The 442nd’s return home, and the closing of the relocation centers

Vol. 21, No. 2, July 14, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

The Fifth Army announced on July 7 that the 442nd Regimental Combat Team would return to the United States in February 1946 and be placed in tactical reserve. That news led this eight-page issue, and an editorial, “Return of the 442nd,” followed it up. The other big story was the War Relocation Authority’s schedule for closing all eight relocation centers, with Rohwer last on December 15. Another front-page story told of Nisei soldiers at Fort Benning who were handed naturalization forms. Editorials took on Senator Jack Tenney’s false spy charges and the closing of the centers, while Larry Tajiri and Bill Hosokawa wrote columns.

Other pages follow attacks on returning Japanese Americans, including a $1,000 reward for the conviction of a terror raider, and the opposition of Collier’s Magazine and church leaders to such agitation. Several pieces follow Nisei soldiers: a Bronze Star at Luciana, a father and son reunited on Okinawa, and Hawaiian swimmers in Milan. Jobo Nakamura contributed a short story set in Chicago.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• 442nd Combat Team Will Return to U.S., by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Fifth Army announced that the 442nd Regimental Combat Team will return to the United States in February 1946 and be placed in tactical reserve. The unit’s combat history, from the 100th Infantry Battalion through the Vosges and Italian campaigns, is recounted.
• Citizenship of Nisei Doubted at Army Camp, page 1. Nisei soldiers in training at Fort Benning, Georgia, were issued naturalization application forms, implying doubt about their citizenship. The soldiers, all U.S.-born, protested the action to the Pacific Citizen.
• Nisei in Army Number 20,000, Reports WRA, page 2. The WRA reported that at least 20,529 Japanese Americans serve in the armed forces and have suffered more than 3,000 casualties. General Jacob Devers praised Nisei soldiers as among the finest in the U.S. Army.
• Indio Soldier Wins Citation for Heroism, page 2. Pfc. Henry N. Shibata of Indio, California, received the Bronze Star for administering first aid to a wounded comrade under fire near Luciana, Italy. He carried the man to safety while under sniper and shellfire.
• Honolulu Lions Urge Protection for Evacuees on Coast, page 2. The Honolulu Lions Club urged public opinion to act against terrorism directed at returning evacuees of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast. The club called for fair play and tolerance.
• Nisei Meets Father on Okinawa, page 3. Sgt. Seiyu Higashi, a Japanese American interpreter with the 24th Division on Okinawa, was reunited with his father. Higashi had trained at Fort Snelling for the Okinawa invasion.
• Officers of 442nd Condemn Terrorism Against Nisei, page 3. Two Army officers of the 442nd, Capt. George Grandstaff and Lt. Norman Mitchell, condemned racial vengeance against Japanese Americans on the West Coast as un-American. They spoke after visiting Nisei patients at Birmingham General Hospital.
• Nisei Sergeant Receives Special Training for Okinawa Invasion, page 3. Sgt. Seiyu Higashi trained specially for the Okinawa invasion because his childhood had taught him the Okinawan dialect. His instructors described him as an obedient and conscientious student.
• Describe Departure of First Canadian Nisei, page 5. The New Canadian reported on the departure of the first twelve Nisei Canadians to join the Canadian Army from Toronto on March 4, 1945. A Nisei girl’s eyewitness account describes the scene at Union Station.
• Hawaiian Stars of 442nd Unit Give Exhibition in Milan, page 6. Hawaiian swimmers from the 442nd performed in an exhibition at an indoor pool in Milan during the opening of a British club. Japanese Americans dominated events against British and South African competitors.
• Nisei Captain Serves in 10th Mountain Unit, page 6. Captain Pete T. Okumoto of Hilo, Hawaii, is believed to be the only Japanese American serving with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy. He is a medical officer attached to the 10th Mountain Medical Battalion.
• Medical Aid Man Wins Medal for Aid to Wounded, page 6. Sgt. Frank H. Yano of San Francisco received an Oak Leaf Cluster to the Bronze Star for evacuating wounded men under heavy shellfire in the Vosges Mountains. He is returning home with an adjusted service score of 102.
• Officers Leave 442nd Infantry to Return Home, page 8. Six officers of the 442nd with high service ratings left Italy to return home, including Lt. Shoichi Koizumi of Reno. Koizumi was commissioned after battlefield promotion and earned a Bronze Star.
• 98 Enlisted Men, One Officer Leave 442nd for U.S., page 8. Ninety-eight enlisted men and one officer of the 442nd with high adjusted service scores left for a redeployment depot in Italy. They will be transshipped to the United States for discharge.

