Lifting martial law in Hawaii, and the 442nd’s combat badges

Vol. 19, No. 17, October 28, 1944. 8 pages. View this issue

News from the war fronts and the home front shared the pages of this eight-page issue. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was in the headlines: more than 90 percent of its men were awarded Combat Infantryman Badges after the drive from Rome to the Arno River. Elsewhere, the War Department announced Distinguished Service Crosses for three members of the 100th Infantry Battalion. President Roosevelt lifted martial law in Hawaii, and an editorial argued that this weakened the case for restrictions on the West Coast.

The Grange drew sharp attention. A California State Grange resolution called for revoking Japanese American citizenship, a Vermont Grange admitted a Nisei member, and an Oregon member repudiated his leaders’ stand. Columns by Bill Hosokawa, Fred Fertig and Saburo Kido ran inside, along with a report on the Cheyenne trial of eight men from the Heart Mountain relocation center.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Ninety Percent Of Combat Unit Win Badges, by P.C. Staff, page 1. More than 90 percent of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team have been awarded Combat Infantryman Badges for fighting ability shown in combat with the 88th Division. The regiment, made up entirely of Americans of Japanese ancestry, was praised for its role in the Army’s offensive from Rome to the Arno River.
• Nisei Soldier Commended for Pacific Action, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lieut. Shigeo Vanier received commendation from General Harmon for intelligence contributions at New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese American’s work aided material intelligence and the success of the operations.
• Addiction to Pin-Ball Machines Saves Life of Nisei in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Private Yoshio Tagami of the 442nd escaped German shelling in an Italian village after leaving a pin-ball machine just before artillery struck. He vowed to play every pin-ball machine he sees after the war.
• Japanese Americans in France Have Five Main Objectives, by Seymour Korman, page 1. Cpl. Mike Masaoka told a Chicago Tribune correspondent that Japanese American troops in France aim to fight for the United States, secure their future, justify American confidence, disprove race-baiters, and counter Japanese propaganda. He framed the war as one of ideologies rather than race.
• Wounded Nisei Sergeant Tells of War Aims, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sgt. George K. Yamauchi, wounded in Italy, said Japanese Americans have more to fight for than white Americans, including recognition as Americans. He reported no discrimination against Japanese American soldiers in Italy.
• Report 25 Japanese American Soldiers Wounded in Action Recently on Italian Front, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department listed 25 soldiers of Japanese ancestry wounded in the Mediterranean area, with families’ names and WRA center addresses. The list covers men from Hawaii and mainland relocation centers.
• War Department Announces Awards of Decorations to Japanese American Soldiers, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The War Department awarded Distinguished Service Crosses to three members of the 100th Infantry Battalion, along with Silver Stars, a Bronze Star and a Legion of Merit. Citations describe acts of heroism in Italy by Capt. Y. O. Kim, Pvt. Masao Awakuni and others.
• Veteran of Italy Campaign to Speak at Michigan University, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Pfc. Thomas Higa, a veteran of the Italian campaign, will speak at Rackham Hall at the University of Michigan on Nov. 8 under JACL sponsorship. Films of relocation and University wartime work will also be shown.
• Hawaiian Sergeant Wins Commission, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Tech. Sgt. Mickey Yasu Nakahara received a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant while serving with the 100th Infantry Battalion in Italy. His brother Raymond received the news in Honolulu.
• Sgt. Toyoda Awarded Soldier’s Medal for Act of Heroism, by P.C. Staff, page 3. M/Sgt. Susumu Toyoda, a Fort Snelling language school graduate, received the Soldier’s Medal for saving a drowning civilian war correspondent at Bougainville in June 1944. He swam through heavy surf against undertow to bring the man to shore.
• A Message from a Lieutenant, by Lt. Thomas Mayo Howells, page 6. Former 442nd and 100th officer Lt. Thomas Mayo Howells writes to the Rohwer Crusaders thanking them for a booklet and expressing sympathy for families of men lost. He hopes the sacrifices will end oppression of Japanese Americans.
• Letter Tells of Nisei in Pacific, by Sgt. Milton M. Helder, page 6. Sgt. Milton M. Helder writes from the South Pacific introducing several Nisei buddies, describing their leadership, humor and character. He expresses warm regard for the men he has served with.
• Commander of 100th Infantry Cited By War Department, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Lt. Col. Gordon Singles, commander of the 100th Infantry Battalion, received the Legion of Merit citation for leading his troops in the drive on Rome and subsequent advances in Italy. His wife praised the courage of the men under his command.
• Pfc. Tochihara Awarded Purple Heart, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Pvt. Yukio Tochihara of Hunt, Idaho, seriously wounded in Italy on July 6, received the Purple Heart. He is recovering at Baxter General Hospital in Spokane.

