Treatment of 442nd veterans and the return from the camps, 1946

Vol. 22, No. 1, January 5, 1946. 8 pages. View this issue

The treatment of Nisei combat veterans led the first issue of 1946. The JACL protested what it called mistreatment of 442nd Combat Team soldiers from Hawaii at Camp Haan, California, and the War Department ordered an investigation. Larry Tajiri’s editorials turned to compensation for losses from the forced removal, the closing of the Fair Play Committee, and housing for returning families. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes favored compensation for those losses, and Bill Hosokawa looked ahead to the new year in his column.

Other stories followed the war’s aftermath. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the convictions of Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee leaders. More than 5500 people had left Tule Lake during 1945, and the Marine Corps opened its ranks to Japanese Americans. Sgt. Ralph Friedman profiled a 100th Battalion veteran, and Colonel Virgil R. Miller left Italy on leave.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• JACL Protests Mistreatment of Nisei Combat Veterans at Southern California Army Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL protested mistreatment of Hawaiian Nisei combat veterans at Camp Haan, and the War Department ordered an investigation. Restrictions were reportedly eased as the soldiers awaited shipment home.
• Ickes Favors Compensation for Evacuee Losses, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes stated that evacuees are entitled to compensation for property damage incurred during their wartime absence. Reports from returnees indicated property had been stolen or damaged.
• Federal Court Delays Action on Tamura Deportation Case; Renunciant Will Get Hearing, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A federal court postponed the habeas corpus petition for Fumiko Tamura to allow a Department of Justice hearing following a policy change. The ACLU reported that renunciants would be given hearing opportunities.
• Prosecutor Will Ask New Trial in Draft Case, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Federal District Attorney Carl Sackett indicated he would likely seek a new trial for seven Japanese Americans whose conspiracy convictions were reversed by the appeals court. He had not yet received the appellate opinion.

Community

• Blackfoot Police Report Verbal Assault on Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mike and Hero Shiosaki, honorably discharged combat veterans, were verbally assaulted by men in a passing car on Christmas night in Blackfoot, Idaho. Authorities reported the incident on Dec. 26.
• Over 5500 Relocate From Tule Lake During Past Year, by P.C. Staff, page 1. More than 5500 residents left the Tule Lake center during 1945 through Dec. 15, with over 1000 departing in early December. Many more eligible residents had chosen January departure dates.
• The Voice Greets Nisei GIs at Broadcast in Hollywood, by P.C. Staff, page 1. 110 Hawaiian Nisei soldiers of the 442nd were greeted at a Frank Sinatra radio broadcast in Hollywood on Jan. 2. The soldiers were also entertained at a luncheon and photographed with Sinatra.
• Coast Fair Play Committee Ends Work, Closes Offices, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Pacific Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play closed its offices after defending the rights of Japanese Americans during the war. Its remaining work will pass to California Councils for Civic Unity.
• Ickes Upholds WRA Official for Verbal Blast Against Anti-Evacuee Group, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes defended WRA supervisor Charles F. Miller’s harsh characterization of Placer County anti-evacuee activists. Ickes said the language was justified given the violence and terror against returning Japanese Americans.
• WRA to Close Field Offices in Six Cities, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The War Relocation Authority will close its field offices in six eastern cities between January and June. Local community committees will continue providing resettlement services after each office closes.
• Omaha Resettlers Hold Holiday Dance, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Resettlers and friends in Omaha enjoyed a Christmas party at the YMCA on Dec. 22. The evening featured a fourteen-piece band from Father Flanagan’s Boys Town and a tap dance performance.
• Plan Dinner for Resettlers Group, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Local resettlers in Madison, Wisconsin, are holding a January 11 dinner to honor members of the Madison Committee on the Relocation of Japanese Americans. Committee members were assigned program, decoration, and finance duties.
• Tule Lake Educator to Aid MacArthur, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Kenneth M. Hares, superintendent of the Newell schools, planned to fly to Tokyo to advise General Douglas MacArthur on practical education. The item notes his role in the Tule Lake community.
• Terrorists Will Take Case for Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Floyd Bowers, the attorney who defended men accused of terrorizing returning evacuee Sumio Doi, has agreed to represent Japanese Americans in an escheat action under the California Alien Land Law. He filed a demurrer on behalf of the Kondo family and Shigeo Otani.
• Northwest Nisei Publish New Newspaper, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A mimeographed paper titled Northwest Nisei debuted in Minneapolis in December under editor Cherry Tanaka. It was produced under the Nisei Girls’ Club of the YWCA.
• Milwaukee Council Ceases Activities With End of Year, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Milwaukee Nisei Council terminated its activities at the close of 1945, according to its final bulletin. Chairman Tom Minami urged members to support the local JACL.
• Cherry Vistas: A Home and an Acre of Land Planned for Returning Gls, Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The American Japanese Housing Committee in Los Angeles proposed prefabricated housing clusters called Cherry Vistas to address the housing shortage. Each home would sit on an acre near highway access at a low cost.

