The 442nd comes home: a presidential review and a pictorial section

Vol. 23, No. 2, July 13, 1946. 12 pages. View this issue

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team’s homecoming filled this 12-page issue. President Truman was to review the Nisei troops in full dress on the ellipse by the White House and affix the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation to the unit’s colors. John Kitasako reported from Washington on the troops’ arrival at Fort Belvoir, where some men said they would rather go easy on the hero stuff. A four-page pictorial section by Henry Yamada shows the Wilson Victory reaching New York, and baseball fans in Washington gave 350 veterans an ovation.

Elsewhere, the Ninth Circuit upheld the convictions of draft resisters from the Poston relocation center, and Attorney General Tom Clark signaled a stay of deportation for treaty traders and hardship cases. Minneapolis groups fought a housing ban against Nisei veteran Jon Matsuo. Editorials marked the end of the War Relocation Authority, and Bill Hosokawa wrote about returning to Seattle after four years.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• President Truman Will Review Nisei Combat Team Monday, by John Kitasako, page 1. President Truman will inspect and affix the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation to the colors of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during a full dress parade in Washington, D.C. on Monday, July 15. The ceremony honors Japanese American soldiers who fought with the unit, which will be deactivated after its homecoming stay.
• Baseball Fans Give Ovation to 442nd Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Some 350 veterans of the 442nd attended a Chicago-Washington game at Griffiths Stadium as guests of the Washington club and received a thunderous ovation from 15,000 fans. The announcer praised the unit’s combat record and said the Nisei had proved themselves real Americans.
• Nisei Troops Will Parade Before President, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team will parade down Constitution Avenue and be reviewed by President Truman, with deactivation ceremonies planned at Fort Belvoir. Veterans who reenlisted and fifteen combat veterans have been ordered to join the parade.
• Japanese American Troops Arrive in Nation’s Capitol, by John Kitasako, page 2. The 442nd arrived at Fort Belvoir for a 10-day stay before presenting their colors to the President and being deactivated. At a USO reception, Dillon Myer was welcomed and honored for his wartime leadership of the WRA.
• Go Easy on Hero Stuff, Say Men of 442nd Combat Team, by John Kitasako, page 2. Members of the 442nd prefer simple reception ceremonies over heroic fanfare, and some were reluctant about the parade before the President. Army officials persuaded them that the honor represented every Nisei who served overseas.
• Nisei Officer Wins Promotion to Colonelcy, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Maj. Kawasaki, a surgeon who served with the 100th Infantry Battalion and as assistant chief surgeon to Gen. Patton’s Third Army, received a terminal promotion to lieutenant-colonel. He is the second Japanese American to receive this rank.
• 1300 Flower Leis Flown From Hawaii to Men of 442nd, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Leis from Hawaii were presented to returning 442nd veterans at a watermelon feast at Camp Kilmer on July 4. Personal leis from families were included among the 1,846 total.
• Caldwell 442nd Veteran Dies, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mitsugi Murakami of Caldwell, Idaho, a member of the 442nd, died July 3 from complications of wounds sustained in combat in France. He had been separated from the army in 1945.
• Editorial: First-class Citizens, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The New York Times editorial praises the 442nd Combat Team as a fine type of American citizen, noting their combat record and law-abiding conduct. It argues they deserve equal treatment as first-class citizens.
• Lt. Yaye Togasaki to Be Discharged, by P.C. Staff, page 6. First Lieutenant Yaye Togasaki of Berkeley is on terminal leave pending honorable discharge from the Army Nurses Corps. She had served at Mason General Hospital and earned the American Theater Ribbon.
• Special Pictorial Section: The 442nd Comes Home From the War, by Henry Yamada, page 9. A four-page photo section documents the Wilson Victory’s arrival at Pier 84 in New York and the 442nd’s welcome. Photos show the crowds, the formal ceremonies, and welcome receptions at Camp Kilmer and in New York.

