President Ford rescinds Executive Order 9066, February 1976

Vol. 82, No. 8, February 27, 1976. 6 pages. View this issue

President Ford’s proclamation rescinding Executive Order 9066 was the news of this six-page issue. Signed on February 19, 1976, before Japanese American leaders at the White House, it ended an order issued 34 years earlier that had uprooted more than 110,000 Japanese Americans. Veterans of the 442nd were recognized at the ceremony, with Senator Inouye and Congressman Matsunaga among those attending. The Seattle JACL’s Shosuke Sasaki answered S.I. Hayakawa’s column on redress, and Ruby Yoshino Schaar also criticized Hayakawa’s defense of the World War II incarceration.

The issue also reported on the National JACL Board’s budget and the duties of a new national executive director. Bill Hosokawa profiled Mike Shiosaki, a 442nd veteran who became sheriff of Bingham County, Idaho. Sachi Seko wrote about Michi Weglyn’s Years of Infamy. Other items cover a basketball tournament planned before the national convention and Budd Fukei’s new book on Nikkei history.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

  • Executive Order 9066 Erased, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Ford formally rescinded Executive Order 9066 in a proclamation signed February 19, 1976, before Japanese American leaders at the White House. The order, issued 34 years earlier, had uprooted and detained more than 110,000 Japanese Americans, three-fourths of them native-born citizens.
  • Executive Order 9066, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Washington JACL office worked quietly with the White House to rescind Executive Order 9066, which led to the wartime Evacuation. The office noted that a symbolic presidential declaration denouncing the Evacuation was the aim, given that February 19 was targeted.
  • Seattle JACL Rebuts Hayakawa, by Shosuke Sasaki, page 4. Seattle JACL’s Shosuke Sasaki counters S.I. Hayakawa’s column, pointing out that Hawaii’s Japanese Americans were not mass-incarcerated and that redress has broad community support. He argues Hayakawa’s criticisms of the chapter are unfounded.

Community

  • Nisei Civil Service Worker Seeks Retirement Credit for Stay in Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Several bills in Congress would credit time spent by Japanese Americans in WWII camps toward federal civil service retirement. Rep. Norman Mineta, author of HR 8823, says public support is needed to move the measure forward.
  • Wendy Yoshimura’s Trial Approaches, by Lee Ruttle, page 1. Defense and prosecution prepare for Wendy Yoshimura’s upcoming trial in Oakland, which is tied to the Patty Hearst case in San Francisco. Questions remain about Yoshimura’s relationship with Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army.
  • Seattle JACL Rebuts Hayakawa, by Shosuke Sasaki, page 1. Seattle JACL responds to S.I. Hayakawa’s syndicated column criticizing the chapter’s push for redress. The rebuttal argues Hayakawa ignored the historical record on wartime hysteria and the lack of military necessity for the Evacuation.

Commentary

  • Executive Director’s Role Aired, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The National JACL Board outlined the duties and responsibilities of a new national executive director, including managing staff, public relations, and financial management. The guidelines were discussed as part of restructuring the national office.
  • Let Freedom Ring, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The editorial praises the Ford proclamation rescinding Executive Order 9066 as a step toward recognizing national mistakes. It also reflects on the JACL National Board’s budget decisions and the need for fiscal discipline.
  • Concentration Camps, by Ruby Yoshino Schaar, page 2. New York JACL’s executive director criticizes Dr. S.I. Hayakawa’s justifications of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans. She urges the reprinting of James Michener’s introduction to Michi Weglyn’s Years of Infamy to counter his claims.
  • Sheriff Mike Calls, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. Columnist Bill Hosokawa profiles Mike Shiosaki, a Nisei veteran of the 442nd who became sheriff of Bingham County, Idaho. Shiosaki’s career and record of improving his department are described.
  • Digging for Roots, by Sachi Seko, page 2. Columnist Sachi Seko reflects on Michi Weglyn’s shift from artistry to polemics in writing Years of Infamy. The book’s research into the real causes and consequences of the Evacuation is presented as an act of necessary anger.

National

  • Compromise on S.1 Sought, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Senate leaders Mansfield and Scott proposed a revised version of S.1, the federal criminal law overhaul, dropping 13 controversial provisions that had stalled it in committee. The new bill would omit sections on official secrets, insanity, and the death penalty among others.
  • Repeal of Responsibility Law Steps Up Interest in Supplemental Income, by P.C. Staff, page 6. California’s repeal of the Relative Responsibility Law has increased interest in Supplemental Security Income among elderly Japanese Americans. Seniors may now apply without requiring reimbursement from their children.
  • Justice Overdue Tells Plight of Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A KCTS/KING co-produced television program examines the educational, economic, and psychological losses suffered by Japanese Americans during the Evacuation. Gordon Hirabayashi appears in the broadcast.

Arts & Entertainment

  • Budd Fukei Pens Book on Nikkei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Budd Fukei, a former PC contributor and Seattle Post-Intelligencer staffer, has written The Japanese American Story, a survey of Nikkei history in America. The book covers Issei immigration, Nisei contributions, and the wartime Evacuation.

JACL

  • Nat’l JACL Cage Tourney Prior to Convention Set, by P.C. Staff, page 3. East Los Angeles JACL is organizing the first National JACL Invitational Basketball Tournament, scheduled for June 18-20 in East LA. Men’s, women’s, and coed divisions are planned, with a $50 entry fee per team.

Military & Veterans

  • Japanese Americans Stand Ready, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Veterans of the 442nd and their families were recognized at the White House ceremony rescinding Executive Order 9066. Attendees included Senator Inouye and Congressman Matsunaga.

Obituaries

  • Mike Shiosaki, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The article profiles Blackfoot, Idaho’s Mike Shiosaki, a 442nd veteran who rose to sheriff of Bingham County. His career progression and community standing are noted.

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