Nisei in the Korean War, and the push to end the “enemy alien” label

Vol. 33, No. 17, November 3, 1951. 8 pages. View this issue

The Korean War ran through this eight-page issue. A tally from the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee counted 86 Nisei killed in Korea, and a front-page story told of Pvt. Tetsuo Moriuchi of Ogden, Utah, killed in action six months after enlisting. Mike Masaoka’s letter to President Truman asked that resident Issei be removed from the “enemy alien” classification, and an editorial made the same case. Rites at Arlington National Cemetery honored 668 Nisei dead of World War II and the 86 killed in Korea.

Elsewhere, Bill Hosokawa wrote about ringing doorbells for JACL in Manhattan and about playing a Korean general in a Hollywood film. Robert K. Murakami was sworn in as a Honolulu magistrate. Congress passed private bills admitting adopted children from Japan. Sports pages covered bowling, and a Seattle derby win by Kametaro Kawaguchi.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Utah Soldier Dies 6 Months After Induction, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Pvt. Tetsuo Moriuchi, 22, of Ogden, Utah, was killed in action in Korea on Sept. 1, six months after enlisting in the Army. He was born in Montana, raised partly in Japan, and returned to the United States in 1948.
• GI Counts Days On Gun Stock, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sgt. 1st Cl. Thomas Morita of Honolulu carved 22 notches on his rifle stock, but they marked days on the line rather than enemy killed. The anecdote was shared by his company commander in Korea.
• Nisei Veterans Donate Blood to Red Cross, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Forty Nisei veterans of the 442nd Combat Team donated blood to the Red Cross on Oct. 25 at Manhattan Center. The veterans are organized in the 442nd Association in New York.
• 86 Nisei Soldiers Killed In Action to Date With UN Forces in Korea, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee reported 86 Americans of Japanese ancestry killed in the Korea area as of Oct. 28, compiled from Defense Department casualty lists. The article lists the names of the fallen Nisei soldiers, 65 of whom were from Hawaii.
• General Pence Given New Post in Alaska Zone, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Brig. Gen. Charles W. Pence, who commanded the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in World War II, was appointed deputy commanding general of the Army in Alaska. He received a Distinguished Service Medal for his service with the Nisei unit.
• Nisei GI Reported Killed in Korean War, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Defense Department reported 12 more Nisei killed or wounded in Korea, with more casualties from the mainland than Hawaii. The list names the wounded and killed, including Pvt. Tetsuo Moriuchi of Ogden, Utah.
• Japanese American War Dead Honored at Rites Held in Arlington National Cemetery, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Nisei and Issei gathered at Arlington National Cemetery on Oct. 28 to observe Nisei Memorial Day, honoring 668 Nisei dead of World War II and 86 killed in Korea. Speakers included Mike Masaoka, and wreaths were laid on the graves of the first Nisei interred at Arlington.
• Gl Insurance Paid Japanese Widow of Nisei Soldier, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mrs. Tsuru Miyasato, a native of Okinawa, received her late husband’s $10,000 GI insurance policy from the U.S. government after six years of negotiations. Her Nisei husband, Isamu, was killed in Italy in 1945 while serving with the 442nd.
• Senate Passes Ten Bills for Japan Aliens, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Senate passed ten private bills relating to alien Japanese, including admission of minor adopted children and the Japanese wife of a Nisei veteran. Four of the bills were quickly approved so children could accompany parents returning from Japan.

Community

• Issei, Nisei Will Dedicate Auditorium To Pioneer Group, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The auditorium of the Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Rocky Ford, Colo. will be dedicated to Japanese American pioneers of Otero County following a $7,362 pledge from local residents. The memorial is the largest group purchase in the hospital’s $415,000 project.
• Nisei Girl Now Treasurer Of College Sorority After Controversy Over Pledging, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A controversy at Idaho State College over the pledging of a Nisei from Hawaii to Sigma Kappa sorority ended quietly, and she now serves as sorority treasurer. A student letter opposing race prejudice sparked the debate in the campus paper.
• JACL Office Will Handle Tickets For Drama Group, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Tickets for The Plums Can Wait, an original Nisei drama by the Los Angeles Nisei Experimental Group, are on sale at the JACL regional office in San Francisco. Performances are scheduled for Dec. 8 and 9 in San Francisco and Berkeley.
• Masaoka Will Head Speakers At Central California Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Central California JACL district council holds its first postwar convention in Fresno Nov. 3 and 4, with Mike Masaoka, Masao Satow and Tats Kushida as featured speakers. The program includes forums, bowling, bridge, canasta and a 1000 Club banquet.
• Farmer Stabs Wife With Pruning Shears, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Moichi Hatanaka, 51, was jailed in Vacaville, Calif. after stabbing his wife, mother of nine, with pruning shears during a quarrel. She was reported in critical condition at a Suisun hospital.
• Issei Eighty-Year-Old Wins Times Silver Salmon Derby, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Kametaro Kawaguchi, a 56-year-old Issei, won the Seattle Times Silver Salmon Derby with a 14-pound, 4-ounce fish. He said the win meant a great deal as a sign of understanding and equal footing with other fishermen.
• Boise Valley JACL Plans Annual Pin Tourney, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Boise Valley JACL will hold its 3rd annual bowling tournament at the Trentem Century lanes in Boise. Teams from Northern and Intermountain districts are expected to compete.
• Two Chapters Plan Annual Harvest Fete, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Centerville and Eden Township JACL chapters will co-sponsor a harvest dance in Alvarado on Nov. 10. The event will feature local music and refreshments.
• Girl to Head Junior PC Committee, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Helen Kitahata was named chairman of the Chicago Junior Pacific Citizen Committee, which will be composed of girls’ club members. The committee will work with Smoky Sakurada on the PC campaign.
• Wins Scholarship, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Lilly Nakai, 19, daughter of a Salt Lake City family, was awarded the Oliver Ditson scholarship at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston for 1951-52.
• Nisei-Owned Vessel Lost; Eleven-Man Crew Rescued, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Nisei-part-owned fishing boat Pacifico sank off San Nicolas Island, but all eleven crewmen were rescued after a Coast Guard plane spotted their life rafts. The ship was carrying about 70 tons of fish and its loss was estimated at $250,000.

