Inouye on the 1984 campaign trail, and the 442nd RCT remembered

Vol. 99, No. 19, November 9, 1984. 12 pages. View this issue

Sen. Daniel Inouye campaigned in Los Angeles for the Mondale-Ferraro ticket five days before the 1984 presidential election, and the front page carried J.K. Yamamoto’s report on his sharp criticism of President Reagan’s defense policies. Inside, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team drew wide attention. Eric Saul wrote a two-part history of its assault on the Gothic Line, Harry Honda reflected on racism faced by Nisei servicemen, and two reports covered the French town of Bruyeres honoring its Nisei liberators.

Other items include an appeal from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for accounts of violence against Asian and Pacific Americans, and a letter from NCJAR Chair William Hohri on JACL’s brief in the redress appeal. Also here are Bill Hosokawa on Japanese castaways, Minoru Yasui’s talk to a Texas reunion about his coram nobis petition, and Harry Honda’s Little Tokyo Life column on the Redondo Beach area.

What’s in this issue

National

• Inouye Sharply Raps Reagan Defense Policies, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. Sen. Daniel Inouye campaigned for the Mondale-Ferraro ticket in Los Angeles, sharply criticizing President Reagan’s defense policies and nuclear arms buildup. He contrasted the devastation of Hiroshima with modern nuclear arsenals and praised Mondale’s commitment to fairness and civil rights.
• Asian Americans Asked to Describe Racist Incidents, page 1. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is appealing to the public, including JACL members, to document violent acts against Asian and Pacific Americans for a report due in September 1985. Researchers are visiting several cities and ask that incidents with documenting evidence be sent to the Pacific Citizen by Dec. 15.
• Gohonzon Bill Passes, page 2. President Reagan signed legislation sought by Rep. Robert Matsui and Sen. Spark Matsunaga extending duty-free treatment to religious scrolls or tablets, including the Gohonzon used in Nichiren Shoshu practice. The measure was part of the 1984 Trade Bill approved by Congress in October.
• Promises in Hollywood, page 2. Columbia Pictures established a program to involve more minorities in feature filmmaking, including Black Writers Committee members developing projects and recruiting additional minority writers. The studio also promised to foster a creative climate between minority writers/producers and the studio’s projects.
• Civil Rights Act Dies in Senate, by Steen Darling, Washington JACL Office, page 2. The Grove City bill, intended to reverse the Supreme Court’s Grove City College v. Bell decision narrowing Title IX protections, died in the final days of the 98th Congress despite strong bipartisan support. The Reagan Administration had already used the ruling to drop numerous discrimination suits, and supporters plan to reintroduce legislation in the 99th Congress.
• Inouye (Continued): Mondale Praised as Personal Friend, page 12. Continuing coverage of Sen. Inouye’s Los Angeles appearance, he described Walter Mondale as a longtime Senate colleague and friend who championed rights for migrant workers and abused children. Inouye questioned Reagan’s grasp of nuclear issues and urged voters to support Mondale despite unfavorable polls.