Military & Veterans

• Marine Corps Opens Ranks to Japanese American Group, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Major General A. H. Turnage announced that Japanese Americans may now enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps, reversing a wartime ban. The change followed the Navy’s similar reversal and a long JACL campaign.
• Four Hundred Men of 442nd Attend Army School in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Approximately 400 men of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team attended the Army University in Florence, Italy, during its four months of operation. Many studied mathematics, business, and agriculture, and several became student leaders.
• 442nd Veterans Entertained in L.A., by P.C. Staff, page 3. Nisei combat veterans from the 442nd and other units were hosted at a pre-Christmas party at Evergreen Playground in Los Angeles on Dec. 22. More than 125 servicemen attended the JACL-sponsored affair.
• Nisei Amputee Gets Presents on Vox Pop Radio Program, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pvt. Frank Fujino, a 442nd veteran who lost a leg in France, received gifts from a Santa Claus appearance on the Vox Pop broadcast at Walter Reed Hospital. He discussed racial discrimination with Lt. Gen. James Doolittle during the show.
• Nisei Were Picked to Save Texans, by Sgt. Ralph Friedman, page 5. Sgt. Ralph Friedman profiles Sabur Takiosho, a 100th Battalion veteran who lost a leg, and recounts the 442nd’s rescue of the Lost Battalion. Takiosho describes the fighting in Italy and France before stepping on a mine.
• Medal Given Nisei in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Sergeant Toshi Teramoto of the 33rd Division Language Detachment received the Bronze Star Medal in Kobe, Japan. The award was presented for meritorious service.
• Commander of Nisei Combat Team Returns Home on Visit, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Colonel Virgil R. Miller, commander of the 442nd Combat Team, left Italy to visit family in New Jersey and Wisconsin for about thirty days. The article recounts his decorations and service record.
• Col. Pursall Takes Over 442nd During Commander’s Absence, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Lieutenant Colonel Alfred A. Pursall was appointed executive officer of the 442nd while Colonel Miller was on leave. The article details Pursall’s combat service and decorations.
• Nisei Servicemen Are Honored at Dinner, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Fifteen Nisei servicemen and veterans were honored at a testimonial dinner at the First Methodist Church in Caldwell, Idaho. Several had earned decorations including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
• Colonel Miller Packs Up for Trip Home, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Colonel Virgil R. Miller returned to the United States for a rest after commanding the 442nd. He will return to the Regiment in January 1946.

Arts & Entertainment

• Nisei Weekender, New Weekly, Appears in New York City, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Nisei Weekender, a new weekly edited by Tom Komuro, debuted in New York City on Dec. 28. The first issue featured art and contributions from several writers and artists.

National

• Japanese American Women Initiated Into CIO-FTA Union, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Local 64 of the CIO Food, Tobacco and Agricultural Workers in San Diego initiated a group of Japanese American women into the union. The union contract forbids discrimination based on national origin, creed, or color.
• 4500 Persons Sail to Japan on Army Ships, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Approximately 4500 persons of Japanese ancestry, including American-born persons who had renounced citizenship, sailed for Japan on the U.S.S. General W. H. Gordon. Most were voluntary repatriates from Tule Lake or Justice Department internees.
• Returned Evacuee Jailed in Yuba City on Stabbing Charge, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Frank Yamada, 28, was jailed after stabbing a fellow resident at a returned evacuee camp in the Sutter Basin. Sheriff Kimerer made the arrest after a call from a clinic.
• Charge Illegal Entrant Used Papers of Deceased Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Tadaichi Hiraoka was held by the FBI in Los Angeles for allegedly entering the country illegally in 1933 using a dead Nisei’s birth certificate. He was charged with falsely representing himself as a United States citizen.
• Widow Files Suit in Salt Lake Death, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Toyohiko Yoshikawa and her son filed a $25,372 damages suit over the death of Torakichi Yoshikawa, who died in a Salt Lake City hotel during fumigation. The defendants include the hotel proprietor and pest control operators.
• U.S. Court Upsets Conviction of Fair Play Committee Group, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the conspiracy convictions of Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee leaders, ruling the trial judge had erroneously instructed the jury. The court held that urging a test case of the draft was within the law.
• Property Personnel Only Residents of Relocation Centers, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Only property personnel, none of Japanese ancestry, remain in the WRA camps in the intermountain area. About half of the evacuees have returned to the West Coast while others resettled inland.
• Hawaii Citizens Challenge Immigration Department’s Discrimination in U.S. Travel, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mitsuyuki Kido of the Territorial Emergency Service Committee charged that Oriental Americans, including veterans, face special citizenship procedures not required of others traveling to the mainland. He cited several hardship cases.

Commentary

• Editorials: Fair Play Committee, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial praises the Committee on American Principles and Fair Play for its wartime work as it closes its emergency operations. It notes the committee’s role in advancing evacuee welfare since 1941.
• Compensation, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial examines federal compensation for evacuation losses, including property damage and theft. It urges a complete survey of losses as an initial step toward determining damages.
• Nisei GIs in Japan, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri discusses Andrew Roth’s argument that Nisei in Japan’s occupation are helping democratize Japan and improve the position of Nisei in America. The editorial credits Nisei translators with exposing anti-American propaganda.
• Housing Is the Major Issue, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri argues that housing is the central problem facing returning evacuees, many of whom still live in temporary camps. He notes that public opinion has shifted favorably while the Nisei question increasingly merges with broader minority rights issues.
• From the Frying Pan: The Brave New World of 1946, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reflects on the new year, noting that most evacuees have resettled and gained security in their communities. He acknowledges that international and domestic challenges remain ahead.
• Washington News-Letter: WRA Director Optimistic Over Completion of Relocation Job, by John Kitasako, page 5. WRA Director Dillon Myer reported that returnees to the West Coast are adjusting satisfactorily after a three-week tour. Housing remains the main problem, though progress is being made.
• Relocation Digest, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A column of relocation news including resettler activities and job placements in Philadelphia, New York, Hartford, and Washington. It covers community events and new arrivals.

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.