April 1946: travel bans, lost property and Nisei veterans coming home

Vol. 22, No. 15, April 13, 1946. 8 pages. View this issue

Japanese Americans were still sorting out the aftermath of the war in this April 13, 1946 issue. The front page told of two Hawaii-born youths forced into labor by the Japanese army, captured on Okinawa and returned home from a prisoner of war camp. It also reported that the Immigration and Naturalization Service had ruled that citizens of Oriental ancestry need no certificate of citizenship to travel from Hawaii to the West Coast. Larry Tajiri wrote on the first anniversary of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death, and Yale professor Eugene V. Rostow argued that the country owed reparations to the people who were forced from their homes.

Elsewhere in these eight pages: a debate over Nisei attorney George Yamaoka’s role in the Tokyo war crimes trials, the planned closing of emergency housing projects on April 30, and a Boise Valley JACL pledge to honor the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Bill Hosokawa’s column and Nisei boxing and swimming champions round out the issue.

What’s in this issue

National

• Two Hawaii-Born Youths Rescued from U.S. POW Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Two Hawaiian-born citizens of Japanese ancestry, forced into labor by the Japanese army and captured on Okinawa, were returned to their Hawaii homes through the Prisoner of War Information Bureau in Honolulu. The story was first reported by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
• Shipping Companies Advised Certificates of Citizenship Not Required for Passage, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Immigration and Naturalization Service advised West Coast and Hawaiian officials that citizens of Oriental ancestry do not need certificates of citizenship to travel from Hawaii to West Coast ports. The action followed representations by the ACLU, National JACL, and others against discriminatory travel restrictions.
• U.S. Refuses to Permit Entry of Wives of Two Nisei GIs, by P.C. Staff, page 1. U.S. immigration officials refused to admit the Canadian-born wives of two Nisei GIs, leaving ex-Sergeant Robert Kitajima stranded in Canada. The Justice Department cited the bar on entry of aliens ineligible to citizenship as the basis for the refusal.
• Nisei Attorney Picked to Aid Defense in War Crimes Trials, by P.C. Staff, page 2. George Yamaoka, a New York Nisei attorney, was commissioned by the War Department as defense and liaison counsel for the international military tribunal trying Japanese war criminals in Tokyo. Yamaoka said he accepted because he believed he could serve the U.S. and that even enemies deserve a fair trial.
• Yamaoka Will Help Coordinate Defense in War Crimes Trials, by P.C. Staff, page 2. At the request of the Japanese government, Gen. MacArthur asked George Yamaoka to join the defense staff for ex-Premier Hideki Tojo and other suspects. Officials felt Yamaoka’s experience as an American attorney would help coordinate Japanese and American defense counsel.
• Groups Oppose Yamaoka Defense Role, Say Misinterpretation, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Japanese American veterans in New York criticized George Yamaoka’s acceptance of a defense role for Japanese war criminals, saying it contradicted the principles for which the war was fought. Rev. Alfred Akamatsu, however, defended Yamaoka’s action as serving the Japanese people’s understanding of democracy.
• Racial Discrimination in Naturalization Law Criticized at Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Speakers at an American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born conference in New York criticized racial and political restrictions in naturalization law, including ineligibility of certain Oriental aliens. They called for elimination of these provisions and revision of education requirements for older aliens.

