Go for Broke! arrives in theaters, and Nisei serve in Korea

Vol. 32, No. 21, June 2, 1951. 8 pages. View this issue

MGM’s film Go for Broke!, about the 442nd, ran through this eight-page issue. Bill Hosokawa reviewed it as a worthwhile and accurate tribute to Nisei servicemen, though he noted that it left out the relocation camps. Premieres and promotion were reported from Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Placer County. On the front page, Lawrence Nakatsuka reported that unemployment in Hawaii had fallen from about 28,000 to 10,700 as Korean War spending revived the economy.

The war in Korea touched many pages: a Nisei soldier rescued after six months as a prisoner, two Nisei killed in action, and a Seattle Memorial Day address by Kenneth W. Day. Elsewhere, the issue covered JACL news, including the date set for the 1952 national convention in San Francisco, and a House vote on evacuation claims. California bills on liquor licenses, fishing fees and escheat funds also appeared.

What’s in this issue

National

• Employment Outlook Improves for Japanese Americans in Hawaii as Result of War, by By Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 1. Hawaii’s labor market has shifted sharply since last year, with unemployment falling from about 28,000 to 10,700 as Korean War spending revives the economy. Nisei graduates face a more encouraging job outlook, though many openings remain temporary or seasonal.
• Senate Group Favors Bills to Admit Aliens, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported out two private bills to admit Japanese fiancees of American servicemen. The bills will be acted on at the next Senate calendar call.
• Evacuee Claims Compromise Amendment Scheduled for Action on Consent Calendar, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House scheduled a vote on an amendment letting the Attorney General settle evacuation claims at up to three-fourths of compensable losses or $2,500. The Judiciary Committee recommended passage, citing the loyalty of Japanese Americans during the war.
• Utah Resident Denied Reentry Permit on Ground He Held Membership in Cited Group, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Immigration Service denied a reentry permit to a Utah Japanese alien because of past membership in a defunct organization on the Attorney General’s subversive list. Edward Ennis warned that under the Internal Security Act such aliens may face exclusion on return.
• Assembly to Act on Return of Escheat Funds, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The California Assembly Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved AB 2611 to return money paid by Nisei in compromise escheat settlements. The bill was expected to go before the full Assembly shortly.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Soldier Rescued After Six Months as War Prisoner, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Cpl. Saburo Sam Shimomura of Ogden was rescued in Korea after six months as a prisoner of Chinese Communist forces following the Chosin Reservoir attack. He and other rescued prisoners described forced marches, poor food, and attacks by UN planes.
• Two Nisei GIs Killed in Action in Korean War, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Department of Defense reported Nisei casualties in Korea, including two men killed in action and several missing, wounded, or injured. The list was provided to the JACL ADC.
• Remains of Nisei War Hero Will Be Buried in Seattle, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sgt. Isaac Furukawa, the first Washington State man killed in the Korean War, is being returned to Seattle for burial. Efforts continue to bring his brother Fred home from Korea for the funeral.
• Gold Star Mother Honored at Special Showing of Picture, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Tulare County gold star mother was honored at a Visalia showing of MGM’s Go for Broke! attended by civic leaders and 442nd veterans. Her son John Narimatsu was killed in action with the 442nd.
• Lieut. Matsuo Wins Army’s Bronze Star, by P.C. Staff, page 2. 1st Lieut. Jon T. Matsuo of Seattle received the Bronze Star for his work as a technical intelligence officer in Korea. He has served six years in the Air Force.
• Two Air Force Veterans Return on Rotation Plan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Two Nisei Air Force men, Staff Sgt. Yoshimi Mametsuka and Staff Sgt. Ray Nishizaki, arrived at Fort Mason on rotation from the Korean war zone. Both are B-29 crewmen.
• Denver Premiere of Go for Broke!, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Go for Broke! premiered at Denver’s Broadway Theater on May 24 before a large crowd including city notables and military leaders. Thirteen 442nd veterans were introduced on stage and interviewed.
• JACLers Preview Go for Broke!, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Representatives of the Philadelphia JACL and the Philadelphia Fellowship Commission previewed Go for Broke! on May 17. The film received favorable reviews and opened at the Lancaster theater on Memorial Day.
• 442 Vets March in Cleveland, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Nisei veterans of the 442nd marched in the Armed Forces Day parade in Cleveland. The appearance was meant to build interest in the local showing of Go for Broke!
• Ex-POW Salutes Nisei Soldiers at Seattle Memorial Day Rites, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Kenneth W. Day, national adjutant of American Ex-Prisoners of War, delivered the main address at a Seattle Memorial Day service honoring Japanese American war dead. He said the Nisei fought for the freedom and equality that America represented.
• First Nisei Will Graduate at West Point, by P.C. Staff, page 3. George Shibata, the first Japanese American to graduate from the United States Military Academy, will receive his commission with 477 other cadets on June 5. A veteran of the European theater, he was appointed in 1947.
• Two Utah Nisei Qualify as Parachutists, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pvt. Jun Fujita and Pvt. Yoshio Miya completed the Army’s basic airborne course and qualified as parachutists. The course requires five jumps including one with full equipment.