Incarceration & Redress

• Stay of Deportation Seen for Traders, Hardship Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Deportation proceedings against treaty merchants and hardship cases of persons of Japanese ancestry will be halted pending congressional action, according to Attorney General Tom Clark’s letter to the House Immigration committee. The full committee will study the bills that would provide relief for these cases.
• Court Upholds Conviction of Draft Resisters, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Ninth Circuit Court affirmed the conviction of about 100 Japanese American draft evaders who refused to register while incarcerated at the Poston relocation center. Attorney A.L. Wirin represented three test cases, and Judge William Denman expressed sympathy for the defendants because of their illegal confinement.
• Proceedings in Deportation Cases Simplified, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Motions to halt deportation proceedings against persons who renounced citizenship at Tule Lake were taken under advisement by a federal judge in San Francisco. Attorneys debated whether the cases should be consolidated to avoid years of individual trials.
• WRA School Records Available for Former Students, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Former WRA center students can obtain high school transcripts by writing to the U.S. Office of Education. Requests should be directed to a specified office and clerk.
• The WRA Passes, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The War Relocation Authority was formally terminated on June 30 after spending nearly $200,000,000 on relocating Japanese Americans. The editorial argues its success vindicated faith in the evacuees and disproved the idea that race determines loyalty.

Community

• Court Orders Fishing License Issued to Issei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Los Angeles Superior Judge Henry M. Willis ordered a commercial fishing license issued to Issei Torao Takahashi despite the state Fish and Game commission’s appeal. The court found that continued refusal would cause irreparable damage to Takahashi’s business.
• Nisei Segregation on Honor Roll Ended in Marysville, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Marysville’s Yuba County honor roll no longer lists Japanese American soldiers in a separate section. The change was made by the American Veterans Committee chapter, which rearranged the names alphabetically.
• Marysville Fete Honors GIs of Minority Groups, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A dinner in Marysville honored returning servicemen of minority races, who asked for the same opportunity to serve in peacetime. Speakers praised the AVC for rearranging Nisei names on the honor roll.
• First Nisei Wife Leaves to Join GI Husband in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mrs. Masanori Matsumoto of Hilo left Honolulu to join her husband in Japan, likely the first Nisei wife to join a serviceman overseas. Sgt. Matsumoto is serving in Akita prefecture.
• Three Persons Hurt in Auto Mishap in Stockton, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Three people were injured in a Stockton auto crash after a tire blowout. The incident was reported briefly.
• Accident Kills Pingree Man, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Raymond Saito of Pingree, Idaho, died in a Pocatello hospital after being found injured near a team of horses he had been driving. He is survived by his wife and children.
• Nisei Artist Plans Exhibition of Relocation Camp Drawings, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Mine Okubo, a young Nisei artist, will present an exhibit of over 1,500 sketches and drawings made in the relocation centers at the International Institute in San Francisco. The works document the evacuation and camp life.
• Wedding of Yuta Yamasaki and Sgt. Mitsuo Hagio, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Yuta Yamasaki married Sgt. Mitsuo Hagio at the Rhode Island Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. A reception followed at the YWCA residence annex.
• Cleveland Nisei Meet to Organize JACL Chapter, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Nisei in Cleveland planned a meeting to organize a local JACL chapter under the chairmanship of Abe Hagiwara. Approximately 2200 Nisei live in the area.
• Newsreel Shots of 442nd Arrival Shown in Theaters, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Newsreel footage of the 442nd’s homecoming in New York is being shown at the Telenews Theater in Denver. The program also includes a War Department film condemning racist intolerance.

