The Navy opens enlistments to Nisei, and Tule Lake renunciants sue

Vol. 21, No. 20, November 17, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

The Navy’s decision to accept Japanese Americans was the lead story. The Navy Department announced it was taking enlistments in the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, ending a policy set early in the war. Frances Borden reported on the reversal, which followed Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz’s letter and a request from the American Veterans Committee. Editorials and columns by Larry Tajiri and Bill Hosokawa weighed what the change meant. Another front-page story told of more than 1,000 Tule Lake renunciants who filed habeas corpus petitions in federal court, alleging duress and seeking to prevent deportation to Japan.

Also in this eight-page issue: the closing of the Heart Mountain center, a train of returnees guarded by police at San Jose, and a California VFW protest over Camp Kohler. John Kitasako described job-hunting in Washington. Sports pages followed the 442nd’s Go For Broke football team in Italy and Nisei players at West Coast schools.

What’s in this issue

National

• Navy Opens Enlistments to Americans of Japanese Ancestry, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Navy Department announced it is accepting enlistments of Japanese Americans in the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard following an administrative order. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz had stated he had no objection to receiving Japanese Americans in the Navy.
• Navy Reverses Policy Barring Nisei; Secretary Forrestal Acts on Nimitz Recommendation, by FRANCES BORDEN, page 1. The Navy’s restriction against Japanese Americans was reversed after letters from Sen. David Walsh and Secretary Forrestal were released to the American Veterans Committee. The AVC had requested the change, and the AVC delegation to Washington was called off as a result.
• Southern Pacific Railroad Takes Stand Against Racial Intolerance in Placer County, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Southern Pacific Railroad refused a request from a Placer County preservation group to remove eight Japanese American section hands. The railroad stated the workers were certified loyal by the government and their removal would impede transportation of returning veterans.
• Vandals Fire Into Nisei Nursery in Los Angeles, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Robert K. Goka, a Nisei nurseryman, reported that vandals fired bullets through the front windows of his Wilshire Boulevard nursery and threw rocks breaking glass. The incident was reported to police on November 2.
• California VFW Protests Use of Camp Kohler, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Veterans of Foreign Wars in California protested the use of Camp Kohler barracks to house returning evacuees of Japanese ancestry. The protest was made by Frank M. Jordan, California Secretary of State.

Military & Veterans

• Sgt. Ben Kuroki to Speak on Town Meeting of the Air, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Tech. Sgt. Ben Kuroki, a decorated Army Air Forces veteran, will be one of four main speakers on America’s Town Meeting of the Air on Thanksgiving night. He will also appear December 5 at Mitchell Field in New York.
• Nisei Served With Marines Despite Wartime Ban, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Nisei fought with the Marines at Guadalcanal and served with beachhead units despite Navy policy barring Japanese Americans. Other Japanese American Army intelligence soldiers served as language specialists in Marine landings at Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
• Japanese American Engineer Battalion Honored for Work in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion, an all-Nisei unit, received a Meritorious Service Unit plaque for its work in Hawaii. The battalion built and maintained the Pacific combat training center at Waianae.
• Sgt. Sakakida Warned by Japanese Official Not to Give Testimony, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Master Sgt. Richard Sakakida, a Hawaiian-born Nisei captured at Corregidor, testified at the Yamashita war crimes trial in Manila. He said a Japanese judge advocate had warned him not to appear as a witness and described witnessing executions.
• 42nd Loses Two Games in Italy League, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The 442nd Combat Team’s Go For Broke football team lost close games to UTC and the 92nd Division’s Golden Buffaloes in Italy. The team’s scrappy play was noted despite the defeats.
• Nisei Gls Unable to Find Relatives in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Japanese American soldiers serving as inquiring reporters in Japan interviewed civilians to gauge public opinion. Several Nisei GIs attempted to locate relatives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki without success.
• Honolulu Major Left Hospital Bed to Rejoin Nisei Battalion, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Maj. James W. Lovell of Honolulu left a North African hospital to rejoin the 100th Infantry Battalion in Italy after being wounded. He had previously coached many of the battalion’s members at Honolulu high schools.

Incarceration & Redress

• 1000 Tule Lake Renunciants Enter Suit to Regain Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 1. More than 1,000 Tule Lake renunciants filed habeas corpus petitions and suits in federal court alleging duress by the government and seditious groups, seeking to prevent deportation to Japan. The suits challenge the wartime renunciation statute and the Alien Enemy Act.
• Evacuee Group Leaves Seattle for Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 1. 448 Japanese returned to Hawaii from Seattle aboard the Army transport Yarmouth, including internees and relocation center evacuees. Thousands greeted the returnees at the Honolulu docks.
• Tule Lake Ex-Citizens File Suits to Regain U.S. Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The continuation of the Tule Lake suits details allegations of government duress, racial discrimination, and seditious activity by pro-Japanese groups at the center. The petitions also argue the wartime renunciation statute and Alien Enemy Act are unconstitutional.
• Police Guard Evacuee Train at San Jose, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Police were called to stand by at San Jose’s Southern Pacific station when returning evacuees from Heart Mountain were refused permission to leave the train. Evacuees without housing were taken to temporary barracks at Fort Funston.

