Boycotts, returnees and the Nisei soldier, July 1945

Vol. 21, No. 3, July 21, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

Prejudice against returning Japanese Americans ran through this eight-page issue. On page one, Seattle florists boycotted flowers grown by George Kawachi, who answered by donating his blooms to Harborview Hospital. Secretary of Agriculture Clinton Anderson urged Seattle produce dealers to end their boycott, and Bill Hosokawa’s column took up the same subject. Larry Tajiri wrote about Nisei paratroopers who fought in the Philippines. Editorials praised Pittsburgh’s response to a Nisei hostel and called for housing action before the relocation centers close.

Other pages report on the 442nd Infantry Regiment, which would join the strategic reserve, and on the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion near Berchtesgaden. Lyn Crost wrote about three Dachau prisoners the 522nd adopted. John Nakamura’s column reflected on two years of Nisei life in Chicago. Page five reports an ACLU reward for catching terrorists, and the Heart Mountain Sentinel announced it would stop publishing.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Japanese American Donates Blooms to Harborview Hospital, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Seattle florists boycotted flowers grown by returning Japanese American George Kawachi, who responded by donating his blooms to Harborview Hospital for veterans. Kawachi, whose family has members serving in the Army, said he did not blame his former florist customers.
• Housing Shortage Slows Down Canada Relocation Program, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Housing shortages in eastern Canada were blamed for slowing the relocation of Japanese Canadian evacuees east of the Rockies. Only 106 persons relocated there between June 1 and June 25.
• Nisei Veterans Attend Picnic in Washington, by P.C. Staff, page 2. About 250 Nisei soldiers, some returned veterans from the Philippines and Italy, attended a Father’s Day picnic sponsored by Washington Issei at Fort Kemble Park. Nisei hostesses from the Washington USO helped entertain the servicemen.
• Hold Hearings on Licenses for Evacuees Returned Brokers, by P.C. Staff, page 2. California’s Department of Real Estate held hearings on renewing real estate broker licenses for three returning evacuees of Japanese ancestry. All brokers’ licenses held by Japanese Americans had expired after the 1942 evacuation.
• Joe Masaoka Takes Over JACL Office in San Francisco, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Acting National Secretary Teiko Ishida handed over the San Francisco JACL office to Joe Grant Masaoka after establishing it in January. She had previously carried on JACL activities in New York and Washington.
• Despondency Given as Cause of Issei Death, by P.C. Staff, page 7. An Issei man, Hisashi Osako, died by suicide in Washington after despondency over reports that his family was killed in B-29 raids on Kyushu. His family had lost a foster son in the 442nd, and the death was attributed to his mental state.
• Nisei in Baltimore Participate in Interracial Work Project, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Two Nisei residents of Baltimore joined ten other young people in renovating a historic house at 700 West Lombard Street as an interracial work project. The house will serve as a shared residence and study center under the Society of Friends.
• Poston Boy, 6, Drowns in Center Swimming Pool, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Six-year-old Masaharu Hamako drowned at Pool 44 in the Poston relocation center after about fifteen minutes underwater. Artificial respiration failed to revive him.
• Wounded Nisei Soldier Plunges to Death in Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Sgt. Lawrence Mizumoto, a 22-year-old Honolulu Nisei convalescing at Vaughan General Hospital, died after falling from a Chicago River viaduct. Police said he apparently tried to jump and fell onto the walk.

National

• Agriculture Secretary Anderson Wires Seattle Produce Group to Abandon Anti-Nisei Boycott, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Secretary of Agriculture Clinton Anderson called the boycott of evacuee-grown produce unjustified and urged Seattle dealers to end it amid a food shortage. He said he had received numerous complaints that Seattle firms refused to handle farm goods grown by Japanese Americans.
• California VFW Asks Deportation of ‘Disloyal’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The California Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars petitioned Congress to deport persons of Japanese ancestry deemed disloyal. The group also urged other states to take similar action.
• California Judge Jails Woman for Threat Against Returnee, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Justice of the Peace Milo E. Dye sentenced Wilma Insigne to 90 days in jail for threatening a returning Japanese American family in Walnut Grove. It was the first jail sentence for threatening Japanese Americans returning from relocation centers.
• Civil Liberties Union Seeks Revision of Navy Ban Against Japanese American Enlistments, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The American Civil Liberties Union asked Navy Secretary Forrestal to lift the Navy’s ban on Japanese American enlistment, the only government department to totally exclude Nisei. The ACLU rebutted the Navy’s stated military reasons point by point.
• National Lawyers Guild May Be Asked to Study Kenny’s Actions, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Los Angeles Times reported the National Lawyers Guild may investigate California Attorney General Robert Kenny for failing to prosecute terroristic acts against returning evacuees. Guild members reportedly resent Kenny’s conservatism and his stance on Henry Wallace.