National

• Aged Evacuee, 91 Years of Age, Leaves for East, page 1. Yahichi Yahiro, the oldest evacuee at Heart Mountain, left for Chicago on July 3 to relocate. Relocation authorities also reported that 2,209 people had left Heart Mountain in six months and 3,879 more were preparing to leave.
• Court Ruling Hits Rights of Japanese Aliens, page 1. A Stockton Superior Court judge ruled that aliens of Japanese ancestry cannot lease or occupy commercial property in California absent a treaty. The case arose from a 1942 theater lease challenged by the lessor’s son.
• All Relocation Centers Will Be Closed by Dec. 15, Says WRA, page 1. The War Relocation Authority announced a staggered schedule for closing all eight relocation centers, with Rohwer closing last on December 15. WRA director Dillon Myer urged residents to complete relocation plans by September 1.
• Louisiana Group Protests Ban on Nisei Urged by State Official, page 1. The Louisiana League for Preservation of Constitutional Rights protested Agriculture Commissioner Harry Wilson’s recommendation that parish police juries bar resettlement of Japanese Americans. The New Orleans Item editorially backed the league’s position.
• $1,000 Reward Offered for Conviction of Terror Raider, page 2. Attorney General Robert Kenny announced that the ACLU is offering $1,000 for the arrest and felony conviction of anyone attacking persons of Japanese ancestry in California. Kenny noted that attacks had subsided in recent weeks.
• Japanese Canadians Seek to Cancel Repatriation Requests, page 2. Several Japanese Canadians applied to cancel forms they signed requesting postwar repatriation to Japan. Commissioner T. B. Pickersgill said the applications were filed for future consideration.
• Draft Law Violators Face Two Year Terms in Federal Prison, page 2. Twenty-two evacuees from Heart Mountain were sentenced to two years in federal prison on July 10 for violating the Selective Service law. They were represented by attorney A. L. Wirin.
• WRA, Resettlement Group Back Evacuees in Pittsburgh Dispute, page 2. Officials of the War Relocation Authority and the Pittsburgh Citizens’ Resettlement Committee refused to abandon plans to relocate Japanese Americans despite opposition from a local ward group. The committee pledged continued support for returning evacuees.
• Collier’s Magazine Condemns Coast Racism in Lead Editorial, page 2. Collier’s Magazine editorially condemned the Japanese Exclusion League and similar groups on the West Coast. The editorial compared them to the Ku Klux Klan and urged influential citizens to oppose them.
• Navy Man Criticizes Groups Opposing Return of Nisei, page 2. A Navy man wrote to the Tacoma Times criticizing groups that oppose the return of Nisei. He said he was disturbed by the anti-Japanese movement he read about while serving overseas.
• WRA Offers Proof Tenney Spread Lies About Evacuees, page 3. The War Relocation Authority presented evidence that State Senator Jack Tenney deliberately misinformed West Coast newspapers with false spy charges. The charges were later quietly withdrawn in an amended resolution.
• Warren Signs Bill to Enforce Law on Aliens, page 3. Governor Warren signed the Donnelly bill giving the attorney general primary authority to enforce the California Alien Land Law. The law also created a fund from sales of illegally held alien property.
• Christian, Jewish Leaders Rap Agitation Against Evacuees, page 3. Three leaders of the San Francisco Conference of Christians and Jews wrote to the Examiner condemning unfair treatment of Japanese American citizens. They noted returnees had proven themselves good citizens through their conduct.
• Test Case Figure Employed on Mayor’s Committee in Chicago, page 3. Mitsuye Endo, whose Supreme Court test case established the right to leave relocation centers, was hired as secretary to a Chicago mayor’s race relations committee. She received several job offers after arriving in Chicago.
• Race Relations Council Sends Officials to Discuss Evacuee Problem with Agency Heads, page 8. A committee of the American Council on Race Relations met Washington officials about resettlement problems facing returning Japanese Americans. They urged federal protection and government housing, and were impressed by new Attorney General Thomas Clark.
• Fresno Action on Leases Awaits Verdict of Appellate Court, page 8. Fresno District Attorney James Thuesen said forfeiture actions against Japanese national leases would be pursued only if higher courts uphold the Stockton ruling. He said he believed commercial holdings of aliens in Fresno were extensive.