Community

• Native Sons Want Relocation Camps Kept Open, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Native Sons of the Golden West petitioned California’s congressional delegation to postpone closing the war relocation centers. They asked that veterans receive housing preference over returning evacuees.
• Heart Mountain Center Closes; Evacuees Leave Wyoming, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The War Relocation Authority’s Heart Mountain Center closed November 10 after the final train carried evacuees to California. Center officials noted the contributions of residents to Wyoming’s agriculture and the large number of servicemen who came from the camp.
• Captain Munch Urges Assistance for Returning Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Capt. Arthur W. Munch, a former member of the Japanese American Combat Team, urged help for returning Nisei veterans in reestablishing their homes. He spoke to the Salt Lake Rotary club on November 13.
• Oakland Paper Readers Give $350 to Buy Seeing-Eye Dog, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Oakland Tribune readers donated money to purchase a guide dog named Sally for Aiko Kuroki, a blind Nisei student beginning classes at UC Berkeley. Kuroki said the dog would reduce her need for assistance from strangers.
• Youth Charged With Murder of Kurisu, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Floyd Pousson, 17, was bound over to the grand jury for the murder of Natsuji Kurisu, whose body was found in a gravel pit near Ontario, Oregon. Pousson was apprehended in Texas in possession of Kurisu’s car and war bonds.
• YPC Conference Planned by Nisei at Denver Church, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The twelfth annual intermountain Nisei Young People’s Christian Conference will be held November 24-25 in Denver. The program includes discussion groups, church excursions, a banquet, and worship services.

Commentary

• An Excellent Idea, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the Navy’s decision to open enlistments to Japanese Americans, which removes the last major restriction on the group. It credits Admiral Nimitz and the efforts of the JACL, AVC and ACLU for the reversal.
• Nisei Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial clarifies that Sgt. Ben Kuroki, who advocated inter-racial activity, may have been misquoted regarding a Nisei veterans organization. It argues that veterans should unite with other groups rather than isolate themselves.
• Helping the Returnees, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial summarizes Galen Fisher’s Common Sense article urging an interdepartmental committee to aid returning evacuees and Congressional inclusion of evacuees in War Claims Commission damages. It notes housing, licensing, and insurance difficulties faced by returnees.
• Veterans Groups and Nisei, by LARRY TAJIRI, page 4. Tajiri examines how the American Legion and VFW have shifted attitudes toward Nisei veterans nationally while local West Coast posts remained hostile. He traces the California Legion’s anti-Japanese history and notes the progress made by new World War II posts.
• Vagaries, by P.C. Staff, page 5. This column notes miscellaneous news items including an AVC poster campaign, a Chester Himes novel depicting the evacuation, and Japanese American activity in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. It also mentions a Guggenheim award recipient and CIO book selections.
• Washington News-Letter: Nisei Reveals Experiences of Job-Hunting in Washington, by JOHN KITASAKO, page 5. A Washington D.C. Nisei mother shares her job-hunting experiences, noting prejudice encountered and the value of a strong recommendation letter. She ultimately found a position as assistant auditor at a downtown hotel where her ancestry mattered little.
• Navy’s Action Is Tribute to Nisei Record, by BILL HOSOKAWA, page 5. Hosokawa argues the Navy’s lifting of its enlistment ban honors the collective record of Nisei during the war rather than any new navy broadmindedness. He urges the army and navy to recognize individual Nisei talents on a non-racial basis.
• Iowa Has Accorded Welcome to Displaced Coast Nisei, by Des Moines Register, page 5. A reprinted Des Moines Register editorial praises Iowa colleges, churches, and the Quaker-run hostel for welcoming relocated Japanese Americans. It notes the Nisei record in the Army helped turn public opinion.

Sports

• Yoshinaga Helps Lead North Central to Victory Over Wheaton, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Ben Yoshinaga, co-captain of North Central College, led his team to a 16-14 victory over Wheaton College in Naperville, Illinois. The game was North Central’s homecoming contest.
• Players Aid West Coast School Elevens, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Returned Nisei players bolstered West Coast school football squads, including Frank Miyaki at Washington State and Babe Nomura at Los Angeles City College. Several other Nisei players were noted on high school and college teams.
• Hal Hoshino May Attempt Comeback, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Harold Hoshino, a former top featherweight, may return to the ring with a possible series of matches in Hawaii. He had been farming in Pendleton during the war.

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