Military & Veterans

• Buddhist Service Honors Nisei Soldier Killed in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Buddhist memorial service in Milwaukee honored Haruo Ishida, a former Seattle resident and member of the 442nd Combat Team killed in Italy on April 6. The Rev. G. Kono conducted the first Buddhist service ever held in Milwaukee.
• Earl Finch Pays Respects to War Dead, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Earl Finch, a Mississippi businessman who entertained Japanese American troops during the war, visited Hawaii and paid respects to the Japanese American war dead honored on the Honolulu war memorial. He returned to the mainland with a $10,000 check for entertainment of Hawaiian GIs in mainland hospitals.
• Chapter Invites Nisei to Dance, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Wilshire chapter of the American Veterans Committee invited Nisei veterans in the Los Angeles area to its First Spring Dance on April 20 at Hollywood Masonic Hall. The announcement was brief.
• Canada Lifts Travel Ban on Nisei Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Canada lifted travel restrictions on Japanese Canadian war veterans and their families, allowing them to return to the British Columbia coastal area as of April 15. Veterans of the Canadian armed forces may now travel freely without permits.
• Nisei Soldier Listed on Malheur Honor Roll, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Four Japanese Americans from Malheur County, Oregon, were listed on the county’s gold star honor roll after being killed in action with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The honor roll names Jero Kanetomi, Chester Abe, Mitsuo Iseri, and Roy Naemura.
• ACL Protest on Treatment of GIs Answered by Military, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The War Department responded to a JACL complaint that wounded Hawaiian Nisei of the 442nd were forced to travel in a Navy transport hold. Col. McCarthy declared the men received accommodations equal to other medical patients, including mattresses, sheets, and blankets.
• Legless Nisei GI Flies Plane in Army Demonstration, by P.C. Staff, page 3. John Toto, a Japanese American soldier who lost both legs in combat, helped the Michigan Department of Aeronautics demonstrate that amputees can fly. He flew a two-control Ercoupe at a demonstration by amputees from the Percy Jones veterans hospital.
• Educational Benefits in GI Bill of Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Hawaiian-born Keith Kaneshiro is believed to be the first Nisei in Washington, D.C., to use GI Bill educational benefits while working as a civilian translator for the Strategic Bombing Survey. The article explains GI Bill tuition and subsistence allowances.
• Nisei Veteran Hurt in Railroad Crash, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Taro Marumoto, a 24-year-old Ogden, Utah, veteran, was among 58 injured when a Western Pacific train derailed at Pilot, Nevada, on April 5. He was reported in serious condition.
• Two Nisei Win National AAU Boxing Titles at Boston Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Tsuneshi Maruo, a decorated 442nd veteran, and Robert Mitsu Takeshita of Hawaii won national AAU boxing championships at Boston Garden on April 10. Their victories helped the Hawaii team take major honors in the tournament.
• Returning Minority Veterans Meet Discrimination, No Jobs, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Vincent Malveaux told a New York conference that returning minority veterans, including Japanese Americans, face discrimination and are forced into menial jobs. Robert J. Funabashi of the 442nd represented the JACL and opposed segregated veterans posts.

Community

• Seattle Student Will Enter State Contest, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lucius Horiuchi of Franklin High School won a preliminary debate and will represent South Seattle high schools in the State Debate contest sponsored by the Knights of Pythias. The winner of the state contest may advance to regional and national competition.
• $1000 Pledge Made to Hospital as Tribute to 442nd, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Boise Valley chapter of the JACL pledged $1000 to the Caldwell Memorial hospital fund as a tribute to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. George Nishitani announced the pledge, noting several chapter members were 442nd veterans.
• Nisei Wins DAR Contest, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Teru Nakano, a 17-year-old Nisei student at Ridley Park high school, won a $100 victory bond for the best examination paper on good citizenship in a DAR contest. Her sister Naomi is a graduate student and sociology instructor at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Scholastic Laurels Come Easy to Two Pennsylvania Girls, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Teru and Naomi Nakano of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, have achieved remarkable scholastic records, with Teru holding a 97 percent average and Naomi earning degrees and fellowships at Penn and Bryn Mawr. The article describes their many extracurricular activities and their all-American family.
• Idaho Falls Holds Appreciation Fete for Nisei Soldiers, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Idaho Falls JACL chapter held an appreciation banquet on April 3 to honor returning Nisei veterans and thank local residents for their understanding during the war. Mike Masaoka and Ben Kuroki were the main speakers.
• Nisei Recalls Hiroshima City Before, After Atom Bombing, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Masao Terai of Des Moines, a discharged army sergeant who served as a translator in the Pacific, described Hiroshima as he saw it before and after the atomic bomb. He also noted that Japanese officials believed Allied propaganda had little effect.
• JACL Offers Aid to Hawaii Wave Victims, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The National JACL offered its facilities for a clothing drive to aid homeless victims of the April 1 tidal wave in Hawaii. Hawaiian officials later said the relief situation was under control and a clothing drive would not be needed.