Community

• Sakaye Tenma Crowned Queen of Placer Fete, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sakaye Tenma, a Placer Union high school senior, was crowned queen at the Placer County JACL’s third annual community picnic. More than 2,000 people attended the event at the JACL recreation park.
• Chicago Groups Discuss Chicago Film Plans, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Chicago Nisei clubs, churches and organizations are coordinating promotion for the Go for Broke! run at the State-Lake Theater from June 7 to 20. Reduced-rate tickets will be sold through participating groups.
• California Assembly Passes Bill to Lower Issei Licenses, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The California Assembly passed AB 1967 by a 63 to 2 vote to reduce alien sport fishing license fees from $25 to $10. The bill now goes to the Senate Fish and Game Committee.
• Placer JACL Plans Special Promotion for Go for Broke!, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Placer JACL and a Loomis American Legion post are arranging a 442nd Nite showing of Go for Broke! at the Tower Theater in Roseville. More than sixty 442nd veterans from Placer County are invited as guests.
• Re-elected President, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mrs. Masaki was installed for a second term as president of the Borden Bee Club, a group of Borden Milk Company employees that does charitable work. The club also reported on its district council activities.
• Stockton Veterans Will Erect Memorial to Nisei War Dead, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Stockton Nisei Veterans Club will build a war memorial costing about $1,000 as its Memorial Day project, with the site donated by the Stockton Buddhist church. Dedication will coincide with the local Go for Broke! showing.
• Dayton JACL Hears Rev. Herman Ray, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rev. Herman S. Ray spoke at the May 20 Dayton JACL meeting. The chapter also planned publicity for Go for Broke! and a family picnic for August 19.
• Salt Lake Baby Gets Rare Operation, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A premature Nisei infant underwent a rare operation at Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City to repair a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. The child was reported doing well in an incubator.
• Nisei Agent Gives Testimony at Spy Trial, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Makoto Kimura, a Nisei counter-intelligence agent, testified at the Tokyo trial of Koreans and Japanese accused of spying for Korean Communists. He described a search of a defendant’s home in Sapporo.
• Receives Degree, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rev. Fumio Koike, pastor of the Konan Church in Kobe, received a bachelor of divinity degree from Bonebrake Theological Seminary. He had interrupted his studies during the war and planned to receive a doctorate at Otterbein College.
• Sacramento JACL to Honor Grads, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Sacramento JACL will hold its first graduation dance on June 16 at the New American Legion Hall. Graduates will be admitted free.
• Army Turns Down Bid for Buddhist ‘B’, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Army rejected a request by Hawaii YBA, Delegate Joseph Farrington, and the JACL to stamp a ‘B’ on dogtags for Buddhist soldiers. The Army said the extra letter would be more confusing than helpful.
• Madera Nisei Wins Engineers Award, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Thomas T. Inami of Madera received the Corps of Engineers Award for outstanding achievement in the advanced ROTC engineering course at UC Berkeley. He holds the rank of cadet colonel.
• Assembly Passes Bill to Reinstate Liquor Licenses, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The California Assembly passed AB 1582 by a 70 to 0 vote to restore liquor licenses to Japanese Americans whose licenses were revoked after December 7, 1941. Most of the licenses affected are off-sale licenses.
• Gold Star Mothers Will Be Feted at Sacramento Dinner, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Florin and Sacramento JACL chapters and Nisei VFW Post 8986 will jointly honor gold star mothers at a June 6 dinner. State and local officials are scheduled to attend.
• Inscribe Buddhist Symbol on Stones Over Graves of GIs, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Dhamma-Cakka, or Wheel of Righteousness, is being inscribed on government gravestones of Buddhist World War II dead at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. It is now one of three officially recognized religious symbols.
• Assembly Acts to Repeal Ban Against Chinese, Mongolians, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The California Assembly voted 60 to 0 to repeal a discriminatory Chinese and Mongolian section of the state constitution dating to 1879. The measure, ACA 59, now goes to the Senate.
• Nisei Hero Honored at School Rites, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A plaque bearing the names of Reedley high school’s war dead was dedicated on May 28, including John Narimatsu, killed with the 442nd in Europe. The ceremony honored his memory.
• Placer JACL Raps Colfax With 19 Runs, 22 Hits, by Homer Y. Takahashi, page 7. Placer JACL routed Colfax 19-4 with 22 hits, giving the Fireballs their worst defeat of the season. George Goto pitched well in relief and several players had multi-hit games.
• Nisei Girl, Partner Bowl High Score in National Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Two Hawaiian bowlers, L. Sato and K. Lum, posted a 1,091 doubles score at the Women’s International Bowling Congress in Seattle. Their total was the highest for the day.
• Fresno State Nisei Receive Honors at Annual Assembly, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Five Fresno State Nisei were recognized at the annual Tokalon Awards assembly for scholastic and service records. Honorees included Kiyo Asaki, named to Who’s Who Among American Universities and Colleges.
• San Francisco JACL Incorporates as Non-Profit Body, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The San Francisco JACL was formally incorporated as a non-profit community organization under California law. The status allows the chapter to acquire and hold property, including real estate.
• Survivor of A-Bomb Attack Tells of War Experiences, by P.C. Staff, page 8. May Tamura, a former Lodi girl who survived the Hiroshima bombing, described her experiences at a Lions Club dinner in Patterson. She lost a sister in the blast and urged civic awareness of atomic dangers.
• Miyoko Ito, Artist, by Betty Walker, page 8. Chicago artist Miyoko Ito, released from a relocation camp to attend art school, received a John Hay Whitney Foundation opportunity fellowship. She plans to use the award to hire household help while continuing to paint.
• Issei Reported Missing by Son Found at Beach, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Toyoaki Aoki, 74, reported missing from Torrance, was found on a Long Beach beach four days later. He had left home carrying $400 marked as burial money, which was still intact.
• Nisei Veterans Dedicate Monument to Central California Nisei War Dead, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Hanford’s Nisei Liberty Post 5869 of the VFW dedicated a memorial to Central California Nisei war dead at Roeding Park in Fresno on Memorial Day. State VFW Commander Don L. Warner was guest speaker.
• Unusual Stowaway Arrives Aboard Ship from Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 8. George Shikaze, a blind 24-year-old who stowed away aboard the President Wilson from Yokohama, was met at the San Francisco pier by his parents from British Columbia. Immigration authorities held him pending verification of his Canadian citizenship claim.

