrest of Five at Granada, page 2. Warrants were issued for five Granada evacuees charged with refusing to report for pre-induction physical examinations. U.S. District Attorney Thomas J. Morrissey signed the warrants.
• Court Rules Mrs. Takata Suffering from Mental Illness Dismisses Murder Charges, page 2. Judge P. Allan Crockett dismissed a first degree murder charge against Mrs. Mabel Takata after two psychiatrists testified she was insane at the time of her infant’s death. She was committed to the state hospital at Provo.
• Relocation Center Citizens May Vote By Absentee Method, page 2. WRA Director Dillon S. Myer announced that Japanese Americans in relocation centers keep legal residence in their prior state until they establish new residence. Eligible voters may apply for absentee ballots from their home registrars.
• Twelve Jailed On Draft Charge At WRA Camp, page 2. U.S. deputy marshals jailed twelve Heart Mountain evacuees on draft evasion charges, members of the camp’s Fair Play Committee. Acting director Douglas M. Todd called the committee a subversive group stirring up trouble.
• Real Estate Board Urges Gov. Maw to Act on Evacuees, page 2. The Salt Lake Real Estate Board urged Governor Herbert B. Maw to work for wider distribution of evacuees of Japanese ancestry. Board president Thomas T. Taylor Jr. noted Utah had absorbed more evacuees than any other state in proportion to population.
• WRA Officer Explains Provisions for Evacuee Farm Labor, page 2. WRA regional director Ottis Peterson advised Utah agricultural agencies that evacuee farm workers would be available only under War Food Administration sponsorship. They would be subject to the same stipulations governing migratory workers.
• Canada Inquiry Group Urges Dispersal Plan Of Evacuee Housing Projects, page 3. The Jackson Commission investigating conditions in British Columbia evacuation camps found interior settlement conditions reasonably fair as a wartime measure. It recommended continuing outside resettlement rather than expanding interior housing.
• WRA Returns Part Of Tule Lake Basin, page 3. About 2,500 acres of land held by the War Relocation Authority for the Newell relocation center were returned to seven original Tulelake farmer lessees. The land had been held for the past two years.
• CIO Union Wins in Effort To Permit Use of Nisei on East Coast Merchant Ships, page 3. The Coast Guard is expected to act as control agency for Japanese American seamen in the maritime industry, the National Maritime Union was informed. The change should resolve the situation of Nisei seamen who were held ashore despite clearances.
• Ogden Editorial Urges Return of Evacuees, page 3. The Ogden Standard-Examiner editorially urged that Japanese Americans be permitted to return to their former coast-state homes. It argued that Nisei are being drafted, employed in war areas, and cleared by the FBI.
• Idaho Grange Group Opposes Evacuees, page 3. The Pack River Grange in Bonner County, Idaho, passed a resolution protesting the proposed colonization of county land by evacuees of Japanese ancestry.

