Nisei casualties in Korea and the fight over naturalization

Vol. 31, No. 24, December 16, 1950. 8 pages. View this issue

Japanese American soldiers fighting in Korea were the subject of the lead story in this eight-page issue. The Defense Department had reported 194 casualties among Nisei troops, including 29 killed in action or dead of wounds and 46 missing, and most were from Hawaii’s 5th Regimental Combat Team. Related notices covered the death of Cpl. Charles Kiyoshi Nishimura and a Bronze Star for Cpl. Charles H. Nomura. The front page also reported that Sen. Richard Russell blocked the Walter bill, which would remove race restrictions from naturalization, while Rep. Emanuel Celler discussed revising the immigration code.

Inside, a Washington cemetery refused burial to an Issei, and the California Supreme Court set a hearing on the Alien Land Act test cases. Lawrence Nakatsuka reviewed Hawaii’s War Years. Chapter news covers new officers in Idaho Falls, San Benito, Detroit and Los Angeles, with Fukuko Okazaki’s fashion show and Ruby Yoshino’s New York debut.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• 99 Japanese American GIs Reported Killed to Date As 46 Still Missing in Action, by P.C. Staff, page 1. American soldiers of Japanese ancestry serving in the Korean conflict have sustained 194 casualties, including 29 killed and 46 missing in action. Most casualties were from Hawaii’s 5th Regimental Combat Team, and the report lists names by category.
• Report Death of Nisei GI From Wounds, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Defense Department reported the death of one Nisei GI from combat wounds, along with one missing and one wounded in Korea. The notices include the soldiers’ families and hometowns.
• Report Hawaii Nisei Killed in Korea War, by P.C. Staff, page 1. One Hawaiian Nisei GI was reported killed, one missing, and four wounded in Korea, all occurring before the recent UN retreat. Families and service backgrounds of the soldiers are described.
• Missing Nisei GI Now Reported Dead, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Cpl. Charles Kiyoshi Nishimura, previously missing in Korea, is now confirmed killed. A veteran of occupation duty in Germany, he is survived by his German wife and two children.
• Wins Bronze Star, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Cpl. Charles H. Nomura was among 46 soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division awarded the Bronze Star with V device for combat. The award was announced from Tokyo.
• Hawaii’s 442nd Veterans Seek World Premiere of MGM Film, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The 442nd Veterans Club in Honolulu asked MGM to hold the world premiere of ‘Go for Broke’ in Honolulu. Several Hawaiian veterans who appeared in the film have returned home and comment on the production.

Community

• Elect Inagaki President of Floral Group, by P.C. Staff, page 1. George Inagaki of Venice, California, was elected president of the newly incorporated Southern California Flower Growers, Inc., representing 150 Nisei flower growers. The group has already contributed over $2,000 to the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee’s legislative program.
• Nisei in Osaka Send Xmas Gifts to GIs in Korea, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Civilian Nisei employees of the U.S. Army in Osaka sent a Christmas package to intelligence personnel of the IX Corps and 25th Infantry Division fighting in Korea. The package was organized under Walter Mihata of Honolulu.
• Reelect Tut Yata as President of Los Angeles Group, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Tut Yata was reelected president of the Southwest Los Angeles JACL, and his new cabinet was installed at a box lunch social. Proceeds from auctioned lunches go to Christmas programs and the Veterans hospital.
• Returned Strandee Wins Washington Nursing Scholarship, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Aiko A. Sato, a nursing student at Seattle University, received a $100 scholarship from the Washington State Nurses Association. Born in the U.S., she was taken to Japan at age 9 and later worked as an American military government interpreter.
• California Civic Unity Group Pledges Specific Support to JACL’s Legislative Program, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The California Federation for Civic Unity announced support for JACL efforts to extend naturalization rights and expedite evacuee claims. The federation’s program also targets racial exclusion by businesses and backs state fair employment legislation.
• Three Main Nisei Attend Youth Parley, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mainland and Hawaiian Nisei delegates attended the Mid-Century White House Conference on Children and Youth in Washington. Several were appointed to state committees on children and youth.
• Ellis Sets Annual Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Ellis Community Center Church in Chicago will hold its annual congregational meeting on Jan. 7 to adopt a new Constitution and review committee reports and the budget. Officer nominations are also in progress.
• Christmas Programs Planned by Ellis Community Center, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Ellis Community Center outlined its Christmas schedule including children’s parties, a worship service, a Christmas program, and a New Year’s Eve festival. Activities are spread across December dates.
• Race Prejudice Harms Prejudiced Group, Says Pocatello Panel, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Members of the Pocatello preschool PTA concluded at a panel that race prejudice harms those who hold it as well as minorities. Panelists included NAACP and Fort Hall Indian agency representatives.
• Terry Usui Named Bussei Sweetheart, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Terry Usui of Salt Lake City was named Sweetheart for 1951 at the Intermountain Young Buddhist Association’s semi-formal dance. Eve Matsuda crowned her, and attendants were also honored.
• George Nishita Heads San Benito JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 3. George Nishita was elected president of the San Benito County JACL for 1951, and his cabinet was named. Installation is planned for January.
• Detroit Supporters Of ADC Program, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dr. Mark Kondo presented JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee recognition certificates to 29 Detroit residents for their community leadership. Sutemi Murayama was elected Detroit JACL president for 1951.
• Coachella Leads in Ads for PC, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Coachella Valley JACL chapter led local groups by raising nearly $1,200 in advertising for the Pacific Citizen holiday edition. Committee members were recognized at a dinner.
• Idaho Falls JACL Elects Kay Tokita as 1951 President, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Kay Tokita was elected president of the Idaho Falls JACL for 1951 along with a full slate of new officers. The new officers were installed at the December 8 general meeting.
• Farm Families Evacuated from Inundated Area, by P.C. Staff, page 8. At least 40 families of Japanese descent evacuated homes near French Camp, California, as San Joaquin floodwaters rose. Families were housed at the Japanese hall or with relatives.