National

• Member of Grange Repudiates Racist Stand of Leadership, by P.C. Staff, page 2. H. R. Bristol of Newberg, Oregon, a Grange member, rejected the resolution by state Grange masters calling for revocation of citizenship and deportation of Japanese Americans. He argued the resolution misrepresented the views of the Grange’s 125,000 members.
• Vermont Grange Admits Nisei to Membership, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Vermont Grange unanimously elected a Japanese American farm worker to membership after a dairy farmer refused to withdraw his application. The move came as West Coast Grange groups demanded deportation of all persons of Japanese ancestry.
• State Grange Would Revoke Nisei Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The California State Grange convention adopted a resolution opposing the return of Japanese ancestry persons to the Pacific coast and demanding their deportation after the war. The action reaffirmed prior Grange positions.
• Idaho Grange Group Raps Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The northside Pomona Grange in Idaho criticized relocation of Japanese Americans into the state and called for state legislation. The resolution framed relocation as a problem for the whole country.
• Hits Opposition to Relocation of Evacuees in State, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Twin Falls Grange unanimously adopted a resolution opposing racial discrimination and criticizing the North Side Pomona Grange’s anti-relocation stance. The resolution warned that discrimination against one group could open the door to others.
• Nisei in Italy Wins Post as Air Observer, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Staff Sgt. Arata Kimura of the 442nd is believed to be the first Japanese American to serve as an air observer for a U.S. artillery unit. He flies a Cub liaison plane over Italy to direct artillery fire.
• Garland Raps Move to Return Nisei Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Gordon Garland, director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, told peace officers that returning evacuees would create law enforcement problems. He urged officers to press Congress and the Legislature for laws to address the issue.
• Renunciation of Citizenship is Permitted by New Federal Law, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The War Relocation Authority reported that a new law allowing citizens residing in the U.S. to renounce citizenship is now operative under published regulations. Applications will be individually examined and those motivated by avoidance of Selective Service will face particular scrutiny.
• Anti-Evacuee Group To Extend Activities to Seattle, Tacoma, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Remember Pearl Harbor League of western Washington extended its anti-evacuee movement to Tacoma and planned expansion to Seattle. The group claimed 2,100 members in the White River and Puyallup valleys.
• McWilliams Declares West Coast Anti-Evacuee Drive Does Not Express Will of Majority, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Author Carey McWilliams told a Monterey audience that the campaign against the return of Japanese Americans reflects race prejudice rather than military necessity. He named groups opposing return and cited Native Sons and Grange opposition.
• WRA Denies GOP Charge On Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The War Relocation Authority denied Republican claims that evacuees were being allowed to return to Santa Clara County. WRA said it had no authority to rescind the evacuation orders.

Community

• Wounded Veteran Sends Donation for School Fund, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Pfc. Frank Shimada, wounded in Italy, sent a $5 donation to the Heart Mountain scholarship fund from a hospital. He hoped the gift would help a deserving student.
• Five Sergeants Leave Fort Snelling for OCS at Fort Benning, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Five Nisei candidates for commissions left Fort Snelling for Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Six staff sergeants were also promoted to technical sergeant.
• Mrs. Tora Miyake Dies in Des Moines, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mrs. Tora Miyake, 63, a former Portland resident, died in Des Moines after moving there from Heart Mountain a year earlier. Her late husband had published the Hokubei Times in Portland.
• Speaks on Prejudices of Minorities at Santa Barbara Panel, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dr. Mary Wong of UCLA spoke on the return of Japanese Americans to the Pacific Coast at a panel on minority discrimination in Santa Barbara. Panelists warned that wartime gains by minority groups could be lost after the war.
• Ickes Describes Nisei Colony Rumors as Pure Bunkum, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes denied reports that a colony of former West Coast Japanese Americans would be formed in the Central Valleys Project. He said all project lands are privately owned and the department has no such plan.
• Role of Nisei Women in War Effort Told, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Ayako Noguchi Nakamura, personnel relations officer at Seabrook Farms, spoke to the Cumberland County AAUW on the role of Japanese American women in the war effort. She has assisted relocation of Japanese families in South Jersey.
• Watanabe Named to Legal Post in Hawaii Government, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Michiro Watanabe, a Japanese American attorney who served two years as deputy prosecutor for Honolulu, was named deputy attorney general for the Territory of Hawaii. He began his legal career as a law clerk in the attorney general’s office.
• Evacuee Workers Honored for Good Attendance Records, by P.C. Staff, page 3. About 30 Issei and Nisei were honored by the 20th Century Glove Company in Chicago for outstanding attendance records. Navy heroes presented attendance pins at a dinner.
• Heart Mountain Evacuees Trial in Cheyenne Court, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Eight men from the Heart Mountain relocation center went on trial in Federal court in Cheyenne on conspiracy charges of inducing draftees to refuse service. One defendant, James M. Omura, was a former editor of the Rocky Shimpo.
• Hundred May Leave Center For Tooele, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Nearly one hundred Heart Mountain evacuees are expected to take jobs at army ordnance depots, including Tooele in Utah. Tony Kishi reported satisfactory working and living conditions there.
• Christmas Gifts Sent Davis JACL Members Overseas, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Davis County JACL chapter sent Christmas presents to members serving overseas with the U.S. Army. The chapter also planned nominations from the floor for coming elections.
• Dissolution of Oakland Organization Sought, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A petition was filed in Oakland court to dissolve the Japanese American Society of Oakland, whose sole asset is a bank account of about $7,728. The court granted the petition to settle the organization’s finances.
• Chinese Americans Express Good-Will for Nisei Christians, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Chinese Christian Youth Conference at Lake Tahoe sent a message of goodwill and affection to Japanese Christian youth. The message hoped the war’s sufferings would bind Christians more closely together.
• Hawaii Nisei Volunteer for Women’s Army, by P.C. Staff, page 8. American women of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii applied for enlistment in the Women’s Army Corps after WAC recruiting opened in the Territory. Volunteers will be sent to the mainland for training.
• Veteran of Pacific Campaign Denies Nisei Sabotage in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Master Sgt. Gerald M. Van Dyke, a retired army intelligence veteran who served in Honolulu, told the Greater Santa Clara club that reports of Nisei sabotage in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor were without foundation.

