Nisei veterans and the return of evacuees, September 1945

Vol. 21, No. 12, September 22, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

Nisei soldiers of the 442nd Combat Team and the Japanese Americans coming home from camp shared the front page. Four wounded veterans presented President Truman with a $4,300 check, collected by their fellow troops in Italy as a memorial to President Roosevelt. Closer to home, the paper reported a house burned in Placer County, shots fired into homes near Centerville and Acampo, and police guards at a San Francisco hostel. Larry Tajiri wrote about Nisei service in the Pacific, and Bill Hosokawa and John Kitasako added columns.

Also inside: the Distinguished Unit Citation for the 442nd’s rescue of the lost battalion, and Nisei interpreters at work in occupied Japan. Kiyoshi Hamanaka wrote on the Tule Lake segregees, and a letter from Jack K. Ota questioned the care his father received. Chicago’s new ordinance against race bias in city jobs also appeared.

What’s in this issue

National

• Nisei Soldiers Honor Memory of FDR, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Four wounded Japanese American veterans of the 442nd presented President Truman with a $4,300 check collected by Nisei troops as a memorial contribution for the late President Roosevelt. The presentation emphasized Roosevelt’s ideal that Americanism is a matter of mind and heart, not race or ancestry.
• Police Arrest Two Suspects in Alameda County Shootings, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Alameda County authorities arrested two men on suspicion of attempted murder after shots were fired into the homes of two returned Japanese American evacuee families near Centerville. Sheriff H. P. Gleason ordered patrols and vowed to pursue the search for a third suspect believed to be the instigator.
• Anti-Evacuee Hoodlums Destroy Placer County House of Family With Four Sons in U.S. Army, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Anti-evacuee terrorists burned to the ground the Placer County home of the Sakamoto family upon their return, despite four sons having served in the U.S. Army, one of whom was killed in action. The area has been a center of hostility against Japanese Americans, and the family asked for an investigation.
• Police Guard San Francisco Evacuee Hostel, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Police posted guards around a Buddhist church serving as temporary hostel for 150 returned evacuees after a window was broken by thrown objects. It was the first reported act of attempted violence against returning evacuees in San Francisco.
• Vandals Shoot Into Home of Nisei Soldier, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Officials continued investigating a gunfire attack on the farm home near Acampo of a family whose son serves with the 442nd in Italy. It was the first act of violence against Japanese American returnees in San Joaquin County.
• Chicago City Council Approves Ordinance Outlawing Race Bias, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting racial discrimination in City employment and on jobs performed for the City by contractors. The ordinance sets a $200 fine for violators and bars unions from discriminating on the basis of color.
• Bank Teller Tried on Charge of Embezzling Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A former Bank of America teller went on trial in federal court on nine counts of embezzling $820 from six evacuee accounts. The case proceeded before a jury in San Francisco.
• Coast’s Fair Play Committee Puts Evacuee Question in Letter to Placer Businessmen, by Rodney L. Brink, page 2. The Pacific Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play addressed Placer County farmers and businessmen with pointed questions about their support for discrimination against Japanese American returnees. The letter contrasted publicly sanctioned exclusion efforts with reliance on imported labor and Nisei combat service records.
• Officials in Washington Doubt Treason Trial for “Tokyo Rose”, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Federal law enforcement officials rejected a proposal by U.S. District Attorney Charles Carr to return Iva Toguri, identified as Tokyo Rose, for a treason trial. Legal difficulties include questions of citizenship after marriage and the challenge of proving an overt act.
• Ephebian Society Urges All-Out Aid to Evacuee Group, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Ephebian Society, a lifetime society for Los Angeles high school honor students, passed a resolution urging full assistance for Japanese Americans returning to Los Angeles. The organization asked that returnees receive all possible help from authorities and individuals.
