Fort Snelling’s language school, and the fight over Nisei jobs, 1945

Vol. 21, No. 9, September 1, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

The secrecy around the Army’s Military Intelligence Language School at Fort Snelling was lifted in this issue, as Maj. Gen. Clayton Bissell announced that Japanese American soldiers would go to MacArthur’s Army of Occupation in Japan. Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy told the paper that the 442nd Infantry Regiment was not slated for Japan. In San Francisco, Takeo Miyama kept his job at the Municipal bus barn after machinists threatened a walkout, and the paper’s editorial on the case was titled “The Right to a Job.”

The commentary pages carried Bill Hosokawa on Poston and The Governing of Men, Sam Hohri’s review of the same book, and Larry Tajiri on the California Alien Land Law. A San Diego judge ordered the Oyama farm escheated to the state, with an appeal planned. Leslie Nakashima reported on Hiroshima, and Ben Kuroki returned from the Pacific. The paper also noted the closing of the Topaz Times and the Granada Pioneer.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Army’s Fort Snelling Language School Lifts Veil of Secrecy; Nisei Will Play Major Role in Occupation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Maj. Gen. Clayton Bissell announced that Japanese American soldiers trained at Fort Snelling’s Military Intelligence Language School will serve as a language bridge for MacArthur’s Army of Occupation in Japan. The announcement lifted wartime secrecy about the school’s activities for the first time since Pearl Harbor.
• Secretary McCloy Says 442nd Not Slated for Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy telegraphed the Pacific Citizen that the 442nd Infantry Regiment will not be redeployed to the Pacific as occupation troops under existing plans. The clarification followed a radio report that the unit was being redeployed.
• Nisei Sergeant Reported Killed in Action in Burma, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Tech. Sgt. Russell Takeo Fujino, believed to be the last Japanese American killed in action in WWII, died in Burma on Aug. 4. His family, whose wife and children are at Gila River, was notified and memorial services were planned in Salt Lake City.
• Report Battlefield Commissions for 200 Pacific Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. An unconfirmed report stated that 200 Nisei soldiers in the Philippines received battlefield commissions as second lieutenants. They were reportedly assigned to military intelligence work.
• Oregon Nisei Gets Field Commission For Evacuee Group, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sgt. Toshi Kuge of Astoria, Ore., received a field commission as second lieutenant in the Medical Administration Corps while serving with the 442nd in Italy. He earlier earned the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster.
• Army Accepts Dr. Kusaka of Smith College, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Shuichi Kusaka, a Japan-born physics professor at Smith College, was inducted into the Army as a volunteer after a ten-month clearance wait. He had faced controversy in Northampton over his presence as an enemy alien.
• Nisei Soldiers in Philippines ‘Disgusted’ with Hearst Paper, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Forty-eight Japanese American soldiers serving in the Philippines wrote to the Los Angeles Examiner condemning its biased coverage of returning evacuees. They argued the paper’s stories were as slanted as Tokyo Rose’s broadcasts and noted Nisei sacrifices in the Pacific.
• Wife of Commander of 100th Battalion Happy Over Honor, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mrs. Mitsuyoshi Fukuda expressed happiness that her husband, Major Fukuda, commander of the 100th Battalion, was named to lead Nisei troops in a V-J Day parade in Italy. She lives in Milwaukee with her son and other Nisei officers’ families.
• California Legion Reinstates Two Japanese American Posts, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The California Department of the American Legion voted unanimously to reinstate the Townsend Harris post in San Francisco and the Commodore Perry post in Los Angeles, both suspended after Pearl Harbor. Legion officials said Nisei veterans would now be handled like other applicants.
• Pocatello Post Admits Nisei War Veteran, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Pocatello, Idaho American Legion post welcomed former Staff Sgt. Ivan H. Ogata, a 100th Battalion veteran wounded at Biffontaine. Commander Volney C. Watts said the post was not concerned with a soldier’s ancestry.
• Marine Colonel Backs Rights of Nisei Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Lt. Col. George Rich, a Marine combat veteran, told a Phoenix audience that Japanese American servicemen who fought in the Pacific deserved honor and respect at home. He vowed to answer for anyone who denied them that right.
• Two Nisei Veterans Enroll as Charter Members in Amvets, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Amvets Post No. 2 in Milwaukee welcomed two Nisei veterans, Tokio Shiomichi and Masaji Sakemi, as charter members in response to a West Coast group that refused Nisei admission. Shiomichi lost a leg in Italy and Sakemi had brothers still serving overseas.
• Five California Nisei Graduate Officer School, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Five Japanese Americans from California were commissioned second lieutenants at Fort Benning’s infantry officer candidate school on August 22. The group, all former Fort Snelling Japanese language instructors, was led by Lieut. Leo T. Saito, a 30-month Pacific veteran.
• Nisei Interpreter Takes Part in Surrender Talks, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Staff Sgt. Leo S. Masukawa of Madera, Calif., served as an American interpreter accepting the surrender of Japanese special attack units on Aka island in the Kerama group. The report highlighted his role in the Okinawa surrender.
• Sgt. Kuroki Returns from Pacific War, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Tech. Sgt. Ben Kuroki returned from his second tour of combat, having flown 27 heavy missions against Japan in a B-29 with the 313th Bombardment Wing. He had previously completed 30 missions in the European theater and volunteered for the Pacific.
• Dinuba Nisei Leads Squad in Encircling Move on Germans, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Staff Sgt. Albert B. Takahashi of Dinuba, Calif., received the Bronze Star for leading his squad in an encircling move against a German strongpoint in Italy. He captured 17 Germans while serving with the 442nd Combat Team.

