Plans for the return of evacuees and the Nisei casualties in Europe

Vol. 20, No. 2, January 13, 1945. 12 pages. View this issue

Two subjects ran side by side in this issue. In San Francisco, federal and private agencies met on Jan. 10-11 to plan the return of Japanese Americans to West Coast communities, and WRA director Dillon Myer predicted the largest movement would come between March and September. On the front page, the War Department listed seven Japanese American soldiers killed and 151 wounded in Europe, presumably with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Larry Tajiri wrote about the welcome returning families met, and Bill Hosokawa looked at the all-Nisei combat units.

Other pages carry Bronze Star and Distinguished Service Cross awards, including the 100th Infantry Battalion. A. L. Wirin analyzed Justice Murphy’s dissent in the Korematsu case, and editorials took up Japanese language schools and John R. Lechner. A review covers Ansel Adams’ photo-book about Manzanar.

What’s in this issue

National

  • Federal Agencies to Assist Reassimilation of Evacuees Into Former Home Communities, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Federal and private agencies met in San Francisco on Jan. 10-11 to plan the reintegration of evacuees of Japanese ancestry into West Coast communities. WRA director Dillon Myer predicted the largest return movement would occur between March and September.
  • State, Federal Aid Pledged Evacuee Dependency Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Richard M. Neustadt of the Federal Social Security agency reported that governors of all Western States pledged state and county facilities for dependency cases among returning evacuees. Federal assistance will supplement state aid.
  • Report Negro Group Will Fight Eviction from L.A. Temple, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A Negro church group leasing the former Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles vowed to fight a notice to vacate. The property owners’ representative is Rev. Julius Goldwater.
  • Nation’s Newspapers Welcome Revocation Order by Army, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Pacific Citizen compiles excerpts from editorials across the country welcoming the revocation of exclusion orders. Most papers praised the return of constitutional rights, while Hearst papers and the Los Angeles Times expressed anger.
  • California Educators to Assist in Reassimilation of Students, by P.C. Staff, page 7. California county superintendents pledged at a Jan. 4 Sacramento meeting to help reintegrate returning evacuee students into state schools. State officials stated that exclusion from classrooms would be unconstitutional.
  • OPA Attitude Toward Returning Evacuees Clarified by Official, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Ben C. Koepke, Los Angeles OPA rent control director, said the agency would accord the same rights to all citizens, including returning Japanese American landlords. Eviction disputes would fall under state court jurisdiction.
  • CIO Supports Citizen Rights of Nisei Group, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The San Pedro local of the CIO International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union took a position supporting the return of Japanese American evacuees. It denounced subtle forces stirring hatred against citizens of Japanese ancestry.