Incarceration & Redress

• Heart Mountain Sentinel Will Suspend Publication, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Sentinel, weekly newspaper at the Heart Mountain relocation center, will cease publication with its July 28 issue as the camp closes by November 15. The paper was first issued in 1942 and reached a circulation of 6,000.
• Dillon Myer Asks Relocated Evacuees to Assist in Outside Resettlement of Center Group, by P.C. Staff, page 2. WRA Director Dillon Myer urged evacuees already resettled to help those still in centers relocate, stressing employment levels and winter timing. He also asked resettled families to help newcomers with housing and adjustment.
• Rep. Sheppard Raps WRA for Relocating Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rep. Sheppard of California accused the War Relocation Authority of conspiring to release Japanese Americans who might engage in sabotage on the West Coast. WRA Los Angeles supervisor Paul Robertson rejected the charges, noting the War Department had lifted restrictions on returns.
• Action on Housing, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial urges Federal action to provide housing for minority groups on the West Coast before the relocation centers close by December 15. It notes that Los Angeles alone must house some 36,000 persons within five months.
• ACLU Reveals Terms of $1000 Reward for Catching Terrorists, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The ACLU of Northern California offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to convictions of persons committing terrorism against returning Japanese Americans. Attorney General Robert Kenny agreed to transmit the offer to California sheriffs and district attorneys.
• Kaltenborn Aids Nisei Student Relocation Funds, by P.C. Staff, page 5. NBC commentator H.V. Kaltenborn donated $100 to the Japanese American Student Relocation Council and praised the combat record of Japanese Americans. He called the nation’s restrictions on their parents a short-sighted policy.
• Utah Farm Official Protests Ban on Work by Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Frank G. Shelley of the Utah State Farm Bureau protested a WRA policy barring Topaz evacuees from accepting outside work. He cited farm labor needs and argued the policy discourages resettlement.
• Fresno County Plans Suits to Escheat Lands, by P.C. Staff, page 8. District Attorney James Thuesen announced new Fresno County suits seeking forfeiture of farmland allegedly under illegal alien control. He said a Stockton ruling on commercial leases would need study before action on commercial property.

Military & Veterans

• 522nd Artillery Unit Guards Area Near Hitler’s Ex-Retreat, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Men of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion are on security guard near Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s former mountain retreat. Their duties include patrolling a bridge across the Danube and assisting displaced persons.
• Japanese Americans Believed First of Group to Be Sent to Pacific as ‘Combat Soldiers’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A limited number of Nisei soldiers from the West Coast fought as paratroopers in the Philippines campaign, contrary to earlier War Department policy. Thousands of other Japanese Americans serve in the Pacific as interpreters and language specialists.
• 442nd Regiment Will Become Part of Strategic Reserve, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Fifth Army headquarters announced the 442nd Infantry Regiment will join the strategic reserve when it returns to the United States in February 1946. The announcement corrected an earlier report that it would be part of the tactical reserve for the Pacific war.
• Three Inmates of Dachau Camp Adopted by 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, by Lyn Crost, page 2. Men of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion adopted three Lithuanian former Dachau prisoners after liberating them near Munich. The battalion shared food with the emaciated prisoners and learned of Nazi brutalities at the camp.
• Officer, Five Men of 100th Receive Key to Italian City, by P.C. Staff, page 2. First Lieutenant Thomas Plourde led a task force including five men of the 100th Battalion into Alessandria, Italy, where 83 German officers and 300 men were waiting to surrender. The population jammed the streets to welcome the Americans, who received the city’s key.
• Gresham Nisei Wins Citation for Heroism, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Private First Class Joseph H. Nagaki of Gresham, Oregon received the Bronze Star and an Oak Leaf Cluster for heroic actions in France and Italy. He killed two enemy riflemen and wounded a third to save his sergeant and later joined an attack that relieved a pinned-down carrying party.
• Veterans Discuss Combat Experiences, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Capt. George Grandstaff and Lt. Norman Mitchell, officers who served with the 442nd, spoke against racial intolerance after visiting wounded Nisei soldiers at Birmingham General Hospital. Both condemned the discrimination their former comrades faced at home.
• Returned 442nd Officers Act to Fight West Coast Racism, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Two Los Angeles County Army officers returned from combat met wounded Nisei buddies and protested the persecution of Japanese American families. Capt. George Grandstaff planned a speaking tour against racial intolerance, citing the 442nd’s record of decorations.
• Guam Soldier Asks VFW to Admit Nisei GI from Spokane, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sgt. Gerald Coldeen wrote from Guam urging Spokane VFW Post 51 to reconsider its rejection of Pfc. Richard Naito, a Japanese American veteran. He said at least 50 servicemen on Guam approved the letter.
• Japanese Canadian Returns After Five Years Overseas, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sgt. Senmatsu Nishikawa of Calgary, one of few Japanese Canadians to serve overseas in the Canadian Army, returned home after five years on the European front. He is now trying to reconnect with two brothers lost after the evacuation.
• Nisei Paratrooper Returns to U.S. From Europe Battles, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Pvt. Arthur Yamada, a paratrooper with battle stars from the Ardennes and North Germany campaigns, returned to the United States. He described the terrible conditions he saw at a German concentration camp.

Commentary

• The Pittsburgh Story, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Pittsburgh’s newspapers, labor groups, and service clubs opposed a 26th Ward protest against a Nisei hostel in the Gusky Home. The editorial argues the city’s reaction showed democratic values prevailing over prejudice.
• California Congressmen, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial rebuts Rep. Dworshak’s charge that California’s congressional delegation is inconsistent in backing FEPC while opposing evacuee return. It argues most opposition comes from a reactionary minority of California congressmen.
• Veterans’ Organizations, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises the American Veterans Committee for opposing racial discrimination against Japanese Americans while criticizing other veterans’ groups for opposing Nisei enrollment. It also credits the national American Legion leadership for moderating its stance.
• Nisei Soldiers in the Pacific, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri examines the War Department’s policy of not using Nisei in Pacific combat, noting that many Japanese Americans served in non-combat roles. He argues the policy is weakened now that Nisei paratroopers have fought in the Philippines.
• From the Frying Pan: Prejudices Costly for Coast Housewives, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa welcomes Secretary Anderson’s condemnation of the Seattle produce boycott and calls for antitrust action. He argues the boycott is a monopolistic freeze-out of Japanese American growers.
• Two Years in Chicago: Notes on Integration, by John Nakamura, page 5. Nakamura reflects on two years of Nisei relocation to Chicago, describing how forced integration rhetoric gave way to genuine friendships. He worries that new Nisei clubs and gatherings risk recreating a ‘Nihonjin-town.’

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