Hogback Hill, the Walter resolution veto and a JACL convention ahead

Vol. 31, No. 10, September 9, 1950. 8 pages. View this issue

Two stories shared the front page. Cpl. Hideo Hashimoto of San Francisco, who had spent the war years in a relocation camp, was credited with holding Hogback Hill in Korea during a 38-hour stand by Company G. Reporters Don Whitehead and Frank Conniff described his stand and the withdrawal of wounded men. Beside it, I. H. Gordon reported that President Truman vetoed the Walter resolution on naturalization because of added security riders, while urging Congress to pass it again without them. Larry Tajiri explained how those riders came to be attached. The paper also reported the fifth Nisei GI killed in Korea.

Inside are Elmer R. Smith’s account of JACL’s first wartime meeting on mass evacuation, plans for chartered planes to the Chicago convention, a Los Angeles supervisors’ resolution backing the Masaoka brothers’ Alien Land Law challenge, and Bill Hosokawa’s profile of cameraman Ken Inouye. Sports pages cover the Honolulu Braves and Wally Yonamine.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

  • Hogback Hill Heroism: Nisei Who Spent Last War in WRA Camp Holds Off Enemy with Barrage of Grenades, by Don Whitehead, Frank Conniff, page 1. Cpl. Hideo Hashimoto, a Nisei from San Francisco, earned praise for holding Hogback Hill in Korea by tossing grenades at the enemy during a 38-hour stand by Company G. Fellow soldiers and reporters described his bravery and the platoon’s withdrawal of wounded men.
  • Fifth Nisei GI Reported Killed in Korean War, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Pvt. Toshiharu Kanekura of Kihei, Hawaii, was killed in action in Korea, making him the fifth American soldier of Japanese ancestry reported killed there. Several other Nisei soldiers were listed as missing or wounded.
  • Corp. Kamada Hurt in Korean Fighting, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Corp. John Takashi Kamada of Los Angeles was slightly wounded in Korea on August 17. He had returned to the army after serving in occupation forces in Japan.
  • Nisei Father Goes to War, Son Already in Korea, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sgt. Ken Tashiro of Los Angeles, a 442nd veteran, was called to active duty while his son Ken Tashiro Jr. has been fighting in Korea with the 19th Regiment. The elder Tashiro formerly edited the sports section of the Rafu Shimpo.
  • Missing Nisei Rejoins Unit on Korean Front, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pfc. Akira Tamura, reported missing in action, wrote to his parents that he had rejoined his unit on July 26 after losing contact for four days. His family in Niland, California, confirmed the news.
  • Mrs. Horizontal Hank Awaits Signing of Citizenship Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mrs. Jeanne Gosho, wife of World War II hero Henry Gosho, promised to petition for citizenship the day President Truman signs the Walter Resolution. She said she came to the United States from Japan at age three.

National

  • President Truman Vetoes Walter Resolution Security Riders, Urges Congress to Act, by I. H. Gordon, page 1. President Truman vetoed the Walter resolution on naturalization equality because of added security riders, while urging Congress to reenact the measure without them. JACL ADC announced a new version would be reintroduced when Congress reconvenes.
  • Issei Urge President to Sign Walter Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Three Issei who served the armed forces during the war wired President Truman urging him to sign the Walter Resolution removing race from naturalization. Their telegram stressed the importance of citizenship for them and their families.
  • Continuation of ADC Program Urged at Convention in Denver, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Delegates to the Mountain Plains district council in Denver urged continued ADC work in Washington to implement the JACL’s 1946 program. The council also debated the future of the regional Denver office and passed a resolution on aid for the Issei aged.
  • Hawaii’s Japanese American Workers May Be Asked to Choose Between CIO, ILWU, by Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 2. The national CIO’s plan to organize Hawaii workers threatens to challenge the left-wing ILWU, which dominates the islands’ labor field. Nakatsuka argues that workers of Japanese ancestry will soon face a real choice between union philosophies.

Incarceration & Redress

  • Memorial to Aviator Masashi Goto in Utah Mountains to Be Restored, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Salt Lake JACL and the Utah State Road Commission planned to restore the Masashi Goto memorial on Wolf Creek summit, which was desecrated during World War II. The chapter raised $100 and received donations for the project.
  • Launch Investigation into Death of Issei Child at County Hospital, by P.C. Staff, page 2. An investigation was launched into the death of 8-year-old Isao Kunitake, a patient at the Orange County hospital, whose body was found near a building. The report indicated he died from a skull fracture caused by a blow.
  • Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Expresses Complete Sympathy With Test on State Land Law, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution expressing sympathy for the Masaoka brothers’ court challenge to the California Alien Land Law. The resolution followed a hearing where Joe Grant Masaoka explained the case.

JACL

  • Nominate Eight More Nisei for JACL Leadership Award, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The national recognitions committee nominated eight Nisei for JACL leadership awards to be presented at the Chicago convention. Nominees include Ben Kuroki, Henry Gosho, John Aiso, and the posthumous honoree Pfc. Sadao Munemori.
  • Claimant Donates Five Per Cent of Award to JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Kengo Inouye of Beverly Hills donated $13, representing five percent of an evacuation claims award, to the JACL. Regional director Tats Kushida thanked him for supporting the organization’s work.

