Nisei soldiers in Italy and the fight over the right to return home

Vol. 19, No. 3, July 22, 1944. 8 pages. View this issue

News from the Italian front opened this eight-page issue. The War Department announced Bronze Star Medals for twelve Japanese Americans from Hawaii, one awarded posthumously, and named a Nisei soldier killed in action. Other front-page stories followed the 442nd Regimental Combat Team into Livorno and told of Lieutenant Young Oak Kim and Private First Class Akahosi, who captured two prisoners behind German lines. At home, 63 Heart Mountain men filed a mass appeal in their draft case. Larry Tajiri wrote about race-baiting campaigns aimed at blocking the return of Japanese Americans to the coast, and about the churches that spoke up for their rights.

Elsewhere, Bill Hosokawa asked what had become of the “Nisei problem,” and Joe Grant Masaoka described farming in the Rocky Mountain states. Further news covered Tule Lake, where appeal hearings were planned and 27 men were indicted for draft evasion. Also inside are the American Civil Liberties Union’s wartime review, sports from Army camps, and Ann Nisei’s sewing column.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Twelve Japanese Americans Awarded Bronze Star Medal, War Department Announces, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department announced Bronze Star Medals for twelve Japanese American soldiers from Hawaii for heroic achievement in Italy, one awarded posthumously. The announcement also identified a Japanese American soldier killed in action in the Mediterranean.
• Two Members of 100th Unit Carry Out Daring Mission Behind Nazi Lines in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lieutenant Young Oak Kim and Private First Class Akahosi crawled behind German lines at Anzio in daylight and captured two prisoners. The War Department said the mission provided vital information on enemy dispositions.
• Two Nisei Medics From Salt Lake Acclaimed Heroes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Medics Pvt. Tadao Sako and Sgt. Akira Masaoka were chosen by their unit as top heroes for their work evacuating wounded under heavy enemy fire near Belvedere. Masaoka improvised litters and supervised evacuations.
• Surges Ahead on Italy Front, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team pushed past Lesorgenti as Allied forces took Livorno on July 19. Associated Press reports credited the Nisei-led thrust with threatening enemy strongholds.
• Nisei Infantrymen Taking Tests, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Enlisted men of the 442nd Infantry 1st Battalion at Camp Shelby were taking tests to earn their Expert Infantryman Badges. The battalion’s motto is ‘Go for Broke.’
• Japanese American Infantry Unit Garrisons Livorno Port; Among First to Enter City, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team charged 50 miles in four days after entering the Italian line, with soldiers capturing enemy prisoners and material. Engineers and infantry were credited with several acts of heroism near Bolgheri and Castellina.
• War Department Reveals Daring Mission of Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. This continuation details how Lieutenant Kim and Akahosi disarmed two German prisoners and returned through enemy listening posts. Battalion commanders said the patrol provided vital identification of enemy units.
• Wounded Nisei Speaks to Lions Club at Logan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sgt. Shig Hokama and Cpl. Yasuo Yasui, wounded 100th Infantry veterans receiving care at Bushnell General Hospital, spoke to the Logan Lions Club. Ottis Peterson of the WRA also urged greater tolerance toward Japanese American citizens.
• Nisei Volunteer from Rivers Relocation Center Reported Killed in Action in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The War Department notified the parents of Pfc. Masashi Araki, a Gila River evacuee who volunteered in 1942, that he was killed in action in Italy on June 2. He was reportedly the first Gila River evacuee killed on any war front.
• California Nisei Wounded in Action On Italian Front, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Cpl. Mark H. Tanouye of Heart Mountain, attached to the 552nd Field Artillery of the 442nd, was reported wounded in action in Italy. He is one of several brothers serving or awaiting service.
• Nisei Fighting Men In Italy Prefer Fresh Foods to GI Grub, by Eleanor Packard, page 3. United Press correspondent Eleanor Packard reported that Japanese American troops in Italy fought on par with their comrades and showed none of the cruelty of Japanese forces in the Pacific. She noted they traded army rations for rice and bought fresh meat whenever possible.
• Nisei Soldiers Participate in Sports at MacDill Field, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Japanese American trainees at MacDill Field took part in a range of athletics, including the inter-squadron track meet won by the 4th Radio Squad. Sgt. Tommy Tamura and Pfc. James Miller were among the standout performers.
• Nisei Baseball Team Wins Title at Camp Blanding, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The softball team of the all-Japanese American 232nd Infantry training unit won the Camp Blanding championship with seven straight victories. Ted Yoshiwara was credited with key contributions.
• Army-Bound Nisei Honored by Fellow Workers in Plant, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Two Nisei workers at Economy Block Company in Milwaukee, Peter Takeuchi and Hideo Shiine, were honored with a send-off party before reporting to the Army. Shiine was inducted July 17 and Takeuchi July 19.

