General Mark Clark’s death and the coram nobis cases, 1984

Vol. 98, No. 16, April 27, 1984. 12 pages. View this issue

The front page of this 12-page issue carried Vincent Tajiri’s account of General Mark Clark, who died April 17. It recalled his respect for the Nisei soldiers of the 100th/442nd RCT and his early opposition to the military removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast in 1942, with the story continuing on page 2. Also on page 1 were updates on redress and the coram nobis cases: Gordon Hirabayashi’s hearing was rescheduled to May 18, and Judge Marilyn Hall Patel filed her written opinion in Fred Korematsu’s case. Hearings on the redress bill, HR 4110, were set for June 20-21, and Rep. Norman Mineta testified on the Simpson-Mazzoli immigration bill.

Inside are Min Yasui’s survey of the Great Plains states and redress support, and Clifford Uyeda’s response to the Civil Rights Commission chair on monetary redress. Harry Honda reviewed John Modell’s study of prewar Little Tokyo, and Kats Kunitsugu wrote about Loni Ding’s film on Nisei soldiers. Bill Hosokawa remembered the Chinese restaurants of prewar Seattle.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Mark Clark, a General Who Opposed EO 9066, Dies, by Vincent Tajiri, page 1. General Mark Wayne Clark, who commanded the 5th Army and oversaw the 100th/442nd RCT in WW2, died April 17 at nearly 88 years old. Nisei veterans and historians recall his respect for the Japanese American soldiers and his early opposition to the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast in 1942.
• Clark Continued: Nisei Private’s Stand and Opposition to Removal, by Vincent Tajiri, page 2. The article continues the Clark obituary, recounting an anecdote of a 100th Battalion private who stood his ground against a colonel’s convoy, earning Clark’s praise. It also details Clark’s 1942 opposition, alongside Admiral Stark, to the military removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast, and notes a new memorial panel being added in his honor at the JACCC museum exhibit.

National

• Mineta Testifies on Immigration, page 1. Rep. Norman Mineta testified before the House Rules Committee against discriminatory provisions in the Simpson-Mazzoli immigration bill, urging an increase in the Hong Kong quota and opposing national identity cards. He also opposes restrictions on family unification preferences in the Senate version of the bill.
• High School Teacher Returns to Job, page 1. Douglas Nogaki, a New Jersey physical education teacher accused of punching twin brothers in 1981, won reinstatement after the state board of education overturned the commissioner’s decision to strip his tenure. Supporters had collected 3,000 signatures for his reinstatement.
• WW2 Vets Asking for Citizenship, page 1. Rep. Mervyn Dymally urged the INS to halt deportation proceedings against Filipino WW2 veterans facing citizenship challenges after a Supreme Court ruling. He has submitted an amendment to the Simpson-Mazzoli bill to provide for naturalization of the roughly 1,600 affected veterans in California.
• Director Named for Veterinary Lab, page 11. Dr. Bryan Mayeda has been named veterinary medical officer in charge of California’s regional veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Petaluma, serving 15 coastal counties. Mayeda, a Placer County native, has worked in veterinary laboratory services for 34 years.
• Scholarship Named for Hayakawa, page 11. Former Sen. S.I. Hayakawa visited San Francisco State University, where he once served as president, to award a $3,000 political science fellowship named in his honor. The fellowship was established by U.S. English, an organization opposing bilingual ballots.

Incarceration & Redress

• Hirabayashi Court Hearing Delayed, page 1. Gordon Hirabayashi’s petition for a writ of error coram nobis has been rescheduled to May 18 before Judge Donald Vorhees in a larger Seattle courtroom to accommodate public attendance. His petition, like those of Korematsu and Yasui, alleges the government altered and destroyed key evidence in his Supreme Court case.
• Patel Files Written Opinion, page 1. Judge Marilyn Hall Patel filed her formal written opinion April 19 in Fred Korematsu’s coram nobis case, closely following her earlier Nov. 10 ruling. The government has filed notice it plans to appeal the decision.
• Sub-committee to Hear HR 4110, page 1. The House Judiciary Sub-committee on Administrative Law has scheduled hearings on HR 4110, the redress legislation, for June 20-21 in Washington. Sub-committee chair Sam Hall Jr. notified Reps. Mineta, Matsui and Lowry of the hearing dates.