National

• Navy Man Backs Nisei in Dispute Over Job, by P.C. Staff, page 1. San Francisco Municipal Railway machinists threatened to walk out rather than work alongside Takeo Miyama, a Japanese American mechanic. Navy hero Harold Stone publicly argued that Miyama had a right to the job.
• Nisei Evacuee Stays on Job In San Francisco Dispute, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Takeo Miyama continued working at the San Francisco Municipal bus barn despite protests from some machinists. The dispute ended when the workers voted to abandon their walkout threat after pressure from city officials and labor leaders.
• Municipal Machinists Abandon Strike Threat; Mayor Lapham Supports Evacuee’s Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mayor Roger Lapham, State Senator Jack Shelley, and other officials backed Takeo Miyama’s right to work as a journeyman mechanic, averting a strike by AFL Machinists. The workers voted to stay on the job and the Nisei continued working.
• Congressman Raps California Race-Baiters; Says Native Sons Are “Super-Restrictionists”, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rep. Samuel Dickstein criticized the Native Sons of the Golden West for opposing immigration law changes and Hawaiian statehood. Dickstein called for tolerance and an end to discrimination against racial minorities.
• Expatriates May Seek Return Of Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rep. Samuel Dickstein reported that several thousand American-born Tule Lake segregees changed their minds after signing expatriation applications. He predicted they would fight deportation in court and seek restoration of citizenship.
• Topaz Times Will Suspend Publication, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The evacuee-edited Topaz Times will discontinue publication after its August 31 issue due to staff relocation and worker shortages. The weekly served the Central Utah relocation center.
• Equalization Board’s Policy Hits Right to Licenses, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The California State Board of Equalization required returning Japanese Americans seeking retail sales permits to present assurances that the War and Navy Departments had no objection to their return. The ACLU and a Southern California PAC protested the policy as discriminatory.
• Rep. Elliot Wants State Vote On Local Exclusion Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Congressman Alfred J. Elliot told an Ivanhoe, Calif. meeting of an anti-evacuee committee that California should vote on postwar status of Japanese Americans. He said local exclusion would require a constitutional amendment.
• New WRA Policy Will Permit Nisei Employment in Centers, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A new WRA administrative notice allows persons of Japanese ancestry to be employed in regular Civil Service positions at relocation centers. Employees cannot be drawn from evacuees currently residing in the camps.
• Soldier Executed For Murder of Woman in Maui, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pfc. Jesse D. Boston was executed at Schofield Barracks after an Army court-martial convicted him of murdering Mrs. Saito of Wailuku, Maui, in February 1945. The court found he struck her on the head with a stone.
• WRA Official Sees End of “Little Tokyos” In South California, by P.C. Staff, page 3. WRA representative Elbert Cochran told the Exchange Club that Japanese Americans returning to Southern California would not recreate segregated districts like Little Tokyo. He said such segregation had been harmful to the community.
• Reports Benefits Paid Evacuees’ Families, by P.C. Staff, page 3. California’s Director of Social Welfare Charles M. Wollenberg reported that 32 returned families of Japanese ancestry received $3,637 in state benefits in June. The report concerned families returning to California after relocation.
• No Survey Planned On Japan Nationals In United States, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Government officials said no survey is planned in the United States to determine whether Japanese nationals wish to return to Japan. They noted the issue concerns only a minority of persons of Japanese ancestry.