Incarceration & Redress

• Mass Appeal Filed by 63 In Draft Case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sixty-three Japanese Americans convicted of draft evasion filed a mass appeal in the Tenth Circuit Court, arguing their service obligation was dissolved when their citizenship rights were denied. The men, from Heart Mountain, were sentenced to three years each.
• Report Eleven More Draft Delinquents At Heart Mountain, by P.C. Staff, page 3. U.S. District Attorney Carl L. Sackett reported that eleven more Heart Mountain residents were delinquent with the Park County draft board. The men had been ordered to report but refused while their citizenship rights remained suspended.
• Appeals Board Plans Hearings At Tule Lake, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The WRA announced that Japanese Americans at Tule Lake previously denied leave clearance may appeal, with hearings beginning July 28. The board will be headed by Chief Justice James H. Wolfe and attorney Bruce Bartley.
• Plan to Reopen Leupp Center for Citizen Segregees Abandoned, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The WRA abandoned its plan to reopen the isolation center at Leupp, Arizona, which was intended to detain citizen segregees from Tule Lake. The decision was reported the week of the announcement.
• Grand Jury Indicts 27 Draft Evaders At Tule Lake Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A federal grand jury in Sacramento returned draft evasion indictments against 27 Tule Lake segregees who refused to report for preinduction examinations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet Seawell said the men professed disloyalty.
• ACLU Official Charges Tule Citizens Denied Counsel, by P.C. Staff, page 7. ACLU Northern California director Ernest Besig charged that citizens held at Tule Lake were denied counsel and that he was ordered out of the camp. WRA regional director R. B. Cozzens denied the charges.

Community

• Vancouver Leaders Asked Federal Action, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Vancouver Consultive Council sent a letter to Prime Minister Mackenzie King condemning proposals for forced dispersal of Japanese Canadians. The council urged early federal action to stimulate resettlement away from the British Columbia coast.
• Coast Church Group Backs Nisei Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Delegates to the Northern California Christian church convention resolved to favor the return of loyal Japanese Americans to normal life once military authorities judge the crisis over. Copies were sent to Secretary of War Stimson.
• Fresno Farm Bureau Opposes Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Fresno County Farm Bureau adopted a resolution favoring permanent removal of alien or disloyal Japanese and opposing the return of persons of Japanese ancestry to the coast. The resolution was adopted at a meeting on July 10.
• Western Methodist Conclave Urges Freedom of Movement For Loyal Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Western Methodist jurisdictional conference leaders in Salt Lake City adopted a resolution calling for freedom of movement, including return to the Pacific coast, for loyal persons of Japanese ancestry. The resolution urged churches to welcome evacuees and offered help to returning families.
• Governor Maw Greets Wounded Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Utah Governor Herbert B. Maw praised the optimism and loyalty of wounded Nisei veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion he met at a Salt Lake City reception. The governor said Utahns owed a great deal to their courage.
• Utah’s Governor Maw Honors 100th Infantry Veterans at Ball, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Governor Maw joined 800 Japanese Americans at the Nisei Victory Ball in Salt Lake City honoring eleven wounded 100th Infantry veterans. Speakers including Sgt. Shig Hokama urged support for the war bond drive.
• Salt Lake Youth Group Protests Race Prejudice, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A meeting sponsored by the Progressive Youth of Salt Lake City condemned business license restrictions against persons of Japanese ancestry and realtor housing policies. Attendees also expressed concern over attitudes in the Negro USO controversy.
• Ann Nisei’s Column: Have Better Clothes By Making Your Own, by Ann Nisei, page 6. A sewing column advises readers that making their own clothes gives better quality as ready-made prices rise. It offers step-by-step tips for a beginner’s first project, including fitting, cutting and seam finishing.
• Nisei in Utah Top Quota in Bond Drive, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Mrs. Henry Kasai reported that persons of Japanese ancestry in the Salt Lake area bought $14,425 in bonds against a $10,000 quota. Carbon County and Murray district sales were also reported.
• Nisei Soldier Nine Defeats Rohwer All-Star Team, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The 442nd Infantry 1st Battalion baseball team defeated the Rohwer All-Stars 4 to 2 during a visit to the relocation center. The Shelby Hawaiian Serenaders also performed at the center.
• Calling All Chapters!, by Hito Okada, page 6. Okada’s JACL column reports new Buck-a-Month Club members, corrects bulletin numbering, acknowledges contributions, and reports a civil rights fund donation for the Los Angeles injunction cases.
• Milwaukee Resettlers Hold Collegiate July Jump Social, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Milwaukee resettlers held a monthly July Jump social at the YMCA sponsored by Marquette University students. The event was organized by a committee of resettlers who provided refreshments.
• Report Nine Nisei Weddings During Year in Washington, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Nine Nisei couples in Washington, D.C. have married in the past year, including several with husbands serving overseas in the 442nd. The article describes the couples and their employment in the capital.
• Nisei in Washington Invite Soldiers to Recent Picnic Outing, by P.C. Staff, page 7. More than 100 resettlers and friends, including 25 Nisei soldiers, attended a June 25 picnic at Sidwell Friends School organized by the Washington, D.C. Relocation Committee. It was the sixth in a monthly series.
• Evacuees May Get Stanford Teaching Posts, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Stanford University will offer 10 to 20 teaching positions in Japanese language courses to evacuees at Manzanar. Instructors will first undergo training in teaching methods at the University of Chicago.
• Race Prejudice Hampers War Production in Michigan Town, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Ann Arbor War Manpower Commission office reported that the Michigan Seamless Tube Co. in South Lyon is behind schedule because of union and municipal opposition to hiring Japanese American and Negro workers. The union said its members would not work with Japanese workers.
• 35 Arrested in Raid on Salt Lake Gambling House, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Salt Lake City police arrested 35 persons of Japanese ancestry in a raid on a downtown gambling house, and they were indicted in municipal court. The article reports the charges and the arrests.

