Nisei soldiers honored while the West Coast debated their return

Vol. 20, No. 12, March 24, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

The Lost Battalion of the 36th (Texas) Division presented a silver plaque to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team for its rescue in France in October 1944. Col. C. W. Pence accepted it on February 1, 1945. The War Department reported 17,600 Japanese Americans now serving in the Army, and A. I. Goldberg wrote about Nisei troops holding mountain positions in the Maritime Alps. Alongside this, the paper followed the argument over the return of Japanese Americans to the West Coast: Interior Secretary Ickes urged settlement in the East, California Attorney General Robert W. Kenny told sheriffs to protect returning families, and Oregon groups fought over resolutions and fair play.

Elsewhere, Bill Hosokawa wrote in his column From the Frying Pan about why about 6,000 American-born Japanese renounced their citizenship, and Larry Tajiri profiled Sessue Hayakawa and Michio Ito. Dr. Margaret Mead and Jobo Nakamura also contributed columns. Reports from Rohwer, Manzanar and Minidoka appear in the community pages, and the issue covered Canada’s resettlement orders.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

  • Lost Battalion Thanks Nisei With Silver Plaque, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The rescued Lost Battalion of the 36th Division presented a silver plaque to the Japanese American Combat Team in appreciation for its rescue in October 1944. The trophy was received by Col. C. W. Pence on February 1, 1945, the second anniversary of the 442nd’s organization.
  • Two Nisei Reported Hurt in Action, One Prisoner of War, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Two Nisei soldiers with next of kin at Tule Lake were reported wounded in action in France, and another previously missing soldier is now held as a prisoner of war in Germany. The Office of War Information named the wounded and captured men.
  • Second Battalion of 442nd Engages in Mountain Fighting, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The 2nd Battalion of the 442nd is conducting front-line combat and patrols in the high French Alps along the Franco-Italian border. The unit has earned over 1,000 Purple Hearts and numerous other awards for valor.
  • Japanese American Troops Fight Holding Action on Forgotten Front, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Associated Press correspondent A. I. Goldberg praised Nisei troops holding mountain positions in the Maritime Alps along the Franco-Italian frontier. He reported their discipline, eagerness for combat, and insistence on proving their loyalty to America.
  • Commands 442nd, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Col. C. W. Pence of Attica, Indiana, commanded the 442nd Combat Team through training at Camp Shelby and battles in Italy and France. Under his leadership units were the first U.S. troops to enter Leghorn and Pisa, and took part in the rescue of the Lost Battalion.
  • Report Japanese Americans Landed with Marines on Iwo Jima, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Star-Bulletin correspondent Roy Cummings reported that Japanese American soldiers took part in the Iwo Jima invasion with the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions. He named six men, including Sgt. James Yoshinobu, who had been evacuated from Torrance, California.
  • Hawaiian Soldiers Throw Party in South France Town, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Soldiers of the Ammunition and Pioneer Platoon of the 100th Battalion held a party at Johnny’s Place in Beausoleil, France, inviting friends from various units. They served fried rice, hamburgers and wine, while a French orchestra and local singer entertained.
  • Sgt. Abraham Ohama Gave Life to Save Comrade, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sgt. Abraham G. Ohama of Los Angeles was killed while trying to rescue a wounded comrade during the Vosges Mountains fighting in France. His earlier reconnaissance helped his company capture Hill 508, and his company avenged him in the assault.
  • 442nd Service Unit Members Wear Combat Badges, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Members of the 442nd’s Service Company, whose duties normally keep them in rear areas, found themselves in close combat contact and 95 percent earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. They volunteered to deliver ammunition and supplies to a cut-off battalion under fire.
  • National Legion Leadership Condemns Anti-Nisei Activity, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The American Legion National Defense Committee condemned the Hood River post for removing Japanese American veterans’ names from its honor roll. The resolution, introduced by Warren Atherton, acknowledged the debt of honor owed to Nisei servicemen.
  • Issei Parents of Set. Otani Receive DSC Awarded Posthumously, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Distinguished Service Cross awarded to Staff Sgt. Kazuo Otani was presented to his parents at the Gila River relocation center. Otani was killed in Italy in July 1944 while aiding a wounded companion.
  • Hood River’s Stand Cited in Resolution, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The American Legion’s National Defense Committee passed a resolution condemning the Hood River post’s removal of Japanese American names from its honor roll. The resolution acknowledged the honorable service of Nisei soldiers in the 100th Battalion and Military Intelligence Service.
  • Nisei Engineers Construct Shower for Front-Line Troops, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Engineers of the 232nd Combat Engineers built a portable hot shower for front-line troops using salvaged German, Italian and American equipment. The shower can clean about 100 men hourly.
  • Bronze Star Medals Awarded to Nisei GIs for Heroism, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers announced Bronze Star awards to several Nisei soldiers for heroism in action in France and Italy. Recipients included Second Lt. Toru Hirano, Pfc. Nobuichi Tanaka, and Pfc. Sunao Kitagawa, among others.
  • Nisei Field Artillery Battalion Active on Southern French Front, by Pvt. Peter Ohtaki, page 7. A section of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the 442nd fired on German positions in southern France. The soldiers described their role supporting infantry and their relief at sometimes having buildings to sleep in.
  • Nisei Troops Halt German Counter-Attack, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Staff Sgt. Kay Kasiwabara of Penryn, California, remained with his men after being wounded by shrapnel, helping repulse a German counterattack. The 442nd later fought through the same forest to rescue the Lost Battalion.
  • Nisei Trainees Beat 61st Division Team in Playoff Match, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The 64th Regiment’s basketball team, led by Japanese American players, won the Camp Blanding championship over the 61st Regiment. Dan Fukushima scored 17 points and Francis Kawahara 13 in the 52-37 victory.

