A JACL plaque for the 442nd in Bruyeres, and a civil rights report

Vol. 25, No. 17, November 1, 1947. 8 pages. View this issue

A bronze plaque honoring the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was dedicated in Bruyeres, France, on Oct. 30, the third anniversary of the rescue of the Lost Battalion. Larry J. Hall wrote the front-page account, and more coverage followed on page 3, including a message from Lt. Col. V. R. Miller, the regiment’s former commander. The issue also covered the President’s Committee on Civil Rights, whose report urged a review of the 1942 mass evacuation and repeal of alien land laws. Ruth Finney and John Kitasako reported on the Supreme Court hearing of California’s alien land law, and an editorial on page 4 answered the committee’s report.

Elsewhere, Larry Tajiri wrote about the House Thomas Committee, Bill Hosokawa toured the Cody, Wyoming area near the former Heart Mountain relocation center, and a federal court ruled on Hawaii’s language school law. Chapter news from Santa Barbara, Murray, Utah and Chicago fills the community pages.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• JACL Plaque Memorializes Nisei GIs Honored in Bruyeres Ceremony, by By LARRY J. HALL, page 1. A JACL-sponsored bronze plaque honoring the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was dedicated in Bruyeres, France, on Oct. 30, the third anniversary of the rescue of the Lost Battalion. The ceremony drew townspeople, French and American officials, and a unit of U.S. troops, with the plaque reaffirming that loyalty to one’s country is not modified by racial origin.
• “Rescue of ‘Lost Battalion’” Called in Tribute to GIs, page 3. Continuing the Bruyeres coverage, the article describes the march of 442nd veterans up the mountain road and the battlefield remnants still visible at the monument site. Mayor Gillon told townspeople that the liberation was made possible by the immense sacrifices of the Americans.

National

• Truman Committee on Civil Rights Urges Review of Evacuation and Repeal of Anti-Alien Laws, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The President’s Committee on Civil Rights recommended naturalization without racial restriction, repeal of alien land laws in six western states, and a review of the 1942 mass evacuation of Japanese Americans. The report also urged federal and state laws outlawing segregation and discrimination based on race, color, creed, or national origin.
• Justices Unimpressed by California Case, Says Capital Writer, by Ruth Finney, page 1. Scripps-Howard reporter Ruth Finney wrote that California defended its alien land law before the U.S. Supreme Court without seeming to persuade the justices. Deputy attorneys general faced pointed questioning, including a remark from Justice Frankfurter that the state was beating around the bush.
• Most of Summer Marriages Between GIs, Japan Girls Not Faring Well, Says Writer, by Ray Falk, page 2. NANA correspondent Ray Falk reported that most summer marriages between American GIs and Japanese women were struggling, with army officials opposed to them. Falk cited army memoranda discouraging reenlistment or rehire of personnel married to Japanese nationals.
• Army Policy Will Restrict Japan Weddings, page 2. Eighth Army headquarters announced a policy barring military and civilian personnel from marrying nationals ineligible for U.S. citizenship, except in very unusual circumstances. A 60-day waiting period was also imposed after approval for marriages.
• Issei in Lone Star State Interested in Citizenship Drive, page 3. Issei in Texas contributed funds to the Tri-State JACL-ADC office in support of the ADC’s legislative program for Issei citizenship. The donations were forwarded through Ks Saibara of Webster, Texas.

Community

• Special JACL Meet in San Francisco, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A special session of the Northern California District Council of the JACL was called for Nov. 8 in San Francisco. Mike Masaoka and Masao Satow were scheduled to discuss ADC legislative goals and JACL development.
• Santa Barbara JACL Names Committee for Pacific Citizen Ads, page 2. Tad Kanetomo will lead a Santa Barbara JACL committee soliciting advertisements for the Christmas edition of the Pacific Citizen. He will also head the chapter’s 1948 membership drive.
• Dr. Nakaji Named to Santa Barbara Civic Unity Council, page 3. Dr. Y. Nakaji, a member of the Santa Barbara JACL, was appointed to the Council for Civic Unity of Santa Barbara. The appointment reflects community involvement by local Nisei professionals.
• Mike Masaoka Sets California Speaking Tour, page 3. Mike Masaoka will tour northern California communities during the week ending Nov. 12, beginning in Fresno on Nov. 4. He will discuss ADC activities and seek continued Issei and Nisei support, with Eiji Tanabe translating into Japanese.
• Santa Barbara JACL Slates Museum Tour, page 3. The Santa Barbara JACL will tour the Museum of Natural History as a feature of its general meeting on Nov. 6. The tour includes a lecture by an archeologist and a visit to the museum’s workshops.
• Morimoto Named Temporary Head of Biggest ILWU Local, page 3. Yoshio Morimoto was named temporary chairman of the newly formed United Sugar Workers Local 142 of the ILWU-CIO, the largest local in the union. The local combines 35 sugar units across Hawaii, Kauai, Oahu, and Maui.
• Hizi Koyke Receives Bouquet at Chicago Opera Performance, page 6. The Chicago JACL presented a bouquet of chrysanthemums to opera star Hizi Koyke during her final performance of Madame Butterfly on Oct. 25. The presentation was made by five-year-old Mary Ann Akiyama.
• Denver Conference Supports ADC’s Legislative Objectives, page 7. The Mountain Plains adult education conference in Denver unanimously adopted the JACL ADC legislative program. The conference also passed resolutions supporting the FEPC, outlawing restrictive covenants, and federal civil rights legislation.
• Murray Chapter Adopts Blue Cross Hospital Plan, page 7. The Mount Olympus JACL in Murray, Utah adopted the Blue Cross hospitalization plan at its Oct. 24 meeting. The chapter also heard a cancer lecture and selected a nominating committee for 1948 officers.
• Army Linguist School Recruits Nisei, page 8. Lieut. Spady A. Koyama of the Army Language School announced recruiting efforts seeking men aged 17 to 35 interested in learning Japanese for assignment to the Far East Command. Recruits could contact him at the Salt Lake City recruiting station.
• Federal Court Holds Hawaii’s Language School Law Invalid, page 8. A three-judge federal court declared unconstitutional a 1943 Hawaii law restricting foreign language schools, which was aimed primarily at Japanese language schools. The court ruled that a parent’s right to have children taught a foreign language is a fundamental right.
• Fair Play Committee to Be Honored in San Francisco, page 8. Former members of the Committee on American Principles and Fair Play will be honored at a testimonial banquet in San Francisco on Nov. 8 during the Northern California District Council meeting. The event marks the first public acknowledgement of the committee’s wartime work.