JACL

• Select Date of Twelfth Convention of National JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The twelfth biennial National JACL convention will be held in San Francisco June 26 to 30, 1952. The date was chosen for convenience regarding weather, hotel availability, vacation time, and farming schedules.
• Ishimaru Takes Over JACL Office in San Francisco, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Haruo Ishimaru, a church and young people’s leader, will become regional director of the JACL-ADC San Francisco office on June 11. He brings experience from camp service and church work, and is finishing a master’s degree at UCLA.
• Ishikawa Will Organize Fund Drive in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sam Ishikawa will leave for Hawaii on June 8 to organize a JACL-ADC fund-raising campaign. Earlier drives raised $42,000 in 1949 and $38,000 two years before.

Commentary

• Temporary Setback, by P.C. Staff, page 4. San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors narrowly rejected a fair employment practices proposal by a 6-5 vote. The editorial argues the employers’ voluntary program is inadequate and that the fight for FEP will continue.
• For Us, the Living, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial reprints key passages from Kenneth W. Day’s Memorial Day address in Seattle honoring Nisei war dead. Day urged the living to carry on the fight for freedom and equality the fallen started.
• The Nisei GIs in the Pacific, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial describes how Nisei linguists trained at the Army’s Japanese language school contributed to Pacific victory, occupation work, and war crime trials. It argues their story remains largely unknown and deserves full disclosure.
• Go for Broke!, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reviews MGM’s Go for Broke! as a worthwhile film that accurately portrays the 442nd and is a tribute to Nisei servicemen. He notes its realism and understatement while criticizing the lack of depiction of relocation camps.
• New York Goes for Broke, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A reviewer reports that New York critics praised Go for Broke! as good entertainment likely to make money. The writer found the film better than expected and said the young leads presented a convincing cross-section of the regiment.
• Where Do We Go From Here?, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The columnist argues that Nisei cannot live on the 442nd’s past achievements and must find new fields and heroes. The film showed Japanese Americans as seeking full citizenship and willing to sacrifice.
• Other Scripts for Other Movies?, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The columnist doubts a relocation-story film would sell, given audience preferences for entertainment over unpleasant subjects. He sees little opportunity for further Nisei stories in the current Hollywood climate.
• A Racial Crazy-Quilt, by Elmer R. Smith, page 6. Smith argues that terms like Japanese American are logically inconsistent because nationality and ethnicity are being conflated. He suggests the confusion would disappear if ancestry became culturally insignificant.
• Several Nisei Make Olympic Team, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Several Nisei, most from Hawaii, are considered strong prospects for the 1952 Helsinki Olympic squad. Swimmers Jerd Konno and Evelyn Kawamoto and several weightlifters are named as top contenders.
• Hirayama Stars as Fresno Wins CCAA Crown, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Fibber Hirayama’s hitting led Fresno State to the CCAA championship with a sweep of Cal Poly on May 26. The Bulldogs finished with a 36-win, 40-game season record.

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