Korean War casualties, and Congress passes the Walter-McCarran bill

Vol. 34, No. 26, June 28, 1952. 8 pages. View this issue

Two stories shared the front page of this eight-page issue. One was a Pacific Citizen tabulation of Nisei GI casualties in the Korean War: more than 600, including 111 killed in action and 370 wounded. The other was the news that Congress had overridden President Truman’s veto of the Walter-McCarran bill, opening U.S. citizenship to resident aliens of Japanese ancestry. Mike Masaoka of JACL ADC called the veto a bitter disappointment, and Richard Akagi spoke on the bill’s place in postwar progress.

Also inside: coverage of the JACL’s 12th biennial convention in San Francisco, with about 1,000 delegates, and an editorial honoring outgoing president Dr. Randolph M. Sakada. Bill Hosokawa wrote “From the Frying Pan,” Elmer R. Smith examined Japanese immigrant trade in Peru, and the sports pages followed Fibber Hirayama’s hitting for Stockton and the Olympic trials. The 100th Battalion’s tenth anniversary plans also appear.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• 11 Japanese American GIs Killed, 370 Wounded During Two Years of Korean Conflict, by P.C. Staff, page 1. An unofficial Pacific Citizen tabulation counts more than 600 Nisei GI casualties in the Korean War over two years, including 111 killed in action and 370 wounded. Roughly 3,500 Nisei have served or remain on duty in the Korean theater and Far East, and over a thousand combat veterans have already returned home.
• Posthumous Combat Award Given Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Silver Star was presented posthumously to Cpl. William Miyasato of Honolulu, killed in action in Korea, at Fort Shafter ceremonies. His brother accepted the medal from Col. Howard Hazlett.
• Idaho Soldier Dies in Action in Korean War, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pfc. Roy Miyasaki, 21, of Sugar City, Idaho, was killed in Korea on June 12, becoming Madison County’s first fatality in the war. He was an outstanding athlete and class president who had written home expecting rest camp and transfer soon.
• Hawaiian Corporal Wins Silver Star, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Cpl. Michael Suzuki of Honolulu received the Silver Star for carrying helpless comrades from a shell-raked Milltop in Korea despite being wounded himself. His actions occurred in October during a mortar barrage near Yanggu.

JACL

• National JACL ‘Comes Home’ as Thousand Delegates Attend San Francisco Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Roughly 1,000 delegates from 60 chapters gathered in San Francisco for the JACL’s 12th biennial convention, the first on the Pacific Coast since the 1942 mass evacuation. The agenda included legislative activity, evacuation claims funding, officer elections, and honors for outstanding Nisei.
• Announce Names of Official Delegates to JACL Conclave, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL Director Masao Satow released the list of official delegates from chapters across the country for the 12th biennial national convention in San Francisco. The list covers chapters from Alameda to Venice and includes proxies and alternates.
• The JACL’s Leadership, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial honors outgoing JACL President Dr. Randolph M. Sakada for his selfless two-year service and credits the organization’s cabinet and national staff for its successes. It highlights Mike Masaoka’s legislative leadership as central to the JACL’s achievements.

National

• U.S. Japanese Win Long Fight For Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Congress overrode President Truman’s veto of the Walter-McCarran omnibus immigration bill, making resident aliens of Japanese ancestry eligible for U.S. citizenship. JACL ADC leaders described the veto as a disappointment and noted the bill would repeal the 1924 Japanese Exclusion Act.
• Akagi Outlines Nisei Advances Since War, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Richard Akagi of the JACL ADC addressed American University’s Institute of Human Relations on the postwar advances of Japanese Americans, credited largely to the JACL. He argued that the Walter-McCarran bill, despite its flaws, was the only realistic path to reforms.
• Congress Overrides President’s Veto of Walter-McCarran Omnibus Immigration Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Congress overrode President Truman’s June 25 veto of the Walter-McCarran bill, with the Senate vote passing by two votes over the required two-thirds majority. Truman had argued the measure discriminated against Asians, and Mike Masaoka of JACL ADC expressed bitter disappointment.
• Anti-Defamation League Finds Growing Awareness of Menace of Organized Intolerance, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Anti-Defamation League’s annual survey of American bigotry reports growing public awareness of organized prejudice alongside an alarming rise in racially motivated violence. The study, also published as the book The Troublemakers, documents hate groups, smear campaigns, and the role of Communist and Arab propaganda.
• Nisei Mother May Be United Soon With Child from Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A private bill passed the House to allow Tsuyoshi Nagahama, the son of Nisei mother Martha Pollock, to immigrate to the U.S. from Japan. The bill awaits Senate approval, which is expected along with President Truman’s signature.