Community

• Colorado Sansei Top Vote-Getter, page 1. Don Yoshihara, 32, captured the most votes among 10 candidates to win a Lafayette, Colorado city council seat in an April 3 election. He will serve a four-year term.
• Incumbents Barely Win in Gardena, page 1. City treasurer George Kobayashi and councilman Paul Tsukahara won re-election in Gardena, while newcomer Norman Hirata narrowly lost his bid for council. About 28% of the city’s registered voters turned out for the election.
• JACCC to Stage Children’s Day Fete, page 2. The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center will celebrate Children’s Day on its Plaza May 5, featuring kite-making, origami, and performances by koto musician June Kuramoto, dancers, and Kinnara Taiko. The event coincides with the Asian Pacific Arts & Crafts Faire.
• Eisei Bunko Antiques to Be Shown in U.S., page 2. About 200 Eisei Bunko antiques from the Hosokawa family will be exhibited at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. starting October 1987. The announcement was made by Yoshiaki Shimizu of the Freer Gallery of Art.
• Orange County Community Holds Tribute for Issei Pioneers, page 7. Thirty-eight surviving Issei pioneers of Orange County were honored at a tribute dinner attended by 660 people at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel. The event, organized by the Japanese American Council of Bowers Museum Foundation, celebrated the Issei’s contributions to the county’s agricultural and civic development, including politically active Nikkei who have served on city councils.
• Chapter to Honor Five Mothers, page 8. The Downtown Los Angeles JACL Chapter and Japanese Women’s Association will honor five mothers—Haru Hashimoto, Shimae Kazahaya, Mutsu Omori, Tomeko Takahashi and Matsue Yamaguma—at their 22nd Annual Mothers Day Luncheon May 12. Each honoree’s immigration history and community contributions are detailed.
• Health Fair to Be Held May 3, page 9. The Union of Pan Asian Communities and San Diego JACL are sponsoring the 1984 ‘Feelin’ Good’ health fair at Japanese Christian Church, offering free screenings for various health measures. Additional blood chemistry work is available for a $10 fee.
• Schedule Set for Singles Convention Workshops, by Meriko Mori, page 9. Tom Shimazaki finalized plans for Saturday workshops at the JACL national singles convention, covering topics like relationships, widowhood, divorce, and aging. Local singles organizations are supporting the event alongside a Sunday sightseeing tour of Little Tokyo.
• Terauchi Appointed to Student Aid Panel, page 11. State Sen. David Roberti appointed Terrence S. Terauchi to California’s Student Opportunity and Access Program Advisory Committee. Terauchi is a former San Mateo JACL chapter president and ACLU board member.
• Long-Lost Brothers Finally Meet, page 11. Richard Yoshimi Motoyoshi of Gardena and his brother Jiro Sakada, separated in the 1920s in Japan, reunited for the first time after 60 years on April 16. The reunion was made possible after a mutual friend discovered Motoyoshi’s name in a Los Angeles Japanese telephone directory.

Arts & Entertainment

• Standard Bearers for a People, by Kats Kunitsugu, page 2. The author reflects on narrating Nisei Week parades featuring aging 442nd veterans and reviews Loni Ding’s documentary ‘Nisei Soldier: Standard Bearer for an Exiled People,’ premiering in Southern California. The film documents the 100th/442nd/MIS veterans and is praised as a timely reminder of the debt owed to Nisei soldiers.

