Go For Broke! premieres and Nisei citizenship cases in 1951

Vol. 32, No. 25, June 30, 1951. 8 pages. View this issue

Nisei veterans and citizenship questions filled this eight-page issue. Towns from Burlingame to Roseville to Hollister honored 442nd Regimental Combat Team veterans at openings of the film Go For Broke!, and the Watsonville paper’s coverage of Henry Arao’s Distinguished Service Cross was noted. Federal Judge William M. Byrne ruled that Kasumi Nakashima did not lose her citizenship by voting in Japan’s 1946 elections, and Congress passed two private bills restoring citizenship to Nisei women. Larry Tajiri marked the paper’s ninth year in Salt Lake City, and Bill Hosokawa and Elmer R. Smith also wrote columns.

Elsewhere, Sacramento agreed to a $6,000 settlement over the death of Issei Michisuke Osaki. Mike Masaoka toured Hawaii to build support for Issei naturalization rights. Sadako Abo returned to testify about her Tule Lake renunciation. The sports pages carried Tok Ishizawa’s perfect bowling game in Fresno and Ford Konno’s four new American swimming records.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Sacramento Settles Suit on Death of Issei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The City of Sacramento agreed to a $6,000 settlement in the death of Issei Michisuke Osaki, who died after severe burns from a fire on the Sacramento River in 1950. The suit was brought by his children and handled by attorney Michael Riordan.
• Renunciant Returns to States for Citizenship Case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sadako Abo returned from Japan to testify in her case seeking restoration of American citizenship, which she renounced at Tule Lake under alleged coercion. She also voted in Japanese elections from 1946 to 1949.
• Mule Evacuee May Receive Compensation for Insurance, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Justice Department ruled that an evacuee who could not pay premiums on his life insurance while in a WRA center may be compensated for the policy’s fair market value. The claimant had sought $215.55.

Obituaries

• Salinas JACLer Passes Away, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Seizo Kubota, a Salinas JACL member and World War II veteran, died of a cerebral hemorrhage on June 24. He is survived by his wife, children, mother, brothers, and sisters.

Community

• Honolulu Nisei Newsman Named for Nieman Fellowship Award, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lawrence Nakatsuka, a Honolulu Star-Bulletin labor reporter, became the first Nisei winner of the Nieman Fellowship for newspapermen. He will study at Harvard University beginning in September.
• California Newspaper Covers Six-Years-Overdue Story of Nisei Soldiers in Combat, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Watsonville Register-Pajaronian published editorials and features on the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and its veterans from the Watsonville area. The coverage highlighted Henry Arao’s Distinguished Service Cross action in Italy.
• Nisei Veterans Honored at Dinner, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The San Benito County JACL honored four 442nd veterans at a dinner in Hollister before a screening of Go For Broke!. Regional representative Haruo Ishimaru stressed cooperative action among racial groups.
• Veterans of 442nd Attend Film Opening on Peninsula, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Veterans of the 442nd were honored at the opening of MGM’s Go For Broke! at the Peninsula Theater in Burlingame on June 17. Mayors and local officials spoke, and Gold Star mothers were recognized.
• St. Paul Council Promotes GFB, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Saint Paul Council of Human Relations arranged a preview of Go For Broke! and press and television interviews with local 442nd veterans. About 30 Nisei veterans in the area were guests at the theater opening.
• Indicate Stockton Monument to GIs, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A monument honoring Japanese American servicemen from San Joaquin County who died in World War II was dedicated at the Stockton Buddhist church on June 17. The Stockton Nisei Veterans Club sponsored the ceremony.
• Placer JACL Loses Game to League Leaders, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Placer County JACL baseball team lost 8 to 3 to the Lincoln Potters in Auburn on June 23, with errors contributing to the defeat. Pitcher George Goto allowed ten hits.
• Landscape Architects License Proposal Dies in Legislature, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A bill to create a state board licensing landscape architects, which could have affected Nisei and Issei gardeners, is apparently dead this session. JACL-ADC lobbyist Tats Kushida worked to block it.
• Seek Joint Activity of Isles, Mainland Nisei on Issei Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Mike Masaoka toured Hawaii for two weeks, urging joint Nisei action to win naturalization rights for Issei parents. He met with Hawaii officials and noted strong local support for the JACL.