Community

• Nisei Mechanic Wins Right To Work in San Francisco, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Takeo Miyama, a Japanese American mechanic, won the right to work at San Francisco’s Municipal bus barn after a dispute with union members. Local officials, labor leaders, and the WRA backed his right to the job.
• Rev. Kumata Will Take Buddhist Post In San Francisco, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Rev. K. M. Kumata, first resident minister of the Ogden Buddhist church, was appointed executive director of the Buddhist churches of America with headquarters in San Francisco. He was born in Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington.
• Issei Returnee Finds Housing, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Issei returnee S. Kamiya secured four-room housing through the War Housing Center in San Francisco under new directives for families of servicemen. Kamiya has two sons serving with the U.S. Army in Europe.
• Congressman Elliot Denies Charge, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Congressman Alfred J. Elliot denied a charge that he had spoken in favor of persons of Japanese ancestry 14 years earlier in Porterville. He said he had warned against Japanese treachery before and after the war began.
• Hawaii Sugar Workers Win Wage Boosts, by P.C. Staff, page 4. About 20,000 ILWU members in Hawaii’s sugar industry accepted the first industry-wide contract, providing about $5 million in wage increases. Most of the workers are Americans of Japanese ancestry, and Jack H. Kawano and Bert H. Nakano were among the union negotiators.
• San Diego Judge Orders Oyama Farm Escheated to State as Supreme Court Appeal Seen, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Judge Joe Shell of San Diego Superior Court ordered a small Chula Vista farm registered to Fred Oyama escheated to California under the Alien Land Law. Attorney A. L. Wirin announced an appeal to the California Supreme Court and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Resettlement Problems Of Nisei Outlined, by P.C. Staff, page 6. JACL regional representative Joe Grant Masaoka addressed the Council for Civic Unity of San Francisco on the evacuation experience and resettlement problems facing Nisei. The council also countered a local campaign against a Chinese American veteran’s laundry business.
• Most Nisei Canadians Decline Offer of Expatriation to Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Reports from Ottawa indicate most of Canada’s 23,000 persons of Japanese ancestry want to remain in Canada after the war. Only a small minority of Japanese nationals reportedly wish to return to Japan.
• Canadian Nisei Soldiers Visit New York City, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Canadian Nisei servicemen Tom Shoyama and George Tanaka visited New York on furlough and watched U.S. treatment of evacuees closely. They noted that Canadian policy often mirrors American attitudes toward people of Japanese descent.
• Yolo County Sheriff Commended for Prompt Action in Winters, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Joe Grant Masaoka commended the Yolo County sheriff for dispersing a crowd that gathered in Winters when evacuees stopped to make purchases. The sheriff quieted the crowd and escorted the returning evacuees to their destination.
• Granada Pioneer To Close Up Shop, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Granada Pioneer, the evacuee-edited newspaper at the Granada relocation center in Amache, Colorado, will suspend publication on September 15. Acting reports officer Melvin P. McGovern made the announcement.
• Nisei in Chicago Take Part In City’s V-J Celebrations, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Chicago Nisei joined citywide V-J Day celebrations, with many attending victory prayer services and rejoicing in the Loop. Four Chicago newspapers covered Japanese American participation in the victory observances.
• WU Leader Hails Success Of No-Discrimination Policy, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Richard Lynden, president of ILWU Local 6 in San Francisco, announced the lifting of the Stockton unit’s suspension after it agreed to abide by the union’s no-discrimination rule. He called the case a victory against prejudice toward returning Japanese Americans.
• Evacuee Family Gets Twenty Farm Offers in Pennsylvania, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Fujihara family, among the first evacuees housed at the Gusky Orphanage in Pittsburgh, left for a farm in Titusville, Pa., after receiving twenty offers. Opposition from the 26th Ward Citizens Committee failed to block the hostel, as Judge John P. Egan refused an injunction.
• Nisei Chicago Notes, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Chicago JACL chapter announced plans for a fall talent show and is compiling a directory of Nisei businesses in the greater Chicago area. Contact information was provided for the chapter office.
• Reporter Says Atomic Bomb Wiped Out Hiroshima, by Leslie Nakashima, page 7. United Press correspondent Leslie Nakashima filed the first American newspaper story with a Tokyo dateline since Pearl Harbor, describing Hiroshima’s destruction by a single atomic bomb. He reported finding his mother alive on the outskirts of the city.
• Delegate Says Nisei Loyalty Aids Hawaii’s Statehood Bid, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Delegate Joseph R. Farrington said Hawaii’s wartime record, particularly the loyalty of its Japanese American residents, strengthened the statehood movement. He noted that claims about Hawaii being dominated by Japanese were based on misconceptions.
• New York JACL Will Honor Nisei War Hero, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The New York JACL chapter will sponsor a dinner meeting on September 8 honoring Henry Gosho, a former sergeant with Merrill’s Marauders in Burma. The event recognizes his wartime service.
• Winters Police Chief Denies Recent Fire Incendiary in Origin, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Winters, Calif. Police Chief J. M. Robinson dismissed rumors that an August 15 fire destroying six buildings in the Japanese section was set deliberately. He attributed it to carelessness by a resident who had been drinking.
• Five Evacuees Get Jail Terms for Fight At Caldwell Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Five persons of Japanese ancestry were sentenced to jail in Caldwell, Idaho court on August 15 for disturbing the peace and battery following a fight at the War Food Administration camp. The case arose from a brawl among evacuees.