• Pressures on WRA, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The WRA faces Congressional pressure to cut its budget and speed closure of relocation centers before December 15. The editorial warns such cuts would impair the agency’s responsibility to resettle nearly 50,000 displaced Japanese Americans and resident aliens.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Lieutenant Given Vital Tokyo Post by MacArthur, by P.C. Staff, page 1. General MacArthur selected Army Lieutenant Taro Tsukahara, a former San Francisco resident, to supervise Nisei soldiers and Japanese employees in Tokyo’s Information Dissemination Section. Tsukahara previously served as a language specialist in Pacific campaigns.
• New Rest Center Set Up for Nisei Troops in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A new regimental rest center has been established for men of the 442nd Combat Team at Forte dei Marmi, a prewar resort town on the Ligurian coast. The facility can accommodate men in modern hotel accommodations.
• Japanese Americans Saved Allied Airfield in Burma, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Technical Sergeants Grant Hirabayashi and Roy K. Nakada translated an intercepted Japanese radio message that revealed enemy plans, enabling Allied forces to set a trap at Myitkyina. The operation secured the airfield and inflicted heavy Japanese casualties.
• Sgt. Fujita, Only Nisei Taken Prisoner by Japan in Pacific Fighting, Reported Liberated, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sgt. Frank Fujita, believed to be the only Japanese American soldier captured by Japan in the Pacific war, was reported liberated. He was a member of the lost battalion of the 131st Field Artillery captured on Java in 1943.
• Nisei GIs Assist in Rounding Up War Criminals, by P.C. Staff, page 2. According to an Associated Press report, the occupation of Japan and arrest of high Imperial officials were progressing with the aid of Nisei soldiers. Admiral Shimada was arrested with help from Nisei interpreters sent by Major Paul Kraus.
• Ventura Soldier Wins Medal in Pacific Campaign, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Technician Third Grade Hisao Matsumoto of Ventura, California, received the Bronze Star Medal for valor in the Zamboanga peninsula campaign. He had fought in New Guinea and the southern Philippines with the 41st Infantry Division.
• Armless War Veteran Finds Employment With Chicago Firm, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rex Hayao Miyahara, a 442nd veteran who lost an arm in battle, found employment as a record clerk at International Harvester in Chicago. He plans to relocate his parents from Poston to Chicago.
• Modest Nisei Officer Returns to U.S. on Hospital Ship, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Lieutenant Willie Kiyota, a 442nd officer who won a field commission and multiple decorations, returned home as a patient on the hospital ship Ernest Hinds. Fellow officers praised his leadership and the unit’s role in breaking German lines.
• Nisei Soldier Experts Trained Men for Japan Occupation Duty, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Nisei-trained military government men at the Monterey CASA staging area complained that no complete company had been sent to Japan despite thorough preparation. The article also noted the important role Japanese Americans played in the language training program.
• Restrictions on Nisei Civilian Airmen Lifted, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Civil Aeronautics Administration rescinded wartime restrictions on Japanese American pilots and mechanics, allowing them to obtain licenses on the same basis as other applicants. The new ruling ended identification and surrender requirements that had applied to Nisei airmen.
• Japanese Canadians Continue Training Despite V-J Day, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Japanese Canadian Nisei volunteers continued intensive training in the Canadian Army’s Intelligence Corps after the war’s end. They are likely to be attached to the Allied occupation army in Japan.
• 442nd Wins Distinguished Unit Citation for Rescue of Lost Battalion, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Third Battalion of the 442nd received the Distinguished Unit Citation for rescuing the lost battalion in the Vosges Mountains in October 1944. The citation details a frontal bayonet charge that routed entrenched German forces and cost heavy losses.
• Nisei in Germany Name Basketball All-Star Squad, by P.C. Staff, page 3. An all-star basketball team was selected from players in the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion league in Donauworth, Germany. Takeshita was the league’s highest scorer with 232 points in 14 games.
• 442nd’s Swimming Stars Help Win Overseas Championship, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Swimmers from the 442nd, including Pfc. Charles Oda and Cpl. Tommy Tanaka, helped the Mediterranean Theater win the Inter-Theater swimming championship in Rome. Lieutenant Robert Wakuya coached the winning team.