Commentary

• The Rocky Shimpo and the Draft Violators, page 4. The Pacific Citizen criticizes the Rocky Shimpo editor for encouraging the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee’s draft resistance and calls the paper’s stance misguided. It praises the Heart Mountain Sentinel for its courageous opposition.
• Editorials: The Rocky Shimpo, page 4. The editorial argues that the Rocky Shimpo misinformed and misguided readers, bearing heavy responsibility for Heart Mountain draft resisters facing prison. It says the paper’s editorial policy approaches sedition and undermines the positive contributions of Japanese Americans.
• Soldiers Write Home, page 4. The editorial highlights letters from servicemen insisting on fair treatment of Japanese Americans and opposing anti-democratic measures at home. It commends soldiers who apply democratic principles and warns that the fight against race hatred must continue at home.
• NBC’s Larry Smith, page 4. The editorial criticizes NBC commentator Larry Smith for daily broadcasts associating Japanese Americans with fascist Tokyo, drawing on Dies Committee propaganda. It also notes NBC western executives blocked a Japanese American war hero’s broadcast as controversial.
• The Purple Heart, page 4. The editorial challenges a 20th Century-Fox film’s statement that 100,000 Japanese nationals were interned in the United States. It notes that no more than 3,000 Japanese nationals were ever interned by the Justice Department.
• Reports of Unrest in Japan, page 4. Japanese newspaper copies reveal food riots, arrests, and suppression of the Shakai Party and Farmers Union in Japan. The column also recounts earlier labor strikes and the emergence of an anti-war league of Japanese prisoners in China.
• The General Has Many Jobs, page 4. Columnist Bill Hosokawa criticizes periodical patriots in relocation centers who protest their rights only when facing the draft. He argues true loyal nisei share goals of restored citizenship and abolition of segregated units.
• From the Frying Pan: Periodical Patriots in Relocation Centers, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Bill Hosokawa argues that many relocation center committees are led by periodical patriots who demand rights only when draft-eligible. He contends their selfish motives mislead others who lack strong convictions.
• Nisei USA: Unrest in Japan, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Larry Tajiri reports, citing the Osaka Mainichi and Chicago Sun correspondent Frederick Kuh, on suppressed food riots and labor unrest in Japan. He cautions that such unrest will not by itself end the war.
• Nisei Parade, page 5. The column notes the work of Japanese American artists Sueo Serisawa, Chuzo Tamotzu, and Taro Yashima. It also mentions Henry Fukuhara’s work with Rackham Holt and S. I. Hayakawa’s fight for Canadian franchise.
• Blood Bank, page 5. A column reprinted from the Heart Mountain Sentinel describes the author’s experience donating blood at a New York blood bank. The piece reflects on the donation process and kindness shown to the author.
• Full Face and Profile: Galen Fisher, by Galen Fisher, page 5. Galen Fisher, a member of the Committee on America’s Principles and Fair Play, reminisces about mountain climbing and life highlights. He recounts lowest and highest moments of his career and travels.
• Anti-Evacuee Auto Sticker Proclaims Ugly Legend Of Man’s Inhumanity to Man, page 5. The UCLA Daily Bruin column reflects on an anti-Japanese auto sticker in Los Angeles while noting Japanese American soldiers fighting abroad. It cites Sergeant Ben Kuroki’s combat record and his battle against prejudice.
• New Horizons for Nisei: Discovering New America, by Mary Oyama, page 6. Mary Oyama describes a Denver mixed Caucasian and Nisei group formed to aid assimilation and share correct information. She urges Nisei to build personal friendships and join Caucasian American organizations.
• Barron Beshoar Reports on Employment Situation Faced By Japanese American Group, page 6. Former War Manpower minority representative Barron Beshoar discusses racial discrimination in the Rocky Mountain states in Common Ground magazine. He says Japanese Americans face serious employment barriers despite their loyalty.
• Letter-Box: Give Us News of Anti-Democrats, page 6. A New York reader asks the paper to give less space to the Sons of the Golden West and more to 100th and 442nd news. The letter argues that superpatriot groups threaten democracy and that the editor is correctly exposing them.
• Yasuo Kuniyoshi on Race and Art, page 6. Artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi reflects on leaving Japan at thirteen, his American artistic education, and his refusal to think about race. The quotation is taken from a C. G. Paulding article in Commonweal.
• Business Licenses, page 6. Rev. Robert J. Dwyer, editor of The Register, argues that Catholics should oppose restrictions on Japanese American business licenses in Utah. He says Catholic teaching condemns racism and calls for leadership against discrimination.

Sports

• Nisei Player Stars as Utah Wins National Cage Crown, page 8. Wat Misaka of Ogden played an important role as Utah won the NCAA basketball championship over Dartmouth in overtime. The Associated Press described him as the best defensive player on the floor.
• Nisei Boxer Wins Match in Intercity Golden Gloves, page 8. Henry Sumi of the Chicago CYO fought on with a dislocated arm to defeat Sam Chernoff of New York in the Intercity Golden Gloves. Chicago won the contest 9 to 7.
• Frank Tominaga Wins Intermountain Lightweight Title, page 8. Frank Tominaga of Pingree, Idaho, won the lightweight championship at the 1944 Intermountain AAU tournament when his opponent defaulted. He had won his semifinal match with ease.
• Nakama Wins Two National Swim Titles, page 8. Kiyoshi Nakama, Ohio State’s Japanese American swimmer from Hawaii, defended his NCAA championships in the 1500-meter and 440-yard freestyle events. His feats were overshadowed by Yale’s Alan Ford, who won three titles.
• Cannon Company Wins AA Combat Team’s Cage Title, page 8. Cannon Company of the Infantry Regiment won the Japanese American Combat Team basketball championship at Camp Shelby by defeating the 232nd Combat Engineers 33-21. Twenty-seven companies participated in the single elimination tournament.

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