Commentary

• The Alien Land Law, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial condemns the California Alien Land Law as discriminatory legislation designed to drive Japanese farmers out of agriculture and strip them of property. It highlights the Oyama case, which may test the law’s constitutionality before higher courts.
• The Right to a Job, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises Takeo Miyama for staying on his San Francisco job despite threats from protesting machinists. It credits city officials, labor leaders, and a Navy veteran for resolving the dispute democratically.
• Nisei in the Pacific, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that Maj. Gen. Bissell’s announcement at Fort Snelling finally revealed the important role Nisei played in the Pacific war. It notes the fuller story will emerge after Japan’s occupation is complete.
• The Anti-Nisei Opposition, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial examines continuing anti-Nisei activity on the West Coast, including Hearst papers, the Native Sons, and labor leaders like Dave Beck, while noting declining public support. It traces the historical roots of exclusion laws and cites GI opposition to racism as a sign of change.
• From the Frying Pan: Poston Was a Test-Tube for Governing of Men, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa reviews Comdr. Alexander Leighton’s book The Governing of Men, which draws lessons from the Poston relocation center. He argues the study’s insights into administration and human behavior should guide postwar governance.
• Nisei USA: On the Opposition, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa examines West Coast opposition to Nisei return, focusing on Dave Beck’s Teamsters union and its refusal to employ non-veteran Nisei. He argues old-line labor bosses and Hearst still shape anti-Nisei sentiment but that new progressive organizations are growing.
• Recalling an Incident Long Forgotten, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa recalls meeting Shuichi Mizota, a Japanese naval liaison in Shanghai and Tokyo, who was included in the surrender delegation to Manila. He describes how Mizota and other liberal-minded Japanese foresaw defeat and hoped for democratic renewal.
• Editorial Digest: A Place for the Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Pacific Citizen summarizes editorials from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Milwaukee Journal, and Rocky Mountain News praising Nisei troops who led V-J Day parades. The newspapers cited Nisei combat heroism and the tolerance shown by fellow soldiers.
• Chicago Sun Urges Amending Of Asiatic Exclusion Law, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Chicago Sun editorialized that the Japanese American war record refutes claims of inferiority and urged amending exclusion laws. It argued the quota system should be made equitable and immigration policy standardized.

In-Depth

• A Book Report: The Governing of Men, by Sam Hohri, page 5. Sam Hohri reviews Alexander Leighton’s book about Poston relocation center, which served as a social science laboratory. The review praises the book’s lessons on administration and human behavior under stress for postwar occupation governance.

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