Community

• Steps Taken to Form State-wide Body to Fight Discrimination, page 2. A state-wide body to combat racial discrimination in California was undertaken at a July 6 meeting of California Councils for Civic Unity. JACL representatives attended the Sacramento session.
• Okuda Heads New Group to Assist Evacuees in Seattle, page 2. Kenji Okuda was named chairman of a newly organized Resettlement Council in Seattle to assist returning evacuees. Evacuees who have returned to the Seattle area are eligible for membership.
• No Damage Done, No One Hurt in Latest California Incident, page 2. An unidentified person threw a piece of iron pipe through the window of George Takeuchi’s store in Selma, California, causing no injuries. Police and WRA investigators had not identified the culprit.
• WRA Sponsors Program to Introduce Nisei to Chicagoans, page 8. The WRA in Chicago launched an accelerated program to educate residents about Americans of Japanese ancestry, with speaking requests averaging five weekly. A WRA staff member’s talk to the Oak Park Kiwanis Club was cited as an example.

Commentary

• Closing the Centers, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial examines the WRA’s announced schedule for closing the relocation centers by December 15, 1945. It argues that the staggered plan is a reasonable response to transportation constraints and the agency’s commitment to relocating all eligible evacuees.
• Return of the 442nd, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the announcement that the 442nd will return home, recounting the unit’s origins and combat record. It argues that the unit’s sacrifices have secured a stronger future for Japanese Americans.
• Tenney’s Big Lie, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns State Senator Jack Tenney for falsely charging that returning evacuees were spies and for later quietly retracting the charges. It concludes that his effort to try evacuees in the press failed.
• All Are Not Ignorant, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial responds to Fort Benning’s issuance of naturalization forms to Nisei soldiers, calling it ignorance of the Constitution. It notes that War Department officials and combat officers recognize Nisei loyalty.
• About Some Expatriates, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The column recalls Nisei who lived in Japan before Pearl Harbor, describing their economic and social circumstances and how most returned to America. It concludes that most proved loyal Americans, undermining race-baiters’ claims.
• Only 90 Per Cent Free, page 4. The Lewiston Tribune reproached a Spokane VFW post for allowing a 10 percent minority to block a Japanese American veteran’s membership. The editorial said the case illustrates the danger of democratic organizations being controlled by a few.
• From the Frying Pan: Times and Arguments Change But Little, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa compares a 1920 congressional inquiry into the Japanese problem with present anti-Japanese agitation. He argues the arguments remain largely unchanged, though government now recognizes minority rights more.

In-Depth

• Big City Blues: Summer Night in Chicago, by Jobo Nakamura, page 5. A short fiction piece follows Masao, a Nisei in Chicago, as he wanders the city feeling lonely and uncertain about his future. The story ends with him becoming ill after a bad hamburger and falling asleep in his clothes.

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