Two Hawaii Nisei GIs survive a Korean death march

Vol. 31, No. 17, October 28, 1950. 8 pages. View this issue

News from the Korean War led this 8-page issue. Lawrence Nakatsuka reported from Honolulu on two Hawaii Nisei soldiers who survived a death march of American prisoners of war from Seoul to Pyongyang: Sgt. Takeshi Kumagai, and Cpl. Jack C. Arakawa, a 442nd veteran first reported killed, who escaped by posing as a North Korean guard. Other front-page stories covered plans to name 442nd Combat Team veterans honorary Texans, and a roll call of Nisei dead in Korea at Arlington.

Inside, Kiyoshi Yamada wrote on the Nisei’s place in American culture, and Khan Komai paid tribute to his father, publisher H. Toyosaku Komai. Editorials took up the stalled evacuation claims program and segregation, and Larry Tajiri wrote about Dillon Myer. Bill Hosokawa described Hiroshima five years on. Sports, JACL news and community notes fill the later pages.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Honolulu Warms to Report Two Japanese Americans Survive War Prisoners’ Death March, by By LAWRENCE NAKATSUKA, page 1. Two Hawaii Nisei GIs, Sgt. Takeshi Kumagai and Cpl. Jack C. Arakawa, survived a death march of American POWs from Seoul to Pyongyang in Korea. Arakawa, a 442nd veteran previously reported killed, escaped by posing as a North Korean guard to save himself and four others.
• 442nd Combat Team Vets Will Be “Honorary Texans”, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Texas Governor Allan Shivers is expected to proclaim the 442nd Combat Team veterans honorary Texans at the 36th Division reunion in Fort Worth. The Nisei soldiers are honored for their rescue of the Texas Lost Battalion in 1944.
• Plan Confab in California City, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A state convention of former 100th Infantry Battalion members is being planned in Fresno, California. Organizers are compiling addresses of former members now living in the state.
• Nisei Employe of Consulate Given Honor, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The State Department awarded Shiro Tatsumi, former Nisei employee at the American consulate in Mukden, the Superior Service Award for courage during the Mukden incident. Tatsumi was held by Chinese Communists for several months before returning to the United States.
• Plan Roll Call of Nisei Dead in Korea at Arlington Rites, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL and Washington chapter will commemorate Nisei Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery with a roll call of Nisei known dead in Korea. Graves of Nisei soldiers buried there will be decorated during the service.
• Two Hawaiian Nisei Survive “Death March” (continued), page 2. Cpl. Jack Arakawa recounts in his own words how he and four companions escaped their North Korean captors and hid in a vacant house until South Korean troops arrived. His wife Lia says she always believed he was alive.
• Bronze Star Given to Nisei Private, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pfc. Satoru Nakasono of Honolulu was awarded a Bronze Star for meritorious service with the ambulance company of the 24th medical battalion. Eighth Army headquarters announced the award in Tokyo.
• Nisei Veteran of Korea Given Purple Heart, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Pfc. Tony Kiyama of Sacramento, a wounded Korean War veteran, was among 70 servicemen who received the Purple Heart from Lt. Gen. A. C. Wedemeyer at the Presidio of San Francisco.

JACL

• Set New Quota for 1950 ADC Fund Campaign, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Northern California KKD set a 1951 fundraising goal of $22,500 for the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee. The goal is $5,000 higher than the area quota set at the national JACL convention to meet expanded legislative and evacuation claims work.
• MGM Head Gets JACL Award, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dore Schary, vice president in charge of MGM production, received a JACL gold medallion for distinguished leadership in the motion picture industry. The award recognizes his courage in confronting discrimination and prejudice, and the film Go for Broke is mentioned.