National

  • Department Announces 17,600 Japanese Americans Now Serving in Army, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department reported that 17,600 Americans of Japanese ancestry are now in the U.S. Army as volunteers or inductees, serving in both European and Pacific theatres. The Army also announced its first alien Japanese volunteer, Kazuo Uno, formerly of Longview, Washington.
  • Secretary Ickes Urges Nisei to Settle in East, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Interior Secretary Ickes wrote Senator Guy Cordon that the department’s policy is to discourage evacuees from returning to the West Coast and to encourage resettlement elsewhere. He argued that dispersal would help Japanese Americans assimilate with older American stock.
  • California Sheriffs Told to Maintain Order, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Attorney General Robert W. Kenny told the California Sheriffs Association that local officers must protect returning Japanese Americans and their basic rights. He identified five groups stirring up trouble and condemned economic opposition disguised as patriotism.
  • Oregon House Beats Move to Force Out Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Oregon House defeated a motion to force out of committee a resolution by Rep. Warren Erwin asking Congress to exclude persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast. Committee chairman Herman Chindgren said the committee had given the measure thorough consideration.
  • Multnomah Lawyers To Assist Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Multnomah County Bar Association appointed a five-member committee to protect the constitutional rights of Japanese Americans threatened by anti-evacuee measures. The committee was formed in response to growing hostility in Oregon.
  • Group Wants WRA Officials to Resign, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Oregon Property Owners Protective League demanded the resignation of WRA director Dillon Myer and added two more WRA officials to its list. The group was organized to fight the return of evacuees to the West Coast.
  • L.A. Naval Officer Hits Discriminatory Actions on Home Front, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Lieut. Vincent P. Musto Jr., U.S.N., rebuked unthinking Americans in a letter to his parents about the return of Japanese Americans to the West Coast. He declared that loyal Americans of Japanese descent deserve the same rights as any citizen.
  • Canadian Government Tells Evacuees to Resettle Outside British Columbia, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Canada’s government announced that Japanese Canadians 16 and older would be screened concerning resettlement east of the Rockies or repatriation to Japan. Failure to resettle outside British Columbia could later be treated as lack of cooperation.
  • See No Change in Policy on Closing Camps, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A Los Angeles Times correspondent reported that federal authorities would reject appeals to keep relocation centers open until the war ends. The WRA plans to wind up operations by the end of the year.