Military & Veterans

  • War Department Identifies 7 Japanese Americans Killed, 151 Hurt on Western Front, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department listed seven Japanese American soldiers killed and 151 wounded in the European theatre during the week of Jan. 7, presumably in 442nd Regimental Combat Team operations. Next of kin lists for each soldier are published by state and relocation center.
  • Three Soldiers Wounded on Western Front, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Pfc. Ben Tachihara, Sgt. William Arii, and Pvt. Masaru Ishida were reported wounded in action in France, and Pfc. Jou Okitsu was reported a prisoner of war in Germany. Ishida has four brothers serving in the armed forces.
  • Soldier Hero Reported Held in Germany, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Pfc. Jou Okitsu, a Bronze Star recipient, was reported a prisoner of Germany by the Red Cross to his father in Poston. He had been missing in action since Oct. 19.
  • Nisei Soldier Wins Second Bronze Star, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Pvt. George M. Hata of Hunt, Idaho received an Oak Leaf Cluster to his Bronze Star for repeatedly volunteering to contact an isolated platoon. He had earlier received the Bronze Star for being in the first Allied patrol to enter Pisa, Italy.
  • Two Hunt Nisei Win Bronze Star Awards in Europe, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Pfc. Yasuo Pete Fujino, later killed in action, and Pfc. Ken Higashi received Bronze Stars for a volunteer reconnaissance patrol that moved six miles into enemy territory in Italy. The patrol avoided detection while gathering intelligence.
  • Mother of Air Corps Hero Hits Gardena Discrimination, by P.C. Staff, page 2. At a memorial service in Los Angeles, the mother of Lieut. Maurice Levine spoke out against Gardena’s refusal to honor Kiyoshi Muranaga, a Nisei soldier killed in Germany. She asked that all who fell for democracy be honored regardless of race.
  • Report Commander of Nisei Combat Unit Wounded, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The War Department announced that Col. Charles W. Pence, commander of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, was wounded in action in France. Pence had commanded the unit since its activation at Camp Shelby.
  • Pvt. Arthur Yamada Graduates from Parachute School, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Pvt. Arthur T. Yamada of Hunt, Idaho graduated from U.S. Army paratroop training. He is a Nisei member of the airborne forces.
  • Soldiers in Philippines Hailed Return of Nisei to West Coast, by S/Sgt. Paul T. Bannai, page 3. Bannai reports that Nisei soldiers in the Philippines welcomed the return of Japanese Americans to the West Coast, and that the exploits of the 100th Battalion and 442nd are widely known. He profiles several Nisei serving in his unit, many of them Camp Savage graduates.
  • Twenty-two Men Given Honorable Army Discharges, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Heart Mountain Sentinel reported that 22 Heart Mountain servicemen have received honorable discharges since July. The men are named in the article.
  • Heart Mountain Youth Graduates Paratroop School, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pvt. Robert Konishi became the second Heart Mountain youth in recent weeks to graduate from the Fort Benning paratroop school. Pvt. Stanley Sagara graduated the previous week.
  • World War II Veterans Induct Nisei Into American Legion; Post Condemns Racist Activity, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Hollywood World War II Post 591 of the American Legion voted in Harley M. Oka, a Nisei veterans, and passed a resolution condemning discrimination against Japanese Americans. The resolution also denounced the Hood River post’s removal of 16 names.
  • Seven Distinguished Service Crosses Awarded Members of 100th Infantry Battalion, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Seven members of the 100th Infantry Battalion received Distinguished Service Crosses for heroism in the Italian campaign, one posthumously. The article details the actions of Pfc. Kiichi Koda and others including Staff Sgt. Yukio Yokota and Pfc. Kaoru Moto.
  • Poston Soldiers Honored for Pisa Action, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Pvts. Clement Miyaya and Takeshi Takayama of Poston were among 21 Japanese American soldiers receiving a 34th Division commendation for a reconnaissance patrol that reached Pisa airport in July 1944.
  • Wounded Vet Visits Family Over Holidays, by P.C. Staff, page 6. T/Sgt. Rex Hayao Miyahara, who lost his right arm to a shell fragment at Pisa, visited his Poston family over the holidays. He had been hospitalized in Rome, Naples, Virginia, and Michigan.
  • Ex-Serviceman Found Dead at Gila River Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Joe Tsujimoto, 29, an honorably discharged World War II veteran, was found dead at his Gila River home from a knife wound apparently self-inflicted. His family was at a camp movie at the time.
  • Tech. Sgt. Kubo Gets High Military Honor for Action on Saipan, by P.C. Staff, page 9. Tech. Sgt. Hoichi Kubo of Maui became the first Japanese American soldier awarded a Distinguished Service Cross in the Pacific war, for persuading enemy soldiers to release civilians held in a Saipan cave. His heroism prevented casualties among U.S. troops.
  • Pocatello Veterans Visit Families in Poston, by P.C. Staff, page 10. First Lieutenant Gary T. Kadani and Staff Sergeant Albert Y. Tamura, veterans of Southwest Pacific fighting, visited their Poston families over the New Year holiday. Tamura participated in several beach landings as an infantryman.
  • Nisei Serviceman Visits Parents at Heart Mountain, by P.C. Staff, page 11. Sam Shinji, one of the first Nisei accepted into the merchant marine, spent a few days with his Heart Mountain parents after three months at sea. He described friendly reactions from shipmates and Naples residents.
  • Methodist Church Conference Urges Fair Play for Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 11. The Methodist Board of Missions adopted a resolution calling for justice for loyal Japanese Americans, including freedom of movement, the right to return to the Pacific coast, and opposition to discriminatory legislation.

Community

  • Hood River Area Citizens Plan New County Honor Roll, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Hood River Ministerial Association condemned the local American Legion for erasing the names of 16 Japanese American soldiers from a county war memorial. The association proposed a new county honor roll including their names.
  • Serviceman’s Family First to Leave Topaz, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mrs. Yoshiaki Moriwaki and her daughter became the first family to leave Topaz for California after the lifting of exclusion orders. Mrs. Moriwaki said knowing they were home would ease her soldier husband’s mind on the battlefront.
  • Coast Leaders Meet to Aid Returning Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Representatives of private groups and government agencies met in San Francisco to coordinate resettlement issues including employment, housing, relief, and education for returning evacuees. Governor Earl Warren sent a telegram supporting the conference’s aims.
  • Homes Burned in Placer Area, by P.C. Staff, page 3. An unoccupied house owned by a Japanese American family in Auburn, California was destroyed by fire on Jan. 8, the third such fire in Placer County in six weeks. Local authorities received no report of the blaze.
  • Two Evacuee Rail Workers Arrested, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Two young evacuees from Heart Mountain were arraigned on charges of impersonating G-Men after working as laborers for the Great Northern Railroad in Montana. They were also scheduled for trial on charges of refusing army induction.
  • Kalamazoo Five Has Two Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 11. The Kalamazoo College basketball team includes two Nisei starters, Paul Hiyama and Tom Sugihara. Hiyama is the team’s leading scorer.