Community

• People’s World Will Sponsor Meeting to Welcome Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Daily People’s World announced a welcome meeting for returning Japanese Americans on October 5 at the California Club in San Francisco. Speakers include managing editor John Pittman and Dr. Hugh Landrum of the San Francisco Council of Churches.
• Nisei Receives Teaching Post in Salt Lake City, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Amy Hiratzka, a University of Utah graduate, received a teaching appointment at Lafayette school in Salt Lake City. She previously lived in Santa Maria, California.
• JACL Role on Committee Discussed at Recent San Francisco Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Gene Konomi and Gene Koode led a discussion at the San Francisco JACL chapter meeting on the Issei’s psychology and the organization’s role in rebuilding their confidence and economic independence. Dave Tatsuno presided over the meeting.
• New York JACL Dinner Honors Nisei Veteran, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The New York JACL honored Henry Gosho, a 16-month veteran of Merrill’s Marauders in the China-Burma-India theater, at a dinner on September 12. Dr. Dan Dodson of the Mayor’s Committee on Unity spoke about the importance of fair treatment for citizens of Japanese ancestry.
• Emergency Housing for 500 Evacuees Set in San Francisco, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Five hundred or more evacuees will receive temporary housing in San Francisco at Fort Funston and Hunters Point until they find permanent quarters. The arrangement was requested by the Federal Housing Authority and War Relocation Authority.
• Topaz Co-op Votes to Donate Surplus Funds to JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Topaz Consumers’ Cooperative Enterprises amended its articles to direct undistributed surplus and rebates from unlocatable members to the JACL. The amendment was approved by the board and a delegates meeting on September 6.
• Watsonville Chamber Reveals Members Oppose Nisei Return, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A Watsonville Chamber of Commerce questionnaire found members opposed the return of Japanese American evacuees by about four to one. The Chamber said the results would be sent to Congressman Jack Anderson and state legislators.
• Chicago Girls Club Installs Officers, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Yuri Tanaka and other officers were installed at a candlelight ceremony of the Chicago Girls Service Club. The meeting also planned a dance for Fort Snelling servicemen and a cookie donation to the USO.
• California Files Two New Alien Property Suits, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The State of California filed two alien land law suits against Japanese American families alleging illegal ownership of farmland in the Caruthers and Sanger districts. The complaints were brought by deputy attorneys general following months of investigation.

Arts & Entertainment

• Sono Osato Will Take Straight Role in New Play, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dancer Sono Osato will leave the musical On the Town this winter to star in a straight dramatic role in Undine, adapted from the Jean Giraudoux play. She previously performed with the Ballet Russe and in One Touch of Venus.

Commentary

• Nisei in the Pacific, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. An editorial responds to a letter from Nisei GIs of the 25th Division arguing they were combat troops, not noncombatants, in the Pacific. It calls for the full story of Japanese American combat and intelligence service to be told.
• Law Enforcement, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises Alameda County Sheriff Gleason for quickly arresting suspects in attacks on Japanese American families. It contrasts his action with the negligence shown in many other California anti-evacuee terrorism cases.
• Hearstian Contrasts, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes the Los Angeles Examiner for inflammatory coverage of Japanese American families housed in Long Beach federal projects. It notes the Hearst press’s hostility toward loyal Nisei while doing business with Tokyo Rose.
• Washington Newsletter: Four Nisei War Veterans Meet President Truman, by John Kitasako, page 4. Four Nisei veterans presented President Truman with a $4,300 check from the 442nd for a Roosevelt memorial at the White House. The column describes the informal ceremony and notes how the presentation was overshadowed by other news.
• Vagaries, by P.C. Staff, page 5. This column notes news items including a CBS interview with Horizontal Hank of Merrill’s Marauders, a Japanese American censorship team’s action on a Nippon Times article, and the reported Hearst contract with Tokyo Rose. It also reports on Nisei veterans seeking membership in veterans groups.
• Behind the Story of Tule Lake Segregees, by Kiyoshi Hamanaka, page 5. The writer argues that segregation and registration at Tule Lake were rooted in racial discrimination rather than military necessity, and that the registration process was flawed and confusing. He calls for a just solution that respects the segregees’ desire to remain in America.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa argues that the final removal of exclusion bans completes the evacuation cycle, but its social and economic repercussions will continue for years. He calls for the president to publicly recognize the Nisei’s wartime loyalty and sacrifice.
• Editorial Digest, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The digest summarizes editorials from mainstream newspapers on Japanese American issues, including the Hollywood Citizen-News on Hawaii statehood and the Register-Pajaronian on returning evacuees. It also reports on the Pacifica Views editorial supporting imprisoned Japanese American conscientious objectors.

Obituaries

• Letter: In the Interests of Humanity and Justice, by Jack K. Ota, page 5. Jack K. Ota writes to correct newspaper reports of his father Frank Ota’s death, explaining that police records and autopsy showed a ruptured artery from a car accident rather than a heart attack. He criticizes the delayed medical care his father received and asks what can be done to prevent such neglect.

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