JACL

• Portland City Seeks Use of Temple for Recreation Center, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Portland City Council unanimously approved funds for transportation of three persons of Japanese ancestry to store equipment in a Nichiren Buddhist temple. The city plans to lease the property for a recreation center.

Arts & Entertainment

• Evacuee Girl To Make Operatic Debut in Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dora Sato, a former Heart Mountain resident and coloratura soprano, will make her debut as Anina in La Traviata with the American Opera Company in Chicago. She had studied voice before evacuation and was a music major at the University of San Francisco.

Commentary

• Vanished Candidates, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial notes that no candidates of Japanese ancestry appear on Hawaii’s territorial election lists, after such candidates withdrew under informal pressure during the war. It argues that the withdrawal is not creditable to vigorous political organizations and sets an unwise precedent.
• Grange and Racism, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns the California State Grange resolution seeking revocation of citizenship for Japanese Americans as hypocritical and driven by economic greed and racial hate. It notes the Grange’s contradictory opposition to evacuation in Hawaii.
• Martial Law, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that the lifting of martial law in Hawaii and Japanese naval losses remove the military justification for continued restrictions on Japanese Americans on the West Coast. It says rationalizing those restrictions will become increasingly difficult.
• The Right to Vote, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial reminds Japanese American voters that their small vote remains a precious guarantee of civil rights despite wartime deprivations. It notes voting will occur by absentee ballot, polling place, and soldier ballot.
• Looking at the Labor Record, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial rebuts the claim that Japanese workers threaten organized labor, citing the history of Japanese farm and plantation labor organizing and strikes in California and Hawaii. It concludes that workers of Japanese ancestry have contributed to labor’s development.
• Gold Star Mother, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial reprints a Milwaukee Journal tribute to Mrs. Yaye Ohki, whose son Arnold died in action, while she remains in a relocation center. The Journal criticized the prejudice that kept Japanese American families confined.
• Against Prejudice: There Are No Places of Escape, by Fred Fertig, page 5. Fertig argues that no place, including Hawaii, escapes prejudice, and that Nisei should not hide in isolated communities. He urges Japanese Americans to meet prejudice face-to-face with proof of their own tolerance and American idealism.
• From the Frying Pan: Reflections on the National Elections, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa rejects the claim that the government moved Japanese Americans to swing midwestern and eastern electoral votes, noting few are eligible voters. He examines the records of Republican figures including Earl Warren and John Bricker and of Democrats on Japanese American rights.
• Ann Nisei’s Column: Getting a Head Start On Christmas Gifts, by Ann Nisei, page 6. Ann Nisei provides knitting instructions for a mitten-and-sock set as early Christmas gift ideas. The column gives needle sizes, gauge, and step-by-step shaping directions.
• Speech on Nisei Prompts Reply, by Eubanks Carsner, page 6. Riverside resident Eubanks Carsner responds to Lieutenant Governor Frederick Houser’s campaign remarks against Japanese Americans. He argues that inciting hatred toward Nisei soldiers and their families is morally wrong and questions Houser’s fitness for Senate.
• Notes on a Trip to San Francisco, by Saburo Kido, page 6. Kido recounts his return visit to San Francisco after two and a half years of exile, describing neighborhood changes such as Negro residents occupying Japanese-occupied Post Street and the Fillmore district. He observes that many people can no longer distinguish Chinese from Japanese.
• Frank Okusako Commissioned on Italy Battlefield, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Frank Okusako, a former Placer Union high school student, was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army on the battlefield in Italy. He wrote that he would do his best so Nisei may be respected.

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