Commentary

• On the Great Plains, by Min Yasui, page 4. Yasui surveys the political landscape and redress prospects in Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming, detailing key senators and representatives relevant to redress legislation. He appeals for readers with contacts in these Great Plains states to help build support for redress in the Senate.
• One from the Heart: No. 2, page 4. The column recounts a New York JACL tribute dinner honoring Ruby Yoshino Schaar, a longtime Nikkei community figure known for her operatic singing voice and support of Issei and Nisei during WW2. The piece describes Ruby’s upcoming move to San Francisco and the new scholarship fund established in her name for performing arts.
• A Tasty Chinese Meal for Memories, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reminisces about Japanese-operated Chinese restaurants in prewar Seattle and the enormous meals he and his family enjoyed there. He compares the plainer Cantonese-style cooking of his youth to the diverse regional Chinese cuisines now available in America.
• Olympics – 1984 Los Angeles, by John Saito, page 5. Saito discusses anxieties about Olympic traffic disruptions in Los Angeles and describes efforts to secure more minority hiring and business opportunities with ABC Sports for the Olympic broadcast. He provides contact information for those interested in ABC Olympic staff positions or vendor opportunities.
• Women’s Concerns: Wanted, by Sandi Kawasaki, page 6. The Women’s Concerns Committee is seeking writers for a weekly Pacific Citizen column and a special issue on women’s topics. Articles should be 400-1000 words, with a May 11 deadline for the special issue.
• Dangerous Precedent, by Clifford Uyeda, page 10. Uyeda responds to Civil Rights Commission chair Clarence Pendleton’s opposition to monetary redress, arguing that the imprisoned Japanese Americans were the actual survivors deserving restitution, not just descendants. He warns that accepting a mere apology without redress sets a dangerous precedent for future government injustices.
• Thank You, by Name Withheld by Request, page 10. A reader from San Jose enclosed a $50 donation to provide reading materials and Pacific Citizen subscriptions to incarcerated individuals mentioned in a previous issue. The brief letter emphasizes the importance of staying in touch.
• A Better Understanding, by Henry Tanda, page 10. Tanda describes increased community awareness and support in Salinas following the dedication of a monument at the former Salinas Assembly Center, contrasting it with the hostile attitudes of 1943. He credits speeches by Judge Marutani, Minoru Yasui, John Tateishi and local officials for influencing Rep. Panetta to co-sponsor HR 4110.
• Nihongo Practice, by Robert J. Chambers, page 10. A reader studying Japanese language seeks pen-pals in the United States for correspondence practice in both Japanese and English. He lives in an area with few Japanese speakers and provides his address for interested readers.
• Yasui Column Continued: Wyoming and Appeal for Contacts, by Min Yasui, page 11. The column continues, detailing Wyoming’s senators including Alan Simpson, who authored immigration legislation and had personal knowledge of the Heart Mountain camp as a boy. Yasui appeals to readers for contacts in Great Plains states to support redress efforts in the Senate.

JACL

• Credit Union’s Relationship with Shareholders ‘Fiduciary’, Not Public, page 8. The Chicago JACL Federal Credit Union held its 37th annual meeting, reporting total assets of $741,049 and a 7.25% dividend, while president Dudley Yatabe addressed a critical letter by stating the credit union’s relationship with members is fiduciary and confidential. New officers were elected including Yatabe’s re-election to a ninth term as president.

Obituaries

• Deaths: Ansel Adams and Richard T. Kunishima, page 11. Photographer Ansel Adams, who documented life at Manzanar during WW2, died April 22 in Carmel at age 82. Richard T. Kunishima, a Hawaii-born prewar football star at Whittier College who later worked at Seabrook and taught high school sports, died April 16 at age 71.

In-Depth

• John Modell’s Book, by Harry Honda, page 12. Honda reviews John Modell’s scholarly study ‘The Economics and Politics of Racial Discrimination: The Japanese of Los Angeles, 1900-1942,’ examining prewar Little Tokyo’s community organization, economy, and the Nisei generation’s struggles. The book, based on a decade-old JARP study at UCLA, is recommended for its detailed footnotes and historical insights.
• U.W. ‘Detective’ Solves Mystery of 1980 Mt. St. Helens Eruption, by Ray Tsuchiya, page 12. University of Washington graduate David K. Yamaguchi used tree-ring dating to determine that Mount St. Helens erupted violently in 1480 and again in 1482, centuries before the 1980 eruption. His dendrochronology research sampled Douglas firs that survived the ancient eruptions but were ultimately killed in 1980.

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