Commentary

• Race-Baiters Promote New Coast Campaign, by Larry S. Tajiri, page 2. Two Los Angeles organizations, the Americans League of California and the Americanism Educational League, are lobbying Congress to block the return of Japanese American evacuees. Tajiri argues their campaign is driven by the economic interests of produce and floral businesses seeking to eliminate competition.
• Churches Lead Again, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial praises churches for consistently defending Japanese American civil liberties since the evacuation. It cites recent resolutions from Methodist, Congregational, Presbyterian, Reformed and Baptist bodies calling for restoration of rights.
• Preparing for the Future, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial argues that soldiers fighting abroad are asking for justice for minorities at home, and that racial antagonisms must be addressed now. It warns that postwar racial harmony depends on confronting prejudice during the war.
• Non-Aryan GIs, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial responds to a United Press report that Nisei soldiers showed none of the cruelty of Japanese forces, noting they are as American as other ethnic soldiers. It argues the nation is not fighting a racial war.
• The Profits in Racism, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial argues that economic interests, especially former Los Angeles produce competitors, profit from anti-Japanese agitation. It describes race-baiting organizations and petition efforts as a business in themselves.
• Letter Box: Five Japanese American Soldiers in New Guinea on Names, by Five Japanese American Soldiers, page 4. Five Japanese American soldiers in New Guinea write that they are proud of their Japanese names and that their Caucasian comrades respect them for their service. They criticize a Nisei who anglicized his name.
• Radio Joe, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A column notes that an NBC radio series on the U.S. Army will feature Japanese American GI experiences. It also covers entertainment and personnel items relating to Japanese Americans.
• The Washington Post Says: It Appears Patent U.S. Supreme Court Will Not Allow Continued Exclusion, by Washington Post, page 5. Reprinting a Washington Post editorial, the piece argues that the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the west coast lacks justification now that the danger has passed. It cites the case of Shizuko Shiramizu and Supreme Court opinions limiting racial restrictions to emergencies.
• Farming Is a Way of Life In the Mountain States, by Joe Grant Masaoka, page 5. Masaoka contrasts specialized west coast farming with the diversified, self-sufficient farming of the Rocky Mountain area. He describes crop losses from market swings and hail and the benefits of canning and livestock.
• What Has Happened to the ‘Nisei Problem’?, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa argues that the Nisei, once considered a problem, are now contributing across America in war industries, the military, professions and trades. He says they have matured and gained new friends, and calls for continued vigilance over civil liberties.
• California Editor Upholds Rights of Nisei in U.S., by A. S. Waxman, page 6. Los Angeles Eastside Journal publisher A. S. Waxman responded to a Newsweek letter attacking evacuees, arguing that Japanese American children are Americans. He noted Japanese American soldiers have won Purple Hearts.

Obituaries

• Masaichi Kurata Passes Away, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Funeral services were held in Kenosha, Wisconsin, for Masaichi Kurata, 42, who died July 6 from injuries sustained in an accident at a fertilizer plant. He had been employed at the plant at the time.

National

• Ickes Hails Hawaii Nisei War Record, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes praised the record of Hawaii’s Japanese American soldiers in Italy and on the home front, according to Territorial Senator William Heen. Heen said Hawaii Democrats would push for a stronger statehood plank.
• 5th War Loan Drives Held In WRA Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 6. WRA assistant director Robert Cozzens reported that relocation centers conducted Fifth War Loan drives and generally exceeded self-set quotas. The Heart Mountain drive was described as typical, with youth groups and a community dance.
• Sabotage Stories Sheer Bunk, Says Newspaperman, by Hoyt McAfee, page 6. Newspaperman Hoyt McAfee writes in Newspaperman that stories of Japanese American sabotage at Pearl Harbor are unfounded. He says the FBI found no instances of sabotage in the Hawaiian area.
• Alien Reactions: Palo Alto Times Commentary on Irony in Washington, by Palo Alto Times, page 6. The Palo Alto Times recounts a Nisei’s experience in Washington, D.C., where a Negro American was refused service while the Nisei was served. The editorial observes the irony and says it makes the writer feel sick.
• ACLU Terms Most Catastrophic of All Inroads on Civil Liberties, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The American Civil Liberties Union’s wartime review calls the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the Pacific coast the most catastrophic civil rights violation. It also lists organized opposition to their return and criticizes military restrictions on Nisei service.

Arts & Entertainment

• Haru Matsui and Tadashi Fujioka Notes, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Brief items note that Haru Matsui lectured at Harvard on Japanese culture and is writing a new book on wartime experiences. They also mention Cpl. Tadashi Fujioka’s football and swimming background and soldiers’ visit to Rome.

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