Community

• Nisei Girl Joins High School Faculty in Wisconsin City, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Miyo Ruth Tajima has joined the Central High School faculty in Superior, Wisconsin, as an instructor in shorthand and typing. She was welcomed by local residents after arriving from the University of Illinois.
• Car Gets Jail Term, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pfc. Roy Moon pleaded guilty to driving the car that killed 14-year-old Richard Terasaki in Denver and was sentenced to one year in county jail. He had fled the scene before being arrested.
• Sonoma County Citizens Honor Nisei War Dead, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Sonoma County JACL will observe Nisei Soldier Memorial Day with services honoring three local Nisei killed serving with the 442nd Combat Team. The rites will be held at the Sonoma Enmanji temple.
• Taguchi Elected to College Post, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Douglas Taguchi was elected vice president of the freshman class at the University of Colorado medical school in Denver. He is a 1950 graduate of the University of Colorado.
• Los Angeles Groups Plan to Observe Nisei GI Day, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Los Angeles Japanese American organizations will observe Nisei Soldier Memorial Day on October 29 and Nisei GI Day on October 30. The Nisei Veterans Association plans tributes to those who died in action at the Nisei GI memorial in Evergreen Cemetery.
• Japanese Americans Promise Full Cooperation in Denver’s Urban Redevelopment Program, by P.C. Staff, page 3. JACL president Toshio Ando pledged Japanese American cooperation with Denver’s urban redevelopment program, which is expected to affect 75 percent of Nisei and Issei. A housing survey of three districts will begin November 1 and demolition is not expected before July 1951.
• Girl from Truman Home Town Joins Greeters in Honolulu, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Tane Mae Inouye, a Nisei born in Independence, Missouri, President Truman’s hometown, joined the crowd greeting the president in Honolulu. She moved to Honolulu as a child and finished high school in Independence.
• Wedding Unites Jack Shimada and Lillian Kurasaki, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Lillian Nakako Kurasaki and Jack Chikara Shimada were married in San Jose on October 22 at the bride’s parents’ home. A reception followed at Ken Ying Low attended by about 150 guests.
• Los Angeles County Group Adopts Three Resolutions in Support of JACL Objectives, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Los Angeles County Conference on Community Relations adopted resolutions supporting JACL goals, including evacuation claims payments, removal of racial restrictions in naturalization, and support for the Masaoka test case against the California alien land law. The conference argued loyal Japanese Americans deserve the same privileges as other resident aliens.
• Citation Given Hilo Leader, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee presented a certificate of recognition to J. M. Hirano, a prominent Hilo businessman who attended the JACL national convention in Chicago. Hito Okada made the presentation at JACL headquarters in Salt Lake City.
• Area Council Plans Meeting in Sacramento, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Northern California district council will meet November 12 at Hotel El Rancho in Sacramento, hosted by the Sacramento chapter. The agenda includes implementing JACL national council decisions and planning 1951 fundraising.

In-Depth

• Destiny Lies in Contribution to Culture of America, by Kiyoshi Yamada, page 2. Yamada argues that the Nisei’s future depends on active civic participation and a re-evaluation of their cultural heritage rather than dictatorship, total assimilation, or passive hope. He calls for cultural interaction that enriches American democracy and the Nisei’s own identity.

Obituaries

• A Tribute to My Father, by Khan Komai, page 2. Khan Komai pays tribute to his father, H. Toyosaku Komai, longtime publisher of the Rafu Shimpo, who died in Los Angeles at age 69. He recalls his father’s leadership and his role in building the Nisei war memorial at Evergreen Cemetery.