National

• Report Proposed Revisions of U.S. Immigration Code, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Emanuel Celler reported that work on a revised comprehensive immigration code is accelerating and would repeal racial restrictions on immigration and naturalization. He also criticized the 1950 McCarran Act provisions on alien admission as ill-advised.
• Senator Russell Blocks Passage of Walter Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sen. Richard Russell objected on Dec. 15 to unanimous consent for the Walter bill removing race restrictions from naturalization, blocking Senate passage. The bill would make about 85,000 resident alien Japanese and several thousand Koreans eligible for naturalization, and JACL vowed to keep pressing for passage.
• Sen.-Elect Okino Says Hawaii To Continue Statehood Drive, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Hawaii’s Nisei senator-elect Tom T. Okino and Kazuo Kage vowed to continue the statehood fight in the 82nd Congress. They argued that taxation without representation applies to Hawaii and that statehood would strengthen American diplomacy against Communism.
• Hawaiian Nisei Files Suit to Regain Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Edwin Shigeo Fukumoto filed suit in federal court in Honolulu to recover U.S. nationality the State Department ruled he lost through wartime activities in Japan. He claims he renounced Japanese nationality under coercion.
• California Court Sets Hearing On Test Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The California Supreme Court scheduled a January 2 hearing on the state’s appeal of lower court decisions striking down the Alien Land Act in the Masaoka and Fujii test cases. The Fujii appellate ruling held the UN charter supersedes state land laws.

Commentary

• Your New Social Security: Self-Employed Persons to Be Eligible for Old-Age Plan, by Charles H. Shreve, page 2. Beginning January 1, 1951, self-employed persons with net earnings of $400 or more will be covered by social security. The article explains who qualifies, how taxes are computed and paid, and related questions about family businesses and employees.

Arts & Entertainment

• Hawaii War Years Sets Record Straight on Role of Japanese American Group, by Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 2. Lawrence Nakatsuka reviews Gwenfread Allen’s official history ‘Hawaii’s War Years,’ praising its factual treatment of Hawaii’s Japanese residents during WWII. The review highlights its debunking of wartime rumors about Japanese sabotage and espionage.
• Ruby Yoshino Makes New York Concert Debut, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Nisei soprano Ruby Yoshino made her New York concert debut at Times Hall to an appreciative audience. Her program included classical works, premiere songs, and Japanese folk songs including Sakura.
• Miss JACL Models Fashion of Post-war Nippon Women, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Fukuko Okazaki, Miss National JACL, and other Nisei modeled clothing designed by Mrs. Chiyo Tanaka of Tokyo at a Washington fashion show. Mrs. Tanaka discussed how traditional kimono styles have changed to suit modern life.
• Tsuta Lomi Makes Boston Debut as Butterfly with San Carlo Opera, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Tsuta Lomi, a singer of Japanese ancestry, made her Boston debut as Cho-Cho-San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with the San Carlo Opera Company. Musical America praised her voice as sufficient and agreeable for the role.

Incarceration & Redress

• Cemetery in Nation’s Capital Bars Burial of Issei; Report, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Washington, D.C. adopted a policy barring burial of persons of Asian ancestry, revealed when Issei Kumio Nose’s family was refused. The JACL and local church groups protested the discriminatory policy.

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