Community

• New York Girl Wins Four-Year College Award, by P.C. Staff, page 1. June Omura of New York City was named one of the winners of a four-year New York Regents’ scholarship. The award provides $350 annually for study at any approved state college.
• Find Chicagoan Guilty on Death Charge, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Joseph T. Makihira was acquitted of murder in the killing of a loan company collector but convicted of manslaughter and given an indeterminate sentence eligible for parole after eleven months. He had pleaded self-defense, claiming he feared the collector would jail him over a debt.
• Long Beach-Harbor Chapter Presents $750 to JACL ADC, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Long Beach-Harbor District JACL chapter presented $750 to the regional office toward its $1,000 1952 JACL ADC quota. Chapter president Mas Narita thanked members of the Nikkeijin Kai for their assistance.
• Nine Colorado Nisei Teach in Area Schools, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Colorado Times reported that nine Colorado Nisei served as faculty members in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas public schools during the past year. The article lists each teacher and the school where they taught.
• Disclose Five More Candidates For Nisei Achievement Award, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The National JACL Recognitions Committee announced five additional nominees for the Distinguished Achievement Awards, which will select the Nisei of the Biennium. Nominees include Dr. Samuel I. Hayakawa, Henry Aihara, Dr. Jitsuo Morikawa, Dr. Sam Kimura, and artist Miyo Ito.
• Race Relations Meet Planned at Fisk School, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The annual Institute of Race Relations will begin June 30 at Fisk University under the American Missionary Association, with the theme ‘Human Relations in Crisis.’ Sessions will cover basic human relations orientation and specific problem areas in group relations.
• Philadelphia Pastor Honored at Farewell, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Philadelphia YBA held a farewell dinner for the Rev. Mukushina, who is leaving to teach at a Japanese language school in Chicago. Garry Oye emceed and the group expressed appreciation for his years of service.
• Veleda Scholarship Won by Okamoto, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Paul Y. Okamoto of Portland received the $100 Veleda Club scholarship from the Portland YWCA. He is a graduate of Lincoln High School and plans to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Takemura Wins Lap Prize in Nisei Air Race, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Nisei air race competitors landed at Chandler Field in Fresno, and Tommy Takemura of Tacoma took the lap trophy. A dinner-dance sponsored by the Central California JACL honored the flyers.
• Mainland Veterans of 442nd Invited to Reunion in 1953, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The 442nd Veterans Club of Honolulu is planning a 10th anniversary reunion for July 1953, inviting thousands of mainland veterans. More than 300 veterans and families from the mainland are expected, with a two-week program planned.
• Hawaii Nisei Battalion Plans 10th Anniversary Celebration, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The 100th Infantry Battalion, the first all-Nisei unit committed to combat in WWII, will celebrate its tenth anniversary from July 3 to 6 in Hawaii. The article traces the unit’s history from its 1942 departure through its incorporation into the 442nd.
• Nisei VFW Asks President to Sign Measure, by P.C. Staff, page 7. More than a hundred VFW posts and auxiliaries in California urged President Truman to sign the Walter-McCarran omnibus bill. Their letters pointed to continuing discrimination against Issei in immigration and naturalization law.
• Nisei Mayor Guest of Seattle Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Seattle’s newly elected mayor Allan Pomeroy was honored at an informal dinner at the Maneki Restaurant by Nisei voters. The guests shared recollections of evacuation-era assistance Pomeroy had provided as an assistant U.S. district attorney.
• Nisei Biologist Collects Data on Salmon Run, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Francis M. Fukuhara, a Nisei biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, joined a Japanese salmon fishing fleet in the Bering Sea to collect scientific data. His findings are intended to aid conservation under the Japan-Canada-U.S. fisheries convention.
• Denverites Attend Montana Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Minoru Yasui and Z. Kanegaye attended a Montana JACL meeting in Billings, where Yasui spoke on JACL ADC work for naturalization of resident aliens. Japanese travel films were also shown to the group.
• Chizu Iiyama Wins Election to Board of Community Group, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Chizu Iiyama, associate director of the Chicago Resettlers Committee, was elected to the board of the Oakland-Kenwood Planning Association. The group works on neighborhood improvement issues such as illegal conversions and playgrounds.