Community

  • Cincinnati Opens New Hostel to Assist Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Cincinnati’s second relocation hostel, called The Family House, opened for evacuee family groups under Reverend John Yamazaki. The building was formerly a graduate theological student residence in a residential neighborhood near transportation.
  • Chicago Doctor Receives 400 Letters Backing Stand on Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Jackson Park Hospital incident in Chicago was declared closed after Dr. Selig Shevin, who resigned when a Japanese American girl was refused a bed, returned to the staff. Shevin received over 400 congratulatory letters, while the hospital received more than 600 protest letters.
  • McWilliams Speaks To 700 in Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 2. About 700 people attended a lecture by Carey McWilliams, noted writer on race relations, in Chicago on March 16. The affair was sponsored by the Chicago chapter of the JACL.
  • Veteran of Pacific War Returns to U.S. After 33 Months, by Pvt. Peter Ohtaki, page 3. Tech. Sgt. Takashi Kubo returned to the United States after 33 months of service in the Guadalcanal, Northern Solomons and Guam campaigns. He visited his brother at Fort Snelling before reporting to his new Washington post.
  • Oregon Group Asks Fair Play for Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A Gresham, Oregon mass meeting of citizens answered an anti-evacuee campaign by calling for fair play. Former Governor Charles Sprague said there was no logical reason to deny Japanese Americans the right to return after military necessity ended.
  • San Jose Group Condemns Attack on Takeda Family, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A San Jose group condemned the attack on the Takeda family, calling such Nazi-like actions a threat to national unity that must be stamped out. The NAACP also commended the group’s work.
  • Chrys Kubota Elected to National Honor Society, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Chrys Kubota, a senior pre-medical student from Topaz, Utah, was elected to the Drake University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. She is a student at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
  • Nisei Loyalty Told as Hawaii Newspaper Calls for Statehood, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin editorialized for Hawaiian statehood, arguing that the objection based on Japanese American citizens had been answered by their proven loyalty since Pearl Harbor. The paper said Americans of Japanese ancestry had acted with distinction in uniform and out.
  • Yamada Indicted for Desertion From CPS Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 3. George Kiyoshi Yamada of San Francisco was among nine conscientious objectors indicted for desertion from the Civilian Public Service camp at Germfask, Michigan. The indictments were returned by a federal grand jury in March.
  • Gannon Assails Statement by Kenny, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Assemblyman Chester F. Gannon challenged Attorney General Kenny’s statement that California agricultural production had suffered since evacuation. Gannon asserted that white successors to Japanese farms produced vegetables equal in quantity and quality.
  • Nisei Student Wins Fellowship at Mount Holyoke, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Miss Hattie Kawahara, who came to Mount Holyoke directly from a relocation center, was awarded the Baldwell memorial fellowship for doctoral study. She had previously spent almost a year at Minidoka.
  • First Nisei Girl Returns to Redlands, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Grace Shinoda became the first Nisei to return to Redlands, California, after receiving a scholarship from Redlands University. She had attended Manzanar high school and completed her studies at Grand Junction.
  • Chinese Group Visits Rohwer Evacuee Center, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A delegation of four men from China studying wartime conditions in the United States visited the Rohwer relocation center from March 15 to 18. Three were interested in social welfare work and one in rationing.
  • New York Nisei Girls Organize Hostess Group, by P.C. Staff, page 8. An unaffiliated Japanese American hostess group formed in New York City on March 12 to host community dances for servicemen and visit wounded soldiers. Margaret Stanicci was elected chairman.

Arts & Entertainment

  • Evacuee Artist Holds One-Man Show at Philadelphia Hotel, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Masao Yabuki, a former Topaz art department head, is holding a one-man exhibition of his paintings at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia. The show includes works depicting Tanforan and Topaz relocation centers.
  • Screen Star and Dancer, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri profiles actor Sessue Hayakawa and dancer Michio Ito, two Japanese-born stars of the 1920s, comparing their careers. He contrasts their reliance on exoticism with today’s Nisei artists like Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Isamu Noguchi and Sono Osato who are recognized as American.
  • Correspondent…, by P.C. Staff, page 5. This news brief notes that James P. O’Neil, a GI correspondent who wrote about the Battle of Belvedere, visited Manzanar and is writing about Japanese Americans for Yank. It also reports Charles F. Ernst attending an UNRRA meeting in Paris.

Sports

  • Swim Champion Says Sakamoto, Nakama Helped Him to Titles, by P.C. Staff, page 3. World middle-distance swimming champion Bill Smith Jr. credited coaches Soichi Sakamoto and Kiyoshi Nakama, along with Mike Peppe, for his success. He spoke at a homecoming honoring him in Honolulu.

Commentary

  • Racism in Canada, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns British Columbia race-baiters and economic interests who have pushed for total exclusion of Japanese Canadians from the West Coast. It warns that Canada’s Security Commission policy may force evacuees to accept permanent exile or be judged disloyal.
  • “Nazi Primer”, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes the Remember Pearl Harbor League pamphlet “Evidences of Disloyalty of American-born Japanese” as a Nazi-style document. It challenges the League’s undefined claims of disloyalty and demonstrates that its so-called facts are false.
  • Jima…, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The column recounts moments from the Iwo Jima battle, including a frail Japanese American soldier arguing with an officer who wanted to carry his pack. It describes soldiers stopping to give water to wounded Marines.
  • Labor Backing, by P.C. Staff, page 5. This column reports that CIO organizations in the San Francisco Bay area passed resolutions supporting the return of Japanese Americans to the West Coast. It also notes a San Francisco Chronicle cartoon criticizing a burned Japanese American home.
  • Living in One World: Talking About Other Groups, by Dr. Margaret Mead, page 5. Anthropologist Margaret Mead argues that everyday prejudiced conversation shapes attitudes and offers rules for speaking respectfully about other groups. She advises using preferred group names and speaking as if members were present.
  • Notes by a Nisei: Saturday Night in Chicago, by Jobo Nakamura, page 5. Nakamura describes Saturday night in Chicago, following servicemen, lonely girls and two Nisei men who discuss their longing for California and their inhibitions. The column captures wartime loneliness and the search for escape.
  • From the Frying Pan: Of Disillusionment and Bitterness, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa examines why about 6,000 American-born Japanese renounced their citizenship, citing filial duty, Kibei education and bitterness from evacuation. He argues the government should examine these cases while noting the vast majority of Nisei remained loyal.

Obituaries

  • Pioneer Issei Dies in Idaho, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Michihei Mayeda, 81, of Preston, Idaho, died after operating the Franklin Cafe in Preston for 31 years. The Preston Citizen praised his integrity and business dealings in the community.

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