Community

  • Sue Maruyama Named Queen at Convention, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sue Maruyama was named Miss Denver JACL and adopted as the Mountain Plains district queen at the council’s convention ball. Pearl Kuwabara and Louise Hayashi were named her attendants.
  • Intermountain JACL Group Plans Meet in Salt Lake City, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Intermountain district council will meet in Salt Lake City to hear reports on the Korean situation’s effect on JACL-ADC legislation and on the Idaho alien land law appeal. Delegates will also discuss the national election procedure.
  • Plane Chartered for Delegates to National Convention, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The San Francisco JACL office is taking reservations for a chartered plane to carry delegates to the Chicago national convention. Seats cost $100 round trip and the deadline for applications is Saturday, September 16.
  • Southern California Group Charters Plane for Convention Trip, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A JACL chartered flight will carry Southern California members to the Chicago convention, departing September 26 from Burbank. Interested persons were asked to contact the regional office for reservations.
  • Veterans of Famed Combat Unit Bring Colors to Hollywood, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Veterans Lt. George Miki and Sgt. John Uchijima brought the 442nd Regimental Combat Team colors from Hawaii to Los Angeles for use in MGM’s film Go for Broke. The colors carry seven Presidential citations earned by the unit.
  • Plan Reopening Soon of L.A. Japanese Children’s Home, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The board of the Japanese Children’s Home of Southern California, formerly Shonien, is finalizing plans to reopen the facility for parentless children. More than $10,000 in donations has been collected for renovation and first-year operations.
  • Los Angeles JACL Will Aid Registration of Nisei Voters, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Downtown Los Angeles JACL will hold a VR-day on September 9 to register eligible Nisei voters. Deputy registrars and chapter members will be stationed at First and San Pedro streets.
  • Central California Council Will Hold Meeting in Delano, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Central California JACL district council will hold its convention in Delano on September 10 with speakers including Frank Chuman and Mike Masaoka. A banquet will follow the sessions.
  • Nisei Bowlers Enter General Play Under Revised ABC Rules, by Harry I. Takagi, page 6. Pacific Northwest Nisei bowlers now compete in general leagues after the American Bowling Congress opened membership to all persons. Several Nisei teams in Seattle, Renton, and Auburn joined the new leagues.
  • Detroiters to Hold Second Japan Night, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Detroit JACL will present a second Japan Night featuring a troupe of 20 Nisei artists led by the Uyeda sisters. The two-hour program includes classical and modern Japanese dance, songs, and comedy.

Commentary

  • Editorials: The Los Angeles Supervisors, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors for expressing sympathy with the Masaoka brothers’ challenge to the Alien Land Law. It calls the board’s action a welcome break from wartime hostility toward Japanese Americans.
  • Creed for City Planners, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The American Society of Planning Officials adopted a resolution urging planners to treat all residents equitably regardless of race or nationality. The resolution was proposed by Edward Howden of the National Association of Intergroup Relations Officials.
  • Rhubarb on Capital Hill, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri explains how security riders from the McCarran bill were attached to the Walter resolution, complicating its passage. He also reports on Senator Kilgore’s suggestion of internment camps for Communists, which recalled the wartime evacuation.
  • Denver, Colo.: Revival of Memories, by Roku Sugahara, page 5. Sugahara reflects on the growth of the JACL over a decade and reunites with old friends at the Intermountain District gathering in Denver. He also comments on local Nisei life, the draft, and the queen contest.
  • Nisei USA: Quickie and Vagaries, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Brief columns comment on Chicago’s handling of the film No Way Out, the denial of liquor sales to Indians, and a Chinese American selected as San Francisco’s statehood queen. Vagaries also notes news about Nisei actors, athletes, and draftees.
  • From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa profiles Ken Inouye, a 22-year-old Nisei INS cameraman who was among the first American correspondents in Korea and who died in a transport crash. Inouye had returned from Japan to America as a teenager after being stranded in Japan during the war.

In-Depth

  • JACL’s First Wartime Meet: Problems Involved in Coastal Mass Evacuation, by Elmer R. Smith, page 5. Smith recounts the considerations the JACL weighed at its emergency wartime meeting about cooperating with mass evacuation. The JACL ultimately decided to constructively cooperate under protest while preserving its right to challenge the constitutionality of the orders.

Sports

  • Honolulu Braves Lose in Semifinals of National Baseball Congress, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Honolulu Braves, with four Nisei players added for the trip, reached the semifinals of the national non-professional baseball tournament in Wichita. They lost to the Fort Wayne Capeharts, the three-time defending champions.
  • Matsubu Helps Yuma Win Sunset Loop Twin Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Catcher Hank Matsubu went 4 for 4 in a Labor Day doubleheader, including a home run, as Yuma swept Las Vegas. He also drove in a key run in a victory over Mexicali.
  • Yonamine Bids for Second Place in Batting Race, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Rookie Wally Yonamine of the Salt Lake Bees climbed in the league batting race with a strong week at the plate. He also led the league in hits and stolen bases as the season neared its end.

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