National

• Win Release for Former American Wife, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mrs. John A. Bouiss, a former American woman held at the Seattle immigration station, sought release after immigration officials ordered her excluded as ineligible for citizenship. Her husband argues she is eligible for admission as the wife of a U.S. citizen.
• Minnesota Vets Fight Nisei Housing Ban, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Members of the American Veterans Committee picketed a Minneapolis real estate office that denied a Nisei veteran’s housing application. The demonstration drew support from community groups protesting racial restrictive covenants.
• Housing Ban Challenged in Minneapolis, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Twenty Minneapolis organizations agreed to launch a campaign against racial covenants restricting land ownership after a Nisei veteran was denied a lot. The program may include court action on behalf of Jon Matsuo and legislative efforts.
• Nisei Couple Excluded from Homes Project, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Jon Matsuo and his wife Ruth decided to pursue the fight against restrictive covenants after he was denied a lot at the Oak Hill housing project because of his race. The Matsuos say the struggle carries the principles for which Matsuo served in the army.
• When the 442nd Came Home, by P.C. Staff, page 5. An account describes the arrival of the Wilson Victory in New York Harbor with the 442nd and other troops aboard, greeted by tugboats, bands, and families. The Nisei soldiers marched down the dock to cheers from fellow soldiers of all backgrounds.
• Ebony Magazine Tells About the Race War That Fizzled, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Ebony magazine reports that when Japanese Americans returned to Little Tokyo, hate-mongering predictions of race war failed to materialize. Negro and Japanese American residents instead cooperated, with interracial community centers and clinics helping the adjustment.

Commentary

• An Epic Story, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial traces the wartime treatment of Japanese Americans from the evacuation and incarceration to the formation of the 442nd Combat Team. It argues the Nisei’s record reflects credit on the War Department officials who fought for their participation.
• Justice for Nisei, by The Washington Post, page 4. The Washington Post urges Congress to pass bills creating an evacuation claims commission to adjudicate property losses suffered by Japanese Americans. It argues prompt and generous settlement is needed to make amends.
• Restricted, by The Minneapolis Tribune, page 4. The Minneapolis Tribune condemns the housing discrimination against veteran John Matsuo and praises the AVC for bringing it to the mayor’s attention. It calls for legislation to end restrictive covenants.
• Book on Church and Japanese Americans Published in N.Y., by P.C. Staff, page 5. A new book by Mary Matsumoto recounts the role of the church in the history of Japanese Americans, including the establishment of the first Japanese church on the West Coast. Copies are available from Friendship Press.
• Washington News-Letter Has Some Ideas About Nisei Integration, by John Kitasako, page 5. Jimmy Sugioka advises Nisei to integrate by blending into majority society, forming friendships, and avoiding West Coast resettlement. He also discusses the realities of interracial marriage.
• From the Frying Pan: Back to the Home Town After Four Years, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa describes returning to Seattle after four years and finding the city transformed by wartime growth and a frantic new pace. He also reflects on a family road trip and on Nisei veterans reestablishing civilian lives.
• Hosokawa Column: Wartime Contraband Not to Be Sold at Auction, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Contraband goods turned in by Japanese Americans before evacuation will not be auctioned, the U.S. Marshal in Seattle announced. Owners must claim the items in person or through a representative.

Arts & Entertainment

• Nisei Ceramicist Interviewed on Radio, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Kinoshita, a Nisei ceramicist, was interviewed on WTMJ in Milwaukee about his techniques and glazes. His work has won national awards.
• New York Artists of Japanese Ancestry Plan Fall Exhibits, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Several New York artists of Japanese ancestry, including Sueo Serisawa, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Isamu Noguchi, have upcoming exhibitions or works planned this fall. The notice briefly describes their projects.

Sports

• Honolulu Nisei Named for Boys’ Game in Brooklyn, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Henry Kiyoshi Tominaga, McKinley High’s southpaw pitcher, was chosen to represent Hawaii in the Brooklyn Against the World teen-age baseball classic. He has a no-run, no-hit game to his credit.
• Denver Nisei Bowlers Plan Tournament, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Bowlers from across the Intermountain region are expected at the first annual Denver JACL Bowling Tournament on August 17 and 18. Individual and team honors will be presented at a banquet.

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