JACL

• Plan Organization of Nisei Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Watam Nakashima, temporary chairman, called a mass meeting for Japanese American returned soldiers at the Los Angeles Buddhist church on April 14 to form a new Nisei veterans group. Nakashima said the group would work with other organizations serving minority groups.

Incarceration & Redress

• State Auctions Farm Seized From Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. California auctioned a 117-acre Vista farm escheated under the anti-alien land law after it was purchased in the name of an American citizen, Kiyoko Ogawa. The Tanidas, who had been evacuated to Poston and repatriated to Japan, were charged with actual ownership, and the suit was uncontested.
• Evacuation Remains Smudge on National Honor, Says Post; Urges Payments for Losses, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Washington Post editorial called the wartime evacuation of Japanese Americans a smudge on national honor and urged generous federal help and restitution for property losses. It praised the War Relocation Authority under Dillon Myer for performing its difficult task with humanity.
• All Emergency Projects Will Close April 30, by P.C. Staff, page 3. James L. Shelly of the War Relocation Authority announced that emergency housing projects housing 1750 returned evacuees will close by April 30, with about 1,000 evacuees to be accommodated in Winona trailer units. Kiyoharu Anzai asked for community support for the returned evacuees.
• Conversion of WRA Centers into Farm Communities for War Veterans Is Proposed, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Senator Joseph O’Mahoney introduced a bill to transfer three WRA camps in Idaho, Wyoming, and Oregon/California to the Reclamation Service, making 230 farm units available to veterans this year. The camps’ agricultural lands were first cultivated by evacuees during the war.
• Evacuee Losses, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial urges Nisei and Issei to complete economic loss survey forms circulated by the Council for Civic Unity in Los Angeles. It explains the forms are needed to establish the amount of losses before indemnification can be pursued, though they do not guarantee payment.
• Prof. Rostow Believes U.S. Owes Reparations to Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Yale law professor Eugene V. Rostow argued in a New York Times letter that the U.S. owes reparations to the 100,000 evacuees for property losses and detention. He said the Supreme Court’s Duncan decision undermined the legality of the wartime relocation program.
• Painting of Nisei Relocation Center Life Will Be Shown in Coast Cities, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A traveling exhibit of relocation center paintings and drawings by Miné Okubo was scheduled for Mills College and later Gump’s gallery in San Francisco. One of her drawings had also earned first prize at the San Francisco Museum of Art show.

Commentary

• Travel Restrictions, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the INS decision to clarify that Oriental Americans may travel from Hawaii to the mainland without certificates of citizenship. It traces the discriminatory practice to plantation owners’ efforts to restrict labor migration and notes that Hawaii has progressed while some discrimination remained.
• Canadian Brides, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns the exclusion of Nisei Canadian brides of American servicemen, who are barred from entering the U.S. solely because of their Japanese ancestry. It argues that the discrimination makes the inconsistencies of U.S. immigration law obvious.
• On Franklin D. Roosevelt, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Larry Tajiri marks the first anniversary of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death, praising his championing of the common people and minorities and his opposition to fascism. He compares Roosevelt to Lincoln and notes the 442nd’s collection for a Roosevelt memorial.
• Nisei USA: Vagaries, by Larry Tajiri, page 5. Larry Tajiri’s column covers miscellaneous notes on Nisei entertainers, radio mentions, and Nisei workers and veterans in the news. It also reports that a Nichi-Bei Times is to be published in San Francisco.
• Washington News-Letter: Nisei War Veteran Will Return Overseas as Civilian Worker, by John Kitasako, page 5. Jimmy Yamada, a former Japanese-language staff sergeant, describes his interrogation of Japanese prisoners in China and his later work in Shanghai and Nanking. He is now awaiting processing for civilian overseas duty to Tokyo.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa offers light commentary on the growth of perfume advertising, geisha houses in Japan, a Japanese wrestler running for parliament, and a family encounter with another Hosokawa family. He jokes about the ‘cootie-itis’ epithet among schoolchildren.

Sports

• Halo Hirose Aids Ohio State Victory in National AAU, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Halo Hirose, a Hawaiian Nisei 100th Battalion veteran, anchored Ohio State’s winning relay teams that helped the school win the National AAU indoor swimming championship. The win completed a grand slam following Big Ten and NCAA titles.

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