Commentary

• Mannahatta, by Joe Oyama, page 2. Oyama’s New York column covers Japanese American naming practices, miscellaneous Nisei news, and integration notes from the city. He also comments on convention discussions and the attitudes of Nisei in New York and California.
• Convention Stuff, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The column reviews the JACL national convention in Chicago, including the Midwest Forum on human problems facing Nisei beyond discrimination against political minorities. It praises the moderator’s performance and the convention’s significance.
• Liberalizing Evacuation Claims, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues the evacuation claims program has stalled, with fewer than 100 of nearly 24,000 claims paid. It supports the JACL national council’s proposals for a $500 lump-sum payment and advance partial payment to speed relief.
• The Indignity of Segregation, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns recent incidents of racial discrimination against Black servicemen and a WAC sergeant, and notes that civil rights laws made remedy possible in California. It questions how long minorities can be asked to fight for a democracy that does not fully include them.
• Our Town, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The column describes how Matthew Martinez, a Spanish American World War II veteran from Milliken, Colorado, passed the civil service exam for postmaster but was blocked by local Democratic party leaders on prejudicial grounds. Martinez’s name remains on the town’s honor roll.
• On the Bookshelf, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A review of Jade Snow Wong’s autobiography Fifth Chinese Daughter, which offers insight into Chinese American life in Chinatown. The reviewer notes that individual biography should not be used for general conclusions about any group.
• Too Good, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A Mexican American veteran criticizes a Rancho Burke housing ad targeting Mexican American GIs, suspecting segregation in disguise. He argues that such segregated colonias deny veterans the right to live where they choose.
• Problems, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri’s column praises WRA director Dillon Myer’s speech at the JACL convention banquet and recounts Myer’s record defending evacuees. It describes the wartime attacks Myer faced and his support for resettlement and the return of evacuees.
• Nisei USA: Dillon Myer and the Evacuees, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri examines Dillon Myer’s leadership of the War Relocation Authority, including his resettlement policy and his decision to close the camps. He argues Myer’s faith in Japanese Americans was vindicated and deserves recognition.
• Destroying the Ghettos: Japanese Americans Have Stake in Fight Against Bias in Public Housing Projects, by Ina Sugihara, page 5. Sugihara argues that public housing is central to breaking racial housing restrictions and urges readers to vote no on California’s Proposition 10. She cites the broader fight against discrimination and points readers to organizations working on housing issues.
• Hiroshima—Five Years, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reports on postwar Hiroshima, describing the rebuilt city, the surviving industrial arts museum, and survivors’ memories of the bombing. He also describes the work of Nisei staff at the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission.

National

• Canadian Nisei Plan Reply on Claims Issue, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Japanese Canadian Citizens Association will respond to the Canadian government’s explanation that its evacuation loss awards are fair and just. The JCCA will argue that Japanese Canadians have not been fully compensated.
• JACL Legislative Group Starts Study of ‘Clean Bill’ to Remove Race Bans from Naturalization, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee has begun studying a clean bill to remove race from naturalization laws after Congress reconvenes. Senator McCarran urged such a measure after the Walter resolution stalled over attached security provisions.
• Name National JACL Committee On Evacuee Claims Problem, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The National JACL appointed a special committee chaired by Frank Chuman to press for liberalizing the evacuation claims program. Sam Ishikawa was also retained to assist attorney Dave McKibbin on claims work.

Arts & Entertainment

• Tomi Kanazawa Will Sing Puccini Role in Seattle, by P.C. Staff, page 3. California-born soprano Tomi Kanazawa will sing the title role in Pacific Opera Company’s production of Madame Butterfly in Seattle on November 20. She recently returned from a concert tour of Sweden.

Sports

• Kajioka May Be Biggest Nisei Gridder, by George Yoshinaga, page 6. Sports coverage highlights Aki Kajioka, a 250-pound Modesto junior college lineman, along with several Nisei high school and college football standouts across the West. The column reports on game results and individual performances.
• Ascte Leads Hawaii to Win in Idaho, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The University of Hawaii Rainbows defeated the College of Idaho 43 to 14 in a game featuring two Nisei captains. Jimmy Asato led the Hawaii offense with a 65-yard touchdown run.
• Kishida Holds 198 Average in Cleveland, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Jim Kishida of Cleveland holds the top Nisei bowling average on the mainland at 198 after six weeks of league play. The column also reports strong series by other Nisei bowlers in Richmond and Long Beach.

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