JACL

  • Boston Man Helps Defray Court Costs, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The National JACL received a $478.79 donation from Godfrey L. Cabot of Boston to help defray costs of its brief in the Korematsu evacuation case before the Supreme Court. Cabot had also donated over $1000 for JACL briefs in earlier test cases.

Commentary

  • A Call to Unity, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises the Pacific Coast Committee conference for coordinating private and government efforts on evacuee relocation. It argues that dispersal of Japanese Americans throughout the country is a wiser resettlement than concentration in pre-war Little Tokyos.
  • Language Schools, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues against reviving Japanese language schools on the West Coast, noting their pre-war limitations on assimilation and that Japanese Americans in Hawaii favored their liquidation. It observes that the Army and universities now teach Japanese for wartime needs.
  • Professional Patriots, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns John R. Lechner as a professional race-baiter who fans anti-Japanese hatred and misrepresents facts. It cites his prior requests for donations from Japanese American newspapers and quotes Time Magazine on his unfounded claims.
  • Restrictive Covenants, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial reports on a Fresno residential covenant barring Armenians and Asians, and argues racial discrimination quickly spreads to affect both oppressed and oppressors. It notes Armenian Americans have been desirable neighbors.
  • Undoing the Evacuation, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri reports that returning evacuees have been welcomed by neighbors up and down the West Coast despite opposition from a lunatic fringe. He argues that the greater challenge is relocating the dispossessed majority who lost homes and businesses.
  • From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reflects on how the publicity value of the all-Nisei combat units has shaped public perception, while noting the heavy casualties suffered by the 442nd and 100th. He recalls a camp meeting where a young man questioned whether Nisei would be used as cannon fodder.
  • The Menace, by Pvt. Al Hicks, page 5. A short story, reprinted from Script Magazine, follows Japanese American gunner Onishi Takashima aboard a bomber over enemy territory. Wounded, he shoots down enemy fighters and recovers in a hospital, where he asks whether his mother in a relocation camp would receive his insurance.
  • Mugwump’s Progress II: Dr. Lechner Once Opposed Evacuation of Coast Nisei, by Togo Tanaka, page 6. Togo Tanaka, a letter writer, cites a January 1942 Los Angeles Daily News report that John Lechner opposed mass evacuation of Japanese Americans. He argues Lechner has reversed positions for political gain.
  • Wrong, Says Lechner, by Dr. John R. Lechner, page 6. Dr. John R. Lechner responds to a Pacific Citizen editorial, claiming the invitation to a meeting was offered in good faith. He calls for objective discussion and urges the JACL to support the Jackson Bill calling for an investigation.
  • An Open Letter to Pfc. Hoshinao Omiya, by Kenesaw Mountain Landis II, page 9. Chicago Sun columnist Landis writes to a blinded Nisei soldier, reflecting on the Supreme Court’s decision and the Hawaiian Nisei’s loyalty. He contrasts their treatment with the mass incarceration of Californians.
  • Judge Murphy Dissents: Coast Exclusion Orders Went Beyond Constitutional Power, by A. L. Wirin, page 9. Wirin, special counsel for the National JACL, analyzes Justice Murphy’s dissent in the Korematsu case, which argued the exclusion orders went beyond constitutional power and into racism. He also summarizes Justice Jackson’s objections to racial criminality and the preventive detention doctrine.
  • Born Free and Equal: Photo-Book About Manzanar, by P.C. Staff, page 10. A review of Ansel Adams’ photo-book Born Free and Equal, documenting Japanese Americans at Manzanar Relocation Center. The reviewer praises the book’s intimate portrayal of evacuee life and its argument against racial discrimination and cheap-labor charges.

Thank you for exploring the Pacific Citizen archive. The title, introduction and contents on this page were written by an AI model from scans of the printed issue, so they may contain mistakes. If you spot one, we would be grateful if you let us know.

More from Issue archive