Military & Veterans

• Report Four Nisei Soldiers Hurt in Korea, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Department of Defense reported four Nisei soldiers wounded and two missing in action in the Korean area. The list was released through the JACL ADC.
• Hawaii Nisei Leaders Helped Formulate Plans for Wartime Activity, Says 442nd Chaplain, by Everett James Starr, page 1. Rev. Masao Yamada, former 442nd chaplain, told New York JACLers that Hawaii Nisei leaders helped shape civil and military wartime policies, which kept Hawaii from mass evacuation. He credited the JACL’s leadership and the Pacific Citizen as important national voices.
• Nisei Corporal, Korea War Hero, Returns Soon, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Corporal Hideo Hashimoto, who received the Silver Star for gallantry in Korea, is rotating home under the Army’s combat veteran program. He is the brother of a San Jose druggist.
• Placer County Ex-GIs Hailed at Premiere, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Placer County JACL and American Legion honored county veterans of the 442nd at the Roseville Theater during the local premiere of Go For Broke!. Speakers included state officials and a gold medal was presented to a Gold Star parent.

National

• Congress Passes Two Private Bills to Aid Nisei Stranded in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Congress sent to the President two private bills restoring citizenship to Nisei women Shizue Sakurada and Dorothy Fumie Maeda, who had voted in Japanese elections under pressure. The JACL ADC backed the legislation.
• Federal Judge Rules Strandee Did Not Lose U.S. Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Judge William M. Byrne ruled that Kasumi Nakashima did not lose her American citizenship by voting in the 1946 Japanese elections, finding she voted out of fear under occupation pressure. Attorneys A. L. Wirin and Fred Okrand represented her.
• Congress Acts to Readmit Issei Woman, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Senate approved a bill to readmit Mrs. Okuni Kobayashi, an aged Issei widow who returned to Japan before the war, so she can rejoin her American citizen children. The bill now awaits House action.
• The Institute of Race Relations, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial previews the eighth annual Institute of Race Relations at Fisk University and describes the rapidly changing minority rights landscape. It notes both progress and growing resistance to change in the South.
• Senate-House Committee Approve Omnibus Measure to Rewrite U.S. Immigration Laws, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Joint Senate-House subcommittees are working on an omnibus immigration and naturalization bill, with staff aiming for a mutually acceptable version. The measures would eliminate racial discrimination in immigration and naturalization.

Commentary

• Clarification Need, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that Nisei who voted in Japanese occupation-era elections face confusion, with more than 20 cases restoring citizenship except for Mrs. Mariko Kuniyuki’s. It calls for clarification and supports the JACL ADC’s proposed legislation.
• Notes on an Anniversary, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Larry Tajiri marks the Pacific Citizen’s ninth year in Salt Lake City and reflects on Pearl Harbor, the wartime evacuation, and the paper’s founding in June 1942. He describes the JACL’s early role and the paper’s record of Nisei history.
• Summer and Stuff, by Larry Tajiri, page 5. Tajiri writes a light column about summer in Manhattan, including tourists, summer camps, and the city’s sights. He offers tips on spotting tourists and avoiding auction-sale scams.
• Shotgun Into the Sky, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa shares a humorous story of a farmer who fired a shotgun at the sky to stop hail. He also praises John Maki’s chapter on postwar Japan and Duncan’s Korean War photo book.
• Colorado Has an Anniversary, by Harry Naoichi Hokasono, page 5. The column notes Colorado’s 75th statehood anniversary pageant and argues Japanese Americans who pioneered the state should be remembered. It recalls early Japanese laborers and farmers who helped build Colorado’s infrastructure and agriculture.
• Box-Score on Race Relations: Nisei Organizations Can Be Clearing House for Problems, by Elmer R. Smith, page 5. Smith argues that Japanese American communities face instability as cities change, similar to the history of Chinatowns. He urges Nisei organizations such as the JACL to serve as clearinghouses for future problems.

Sports

• Ishizawa Rolls Perfect Game in Fresno, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Tok Ishizawa of Los Angeles bowled a perfect 300 game at the Playdium alleys in Fresno while returning from a honeymoon. The column also reports other Nisei bowling and softball results.
• Duke Keomuka Plays Meanie Role in Texas, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Wrestler Duke Keomuka, born Hisao Tanaka, is Dallas’s top mat draw, playing the villain role to packed crowds. The article profiles his record and background.
• Fresno Nisei Lose First Game to College Nine, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Fresno Nisei All-Stars lost 7 to 4 to the Fresno State College Bulldogs in a benefit game drawing over 1,200 fans. The proceeds helped fund the college team’s trip to Hawaii.
• Konno Sets Four New American Swimming Marks, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Honolulu Nisei swimmer Ford Konno broke four American middle-distance swimming records at the Keo Nakama Invitational meet. He is considered a leading contender for the 1952 Olympics.

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