The 442nd’s last parade, and the fight over Issei rights in 1946

Vol. 22, No. 24, June 15, 1946. 8 pages. View this issue

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team paraded in Leghorn, Italy, for the last time on June 5, 1946, and the front page told of its coming deactivation and a seventh Presidential unit citation. Inside, the paper followed the legal fight over Issei rights: a Los Angeles judge’s ruling against California’s fishing license ban, the Oyama case on the Alien Land Law, and bills before Congress. Mike Masaoka wrote on the Eberharter deportation bill and a private bill for Sgt. Robert Kitajima’s Canadian-born wife.

Other pages report on a new JACL chapter in Detroit, an organizing effort in Cleveland, and a Denver banquet for Nisei veterans. Editorials covered the Military Intelligence Service Language School and Japanese Canadians. Larry Tajiri wrote on minorities in the theatre, Bill Hosokawa on hunger in Japan, and John Kitasako on Jim Crow buses. Dillon Myer’s letter to JACL president Hito Okada is also here.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• 442nd to Be Deactivated on Return to U.S., page 1. The 442nd Combat Team paraded in Leghorn, Italy, on June 5 for the last time before being deactivated upon return to the United States. The regiment received a Presidential unit citation for its role in breaking the Gothic Line in April 1945.
• Camp Kilmer May Be Scene of Deactivation Ceremony for Noted Nisei Combat Unit, page 1. A deactivation ceremony for the 442nd is expected shortly after its return, probably at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. The article also reports casualty figures for the more than 10,000 Japanese American enlisted men who served in the unit.
• Nisei Is Appointed Dean of Southern Dental School, page 2. Dr. Clarence Tsukano, a well-known Nisei dental technician, was appointed dean of the Dental Technician School of the South in Houston. The appointment is noted as a notable achievement for the Nisei community.
• Nisei Boxing Star, National Titlist, Turns Professional, page 2. Robert Takeshita, a 442nd veteran and national AAU welterweight champion, signed a professional contract in Honolulu. He will make his pro debut on June 21.
• Introduce Bill to Aid Sergeant Kitajima, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Representative George Miller will introduce a private bill to allow the Canadian-born wife of Ex-Sgt. Robert Kitajima to enter the United States. Kitajima served honorably in Army intelligence and was discharged in 1946.
• Blind Girl in Tokyo Depot Crowd Befriended by Nisei GI, page 2. T/4 Toshio Sakamoto of Mountain View, California, helped a blind girl lost in the crowd at Ueno Depot in Tokyo and escorted her safely home. The story was related by the Nippon Times.
• Denver to Honor Nisei Veterans at Testimonial, page 3. Two hundred Japanese American war veterans were expected at a testimonial banquet in Denver sponsored by the Nisei community. Speakers included Col. James M. Hanley of the 442nd and Col. Charles D. Bromley.
• Begin Transfer of GI School to California, page 3. The Military Intelligence Service Language School began transferring to the Presidio of Monterey, California, with the first contingent arriving from Fort Snelling. Graduates are expected to serve as translators and interpreters in occupied Japan.

Incarceration & Redress

• Senate Group Begins Study of Claims Bill, page 1. The Evacuation Claims bill, sponsored by Senator Ellender, has been transferred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for study. The bill would create a commission to indemnify evacuees for their losses.
• Deportation Action Will Split Japanese American Families, page 3. Hundreds of Japanese American children whose parents were former treaty traders faced separation after deportation orders were issued. The Moriguchi family of San Francisco is highlighted as typical of the hardship involved.

National

• Anti-Alien Fishing Law Invalid, page 1. Los Angeles Judge Henry M. Willis ruled California’s ban on commercial fishing licenses for ineligible aliens unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. He ordered a license issued to Torao Takahashi, a veteran of 30 years of commercial fishing.
• California Supreme Court Will Rule on Alien Land Act, page 2. The Oyama case challenging California’s Alien Land Law was argued before the full State Supreme Court on June 13. Counsel argued the law was racially discriminatory legislation aimed at Japanese Americans.
• International Boundary Still Separates Nisei Veteran, Wife, page 2. Bob Kitajima, a Nisei veteran, and his Canadian-born wife Molly are separated by U.S. immigration law because of her Japanese ancestry. Their case has drawn attention from Japanese American organizations, which are exploring a private bill.
• Immigration Service Orders Stay of Deportation for 400, page 3. The San Francisco office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service stayed deportation for 400 Japanese aliens with family ties in the United States pending legal questions. The aliens had lost their status when the trade treaty with Japan was abrogated.
• Early House Action Seen on Bill to Stay Deportation of Hardship Cases, by Mike Masaoka, page 3. A House subcommittee will consider Representative Eberharter’s bill granting the Attorney General power to stay deportation in hardship cases involving Japanese nationals. Related proposals by Representative Judd may be combined with the bill.
• Four Issei Get Naturalization Papers in California Test, page 3. Four aliens of Japanese ancestry were granted first naturalization papers in Santa Cruz, California, in an almost unprecedented action. The Nichi Bei Times reported the development as a sign of growing favorable sentiment toward changing the Issei’s status.
• Rep. Healy Backs Eberharter Bill to Aid Loyal Aliens, page 3. Representative Ned R. Healy of California expressed support for the Eberharter bill, which would allow the Attorney General discretion in hardship deportation cases. He argued that loyal Japanese aliens should not be deported involuntarily.
• Nisei Canadian Workers Join Lumber Strike, page 3. All-Japanese Canadian employees of the Princeton Trail sawmill in Hope, British Columbia, joined a CIO lumber shutdown demanding a 40-hour week and safety improvements. The workers had been employed after their wartime evacuation.