Community

• Midwest Community Organizes Politically, by Helen Zia, page 1. Asian Pacific Americans in Michigan held their first multi-ethnic political fundraiser for Sen. Carl Levin, raising over $3,500 and drawing nearly 200 attendees. Organizer James Shimoura cited the Vincent Chin case as a catalyst for greater political involvement among Asian Americans in the region.
• Pilipino Writer’s Grave No Longer Neglected, page 2. A Seattle committee raised about $1,000 for a new headstone for author and union activist Carlos Bulosan, unveiled at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. Bulosan, who emigrated from the Philippines in 1930, wrote the acclaimed novel America Is in the Heart and worked as a migrant laborer until his death in 1956.
• Gosho Tabbed for Expo, page 2. Henry Gosho, a retired State Department officer with WW2 military intelligence service experience, was named commissioner of the U.S. pavilion at Tsukuba Expo ’85 in Japan. He was recalled from retirement for the science and technology fair assignment.
• California Chief Justice Recalls Asian American History, by Harry K. Honda, page 3. California Chief Justice Rose Bird addressed the Community Relations Conference of So. California’s annual awards banquet, invoking anti-Chinese legislation and Japanese American internment while discussing civil rights progress. The Los Angeles Urban League received the CRCSC membership trophy, and other honorees included Joseph Roos and Mary Miller.
• Chapter Pulse: San Diego, San Francisco, and More, page 5. Various JACL chapter news items are reported, including San Diego’s Kiku Gardens celebrating its first anniversary, San Francisco JACL donating $5,000 to the Japanese Cultural and Community Center, and Torrance chapter’s annual Turkey Shoot event. Minoru Yasui also addressed a Texas reunion about his WW2 arrest and legal history.
• Students Discuss Ethnic Studies, page 8. More than 450 Asian Pacific American students, scholars, and organizers gathered at UCLA for the National Assn. for Asian American Studies and National Asian Pacific American Law Students Assn. conferences. Panels addressed topics including anti-Asian sentiment, immigration rights, and the 15-year history of Asian American studies programs, with keynote speaker Yuri Kochiyama urging law students to fight discrimination.
• People: Health, page 10. Dr. Thomas Aoki was appointed professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Endocrinology at UC Davis School of Medicine, having previously worked at Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on hormone regulation of metabolic processes and use of the artificial pancreas.

Arts & Entertainment

• Film on Nisei Actor to Be Completed, page 2. Visual Communications received a $9,811 donation from the Screen Actors Guild’s ethnic employment opportunities committee to complete a documentary on the late Nisei actor Yukio Shimoda. The film, started after Shimoda’s 1981 death, will be finished by the end of 1984 thanks to the funding and advocacy of committee member Peter Kwong.

Incarceration & Redress

• Hayakawa Scolded for Use of Name, page 3. The American Friends Service Committee asked former Sen. S.I. Hayakawa to stop invoking its name in his anti-redress arguments, after he cited AFSC’s wartime college program for Nisei students as a benefit negating redress claims. AFSC executive secretary Asia Bennett rejected this reasoning, affirming the organization’s support for redress and its historic opposition to the internment.

Military & Veterans

• Town Honors Nisei Liberators of WW2, page 3. The French town of Bruyeres marked 40 years since its liberation by the Nisei 442nd RCT/100th Battalion with ceremonies attended by about 650 veterans and dignitaries. A second monument was dedicated at Biffontaine honoring the Nisei soldiers who rescued the
• The Incredible 442nd RCT, by Eric Saul, page 4. Eric Saul, curator of the Presidio Army Museum, recounts the history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit in American military history, detailing the rivalry between Hawaiian ‘buddaheads’ and mainland ‘kotonks’ and the unit’s extraordinary combat casualties and achievements. The piece includes the story of the climb up the Gothic Line and personal anecdotes from veterans about their wartime sacrifices.
• Veterans: The Incredible 442nd RCT (Continued), by Eric Saul, page 6. This continuation describes the 442nd’s legendary assault on the Gothic Line, which the unit cracked in 32 minutes after being asked to do it in 24 hours, far outperforming two full divisions that failed in six months. The piece closes with poignant anecdotes about fallen soldiers and the resilience of internees who lost everything yet still served their country.
• Bruyeres Liberation Ceremonies Honor Nisei Veterans, by Nichi Bei Times, page 8. Nisei veterans groups have made nearly annual visits to Bruyeres, France for 35 years to commemorate Liberation Day ceremonies marking the town’s 1944 liberation by the 442nd/100th Battalion. This year’s events included a church service, parade, and wreath-laying, with veteran Chet Tanaka reflecting on what liberation meant to the townspeople.