Obituaries

• Dentist Succumbs, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. Susumu Yamagata, 42, a Honolulu dentist, died Oct. 26 after a six-week illness. A native of Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii, he received his DDS from the University of Southern California in 1936.

National

• Nisei Attorney Appointed Magistrate in Honolulu Court, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Robert K. Murakami became the first magistrate of Japanese ancestry appointed to the Honolulu court, sworn in by Justice Towse on Oct. 26. Born in Kauai, he is a longtime attorney, city planning commission member, and former Democratic Territorial Central Committee member.
• JACL ADC Asks President To Remove “Enemy Alien” Status from Issei Group, by Mike Masaoka, page 1. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee urged President Truman to remove resident alien Japanese from the enemy alien classification, noting Germany’s removal after congressional action. The letter argues the designation no longer reflects the end of the state of war.
• House Passes Bills To Admit Adopted Children from Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The House passed three private bills for persons of Japanese ancestry on the last day of the session, with Senate concurrence sending them to the President. The bills admit adopted Japanese children and a Japanese fiancee of a Nisei soldier.

JACL

• JACL ADC Official to Make Speaking Tour of Texas, N.M., by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mike Masaoka, JACL ADC director, will tour Albuquerque, San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley and Houston in November to discuss legislative and legal progress. He will also seek moral and financial support for the drive to win naturalization rights for resident Issei.

Commentary

• Editorial: The Enemy Alien Label, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Pacific Citizen argues that the enemy alien designation for resident Issei should be removed, since they never were enemies and contributed to the war effort. The editorial notes the label has caused humiliation and that continuing it does them a disservice.
• The Nisei and FEPC, by P.C. Staff, page 4. An editorial urges Nisei to use Oregon’s Fair Employment Practices Act, noting only 27 complaints were filed in its first eighteen months. It argues that FEP laws only work when people who face discrimination file complaints.
• Minority Week Quickie and Picket Line column, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A miscellaneous column collects news items on racial discrimination, including a picket line at the Stork Club protesting its treatment of Josephine Baker, and a Los Angeles church denying membership to two Negro women. Items also note Denver credit forms dropping race queries.
• GI Marriages to Japanese Draw Protest in Salt Lake City, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Salt Lake Telegram reported a protest by 24 residents against GI marriages to Japanese women, but a random survey found most respondents did not oppose such unions. The editorial discusses the history of GI brides and the film East Is East as signs of changing attitudes.
• Nisei in Manhattan: Ringing Doorbells for JACL, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reflects on the difficulty of soliciting donations for JACL ADC in New York apartment buildings. He contrasts the Issei fundraising committees of the past with the smaller Nisei volunteer efforts and urges better campaign strategy.
• From the Frying Pan: My Day in the Movies, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa recounts a bit part he played as a Korean general in a Hollywood film directed by Tay Garnett, filmed in Colorado Springs. He describes standing silently in uniform while the scene’s dialogue went to others.
• Box-Score on Race Relations: Genocide Is a New Word With Ancient Meanings, by Elmer R. Smith, page 6. Smith examines methods by which majority groups annihilate minorities, from introduced diseases to deliberate genocide. He compares historical examples, including the Cherokee removal and the wartime evacuation of Japanese Americans.

Sports

• No Home Town Edge for Denver Bowlers, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The 6th annual National JACL bowling tournament will be held at the new Ellitch’s Gardens alleys in Denver. Nisei teams from several cities are expected to compete.
• Yanagimachi, Miyaki Had Potential, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The column profiles Nisei football players who had potential in Pacific Coast football, including Jack Yoshihara of Oregon State and Harry Yanagimachi of Washington. War and evacuation interrupted their careers.
• Mary Sakashita Wins Salt Lake Bowling Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Mary Sakashita won the annual Salt Lake City Round Robin women’s bowling tournament, taking high scratch, high handicap and high game honors. Faye Andrews was second and Louise Imai placed third in Class B.

Thank you for exploring the Pacific Citizen archive. The title, introduction and contents on this page were written by an AI model from scans of the printed issue, so they may contain mistakes. If you spot one, we would be grateful if you let us know.