Commentary

• Police and Race Relations, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown’s guide for peace officers on race relations and urges police to understand the economic roots of prejudice. It recommends race relations details, hiring minorities, impartial promotion, and training in neutrality.
• Wallace Irwin’s Togo and Mr. Moto Shaped American Images of Japanese, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This column traces how Wallace Irwin’s comic Hashimura Togo and John P. Marquand’s detective Mr. Moto became stereotypes of Japanese in American culture. It notes how the characters were reshaped across radio, film, and television.
• Change in Plans, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A New York Nisei columnist reflects on missing the 1952 JACL convention due to illness and recalls the 1932 Los Angeles convention. He contrasts the young, unmarried crowd of two decades ago with today’s settled, family-oriented delegates.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Bill Hosokawa describes the summer’s first houseguests, Toge and Mitsu Fujihira, and Toge’s upcoming nine-month documentary filming trip around the world. He also shares family summer activities, including swimming lessons and garden progress.

Sports

• Fibber Hirayama Bats .444 In First Week With Stockton, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Stockton’s new Nisei centerfielder Fibber Hirayama batted .444 in his first seven games and helped end a losing skid. He made a sensational game-ending catch against Ventura and continued his strong hitting.
• Yonamine Cleared Way for Nisei Players, by Rev. Mineo Katagiri, page 6. Rev. Mineo Katagiri describes how Wally Yonamine endured hostility, language barriers, and third-class travel to win acceptance on Japanese professional baseball teams. His success opened the way for other Hawaiian Nisei players.
• Hirayama Wins Tribute in Stockton Paper, by John Peri, page 6. Stockton sports editor John Peri praises Satoshi Hirayama, a 5-foot-4 Fresno State outfielder who was an early standout with the Stockton Ports. Hirayama’s hitting and fielding made him one of the team’s most popular players in his first week.
• Fresno Cardinals Missed Out on Star, by Ed Orman, page 7. Fresno Bee sports editor Ed Orman reports local fans are upset the Fresno Cardinals did not sign graduating Fresno State players, including Satoshi Hirayama, who is hitting .444 for Stockton. Orman says Hirayama was an unusually colorful player who could have been a major draw in Fresno.
• Fresno State Star to Join All-Star Nine, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Harvey Zenimura, Fresno State’s star leftfielder and Korean War veteran, was selected for the Pacific Coast College All-Stars touring Japan. He is the son of Fresno baseball figure ‘Pop’ Zenimura and the only Nisei on the 15-man squad.
• Arm Injury Ends Olympic Hopes for Nancy Ito, by P.C. Staff, page 7. An arm injury ended Nancy Ito’s bid to compete as a javelin thrower on the U.S. Olympic team. The Denver softball standout had been training for the women’s trials.
• Nisei Jumpers Fail to Qualify for Olympics, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Nisei jumping stars George Uyeda and Henry Aihara failed to qualify for the final U.S. Olympic trials at the 64th AAU championships in Long Beach. Uyeda did not reach the required mark, and Aihara did not qualify in the hop, step, and jump.
• Tominaga Wins Summer Pitching Role in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Henry Tominaga, star hurler for Springfield College, returned to Honolulu for the summer after a strong collegiate season. He finished with five wins and one loss.

In-Depth

• ‘Japanese in the Americas’: Bazaar Is Typical of Trade Pursuits of Peru Immigrants, by Elmer R. Smith, page 6. This feature examines how Japanese immigrants in Peru built success in retail trade, especially the bazaar, through low prices, strong community organization, and mutual financing. It also notes resentment from competitors and poorer Peruvians that contributed to wartime treatment.

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