Commentary

• Racism in the Armed Forces, by Harry Honda, page 4. This column reflects on the film ‘Nisei Soldier’ and recounts personal and historical incidents of racism faced by Nisei servicemen during and after WWII, including being barred from facilities despite serving in uniform. The author recalls being denied entry to British military headquarters in Tokyo due to his Asian ancestry despite valid identification.
• Yasui Addresses Texans, page 5. Minoru Yasui spoke at the Old Timers Reunion of Rio Grande Valley in Texas, recounting his WW2 arrest for violating curfew orders, his Supreme Court case, and his coram nobis petition. He urged the 100 Nikkei present to impart knowledge of their American citizenship to others.
• ‘Conciliation’ Hailed, by William Hohri, NCJAR Chair, page 9. NCJAR Chair William Hohri thanks JACL and its president Frank Sato for submitting a friend-of-the-court brief supporting NCJAR’s redress lawsuit appeal. He explains the legal strategy and procedural challenges facing the case and welcomes the cooperation between JACL and NCJAR despite past differences.
• Aid to Ethiopia, page 9. A letter writer calls for urgent donations to address the famine crisis in Ethiopia, describing mass deaths among infants, the elderly, and families. Readers are directed to send tax-deductible donations to the Save The Children Ethiopia Fund.
• Sakai’s Viewpoints, by Mack Yamaguchi, page 9. A letter writer responds to Henry Sakai’s column about JACL candidate endorsements, defending Sakai’s intentions despite his sometimes blunt tone. The writer expresses concern over Sakai’s announced plan to step down from JACL after 13 years.
• Japanese Tea Garden, by Mabel Jingu Enkoji, page 9. A letter writer clarifies details about her brother Jimmy Jingu and the rededication of the Japanese Tea Garden in San Antonio, correcting errors in a previous article about the dedication and her brother’s heart attack. She shares the invocation given by Sister Margit Nagy at a luncheon honoring the Jingu family and Ambassador Okawara.
• Values of Asian Parents Credited, page 12. A study by Univ. of Michigan psychologist Dr. Harold Stevenson examined why Asian students in Taiwan and Japan outperform American students in reading and math, attributing it to stronger parental support and engagement. The research compared 1,440 students across Minneapolis, Taipei, and Sendai, finding Asian parents show greater respect for teachers and involvement in schoolwork.

In-Depth

• Castaways, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. This Frying Pan column discusses Katherine Plummer’s book ‘The Shogun’s Reluctant Ambassadors,’ about Japanese fishermen and sailors shipwrecked and carried to North America by ocean currents long before Japanese immigration began. The column highlights how these castaways, including the famous Manjiro, served as informants and interpreters who influenced relations between Japan and the West.
• Nikkei Church Rebuilt in ‘Meiji Village’ Museum, by By Barry Saiki, page 7. Seattle’s Japanese Evangelical Church, dismantled and shipped to Japan, was dedicated at Meiji-mura Museum in a ceremony attended by about 120 people, including JACL members and dignitaries from the U.S. and Japan. The church, once home to the Yasutake family, represents Issei life in North America among the museum’s historic structures.
• Little Tokyo Life (No. 40): In and Around Redondo, by Harry Honda, page 12. Harry Honda’s historical column recalls the prewar Japanese American communities of Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Walteria, and Hawthorne, detailing the farming families, flower growers, and businesses that once thrived there. The piece notes demographic shifts as farmland gave way to housing development through the 1930s.

JACL

• More Appointments Announced, page 5. National JACL President Frank Sato’s committee chair appointments, previously omitted from an earlier report, were listed, including Lillian Kimura for resolutions and Teresa Maebori for nominations. Several committee vacancies remain to be filled.

Obituaries

• M. Chester Tomita, 1915-1984, page 11. M. Chester Tomita, a longtime Chicago resident and JACL member, died after a long illness in Oakland, California. He is survived by his wife Virginia Fumiko, daughter Tomita-Kashino Shimamoto, a sister, and four brothers.

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