Community

• First Steps Taken to Organize JACL Unit in Cleveland, page 2. A special organizing committee in Cleveland took first steps toward activating a JACL chapter on June 10, electing Abe Hagiwara as temporary chairman. Committees on constitution, membership, and other matters were named.
• Nisei Elected Vice-President, page 2. Marion Konishi was elected vice president of the Simpson College student body in Iowa. She is a former resident of Los Angeles and Amache who now lives in Cleveland.
• Two Nisei Named Honor Students at Cleveland High, page 2. Tom Kashihara and Hideko Kimura were named among the top-honor graduating students at Cleveland’s high school. Both were active in extracurricular activities and held part-time jobs.
• Find Farmer Guilty of Battery for Attack on Nisei Veteran, page 8. Ferdinand Kohler of Parlier, California, was found guilty of battery after attacking Wayne Magare, a Nisei 442nd veteran, on his ranch. Kohler was found not guilty of a parallel assault charge.
• Detroit Nisei Organize New JACL Chapter, page 8. A JACL chapter was organized in Detroit on June 7 with 51 charter members at a meeting at the YWCA. Peter Fujioka was elected temporary chairman, and the chapter joins others in the East.
• Nisei Student Wins High Honors at Hardin-Simmons, page 8. Grace Watanabe graduated summa cum laude from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, and was awarded the Olsen Medal. Her sister Jessie also graduated with high honors.

Commentary

• Gl Linguists, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Military Intelligence Service Language School, which trained Nisei linguists for Pacific forces, is returning to the West Coast at the Presidio of Monterey. The editorial praises the Nisei linguists for their contributions to the occupation of Japan and the democratization of its people.
• Confiscation by Law, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Over fifty State suits seek to confiscate Japanese American agricultural property under the Alien Land Law, which the editorial condemns as race legislation rooted in bigotry. The editorial traces the law’s origins to 1913 and the wartime prejudice campaigns that revived its enforcement.
• Japanese Canadians, by Washington Post, page 4. A Washington Post editorial reprinted in the Pacific Citizen argues that Canada should not deport about 10,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, three-quarters of whom are Canadian citizens. It calls on Canada to give these people a genuinely free choice now that the wartime hysteria has ended.
• The Theatre and Minorities, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Larry Tajiri examines how Nisei and other minority performers are limited to servile or stereotyped roles on the American stage and screen. He argues that Broadway and Hollywood’s insistence on Anglo-Saxon heroes reinforces racist myths.
• From Overseas, by Fred F. Suzuki, page 4. Fred F. Suzuki, writing from overseas, praises the Pacific Citizen for openly addressing the problems facing Nisei veterans and minorities. He says the paper gives future veterans a useful perspective on the civilian challenges ahead.
• Washington News-Letter: Court Ban on Jim Crow Buses Marks Step in Right Direction, by John Kitasako, page 5. John Kitasako describes segregation on interstate buses in the South and welcomes the Supreme Court ruling declaring Jim Crow seating on interstate buses unconstitutional. He argues it is a step forward, though other reforms remain necessary.
• To the Editor: Angloid, by Angloid, page 5. A poem by the writer ‘Angloid’ honors Nisei friends and especially Yasuo, who died above Cassino, in response to Mary Takahashi’s poem about being stared at. It argues that loyalty and character matter far more than appearance.
• Hunger Stalks the Defeated Japanese Land, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa reports on widespread hunger in defeated Japan based on letters from servicemen, noting schools cutting schedules and absenteeism rising. He draws a comparison to the long suffering of China under Japanese invasion.
• Dillon Myer Thanks JACL for Testimonial, page 5. WRA Director Dillon S. Myer wrote to JACL president Hito Okada thanking the organization for a May 22 testimonial dinner in New York. He expressed hope for passage of claims bills and revision of immigration law to allow naturalization of Japanese aliens.

Obituaries

• Joint Memorial Rites Held for Nisei Soldiers, by Dick Yost, page 7. Buddhist and Methodist groups in Tacoma, Washington, held a joint memorial service on May 30 for eight Japanese American soldiers from the area who died in battle. Paul Seto paid tribute to the fallen young men at the service.

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