Commentary

• Jingles for Democracy, page 2. Radio stations nationwide are broadcasting short jingles against prejudice and bigotry, an idea that began at WNEW in New York. The article notes that many of the stations using the jingles are in the South.
• Truly Colorblind?, page 2. The column criticizes the habit of attaching racial designations to ordinary words like friend or neighbor. It illustrates the point with an anecdote about a friend, Mary, who always asked whether people were Japanese.
• ADC Will Ask State, Justice Departments to File Briefs in Takahashi Fishing Case, page 3. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee will ask the State and Justice Departments to file amicus briefs in the Takahashi alien fishing case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The request follows a California Supreme Court split decision upholding the state’s denial of commercial fishing licenses to Japanese aliens.
• Fellowship Slates Talk on Palestine, page 3. Rabbi David Greenberg was scheduled to speak on Palestine at the Nov. 2 meeting of the Fresno Joint Young Peoples Fellowship. The article also reports on the group’s Hallowe’en party.
• To Secure These Rights, page 4. The editorial welcomes the Truman Civil Rights Committee report, which identifies racial segregation as the greatest menace to full democracy. It highlights the recommendations affecting Japanese Americans, including review of evacuation, property claims settlement, naturalization reform, and repeal of alien land laws.
• Minority Opinion, page 4. The editorial examines the California anti-alien fishing law and the minority opinion of three state supreme court justices. It argues that the piecemeal denial of occupations to resident aliens violates equal protection.
• Against Covenants, page 4. The editorial praises Los Angeles Judge Stanley Mosk’s Oct. 26 ruling upholding three families’ right to live in their homes despite non-Caucasian ancestry. It notes the decision coincided with the Civil Rights Committee’s call to outlaw restrictive covenants.
• Congressional Hatchetmen, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Larry Tajiri criticizes the House Thomas Committee’s Hollywood investigation as a threat to free speech, recalling its 1943 attacks on Japanese Americans. He argues the committee’s earlier conduct helped perpetuate the wartime exclusion of evacuees from the Pacific coast.
• Nisei U.S.A.: Thomas Committee, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. This continuation of the column describes the 1943 Thomas Committee hearings and their use of Hearst press distortions against evacuees. It concludes that the committee showed no interest in violence against returning evacuees.
• Deep Delta Country, by Hy Wy Roku Suschore, page 6. The columnist describes the Nisei shrimping and fishing community around New Orleans and Louisiana’s bayous, once home to Issei fishermen before Pearl Harbor. He discusses the commercial potential of shrimp and the difficulties faced by post-war Nisei farmers.
• Touring the Cody Country, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Bill Hosokawa describes a drive through Yellowstone and the Cody, Wyoming area near the former Heart Mountain relocation center. He reports that almost all evacuees who once worked in Cody have left, with only an elderly Issei caretaker remaining.
• Washington Newsletter: Supreme Court Justices Fire Sharp Queries on Land Law, by John Kitasako, page 6. John Kitasako reports on the Oyama case hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, where A. L. Wirin and Dean Acheson argued against California’s alien land law. He notes that the justices pressed California’s Assistant Attorney General Mattoon with pointed questions.

In-Depth

• Cite Wisconsin Nisei Scientist for Work on Improved Fuel, page 2. Dr. Otto Uyehara of the University of Wisconsin is researching better fuels and superchargers for combustion engines using a reconverted aircraft turbo-supercharger. The work is supported by a grant from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

Military & Veterans

• Former Commander of 442nd Says Nisei GIs Gave “All”, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Lt. Col. V. R. Miller, former commander of the 442nd Combat Team, sent a message read at the Bruyeres dedication honoring Nisei soldiers. He described how Japanese American volunteers from Hawaii and the detention centers fought to prove their loyalty, sacrificing their lives for liberation of an allied town and rescue of surrounded comrades.
• Japanese American Specialists Sought for Research Project, page 3. The National Academy of Sciences is recruiting Japanese American specialists in physicians, administrators, and accountants for a research project carried out largely in Japan. Applicants should contact the JACL-ADC Washington office.

Sports

• Bowlers, page 6. A Chinese American women’s team in Los Angeles was barred from WIBC-sanctioned league play for being non-Caucasian. The item also notes a national campaign against the ABC’s exclusion of non-Caucasian bowlers.

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