The closing months of the WRA program and a DSC for Kazuo Masuda

Vol. 21, No. 24, December 15, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

The end of the War Relocation Authority was the thread running through this eight-page issue. WRA Director Dillon Myer said public animosity toward Japanese Americans released from the camps was dying down as people learned the facts, and that the program would be completed by June 30, 1946, with only Tule Lake still open. General Joseph Stilwell presented the posthumous Distinguished Service Cross to Mary Masuda for her brother Staff Sgt. Kazuo Masuda, killed at Cassino with the 442nd. Carey McWilliams spoke in Chicago and Salt Lake City on citizenship for Issei and indemnification.

Elsewhere, Bill Hosokawa wrote about the stories 442nd veterans told of their buddies, and Elmer R. Smith described the job and housing problems facing returned families in Seattle and Tacoma. Editorials took up segregation, citizenship for Issei and the 1946 California campaigns. Tule Lake repatriation, the Issei petition to Congress and a veteran refused a home in Walla Walla also appeared.

What’s in this issue

National

• WRA Director Says Prejudice Dies as Public Has Facts, by P.C. Staff, page 1. WRA Director Dillon Myer said public animosity toward Japanese Americans released from relocation centers is dying down as Americans gain the facts. He added that the WRA program will be completed by June 30, 1946, with only Tule Lake still open.
• Carey McWilliams Urges Issei Citizenship, Prompt Federal Action to Indemnify Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Author Carey McWilliams called for citizenship for Japanese aliens who proved loyalty through wartime service and for prompt federal indemnification of evacuees. He spoke at a Chicago conference of the American Council on Race Relations on Dec. 4.
• McWilliams Says Racial Segregation Pattern Outmoded, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Carey McWilliams told a Salt Lake City audience that local council and community activity is needed for interracial progress in the absence of national leadership. He predicted segregation practices would eventually be abandoned.

Military & Veterans

• General Stilwell Pins DSC on Sister of Nisei Hero in Ceremony at Masuda Ranch, by P.C. Staff, page 2. General Joseph Stilwell presented the posthumous Distinguished Service Cross to Mary Masuda for her brother Staff Sgt. Kazuo Masuda, killed at Cassino with the 442nd. The ceremony at the Talbert ranch was followed by a United America rally in Santa Ana featuring Hollywood stars.
• Nisei Soldier Locates Mother in Hiroshima After Three-Week Search, by P.C. Staff, page 2. T/4 Ben Yeki of the 41st Division found his mother, who had been away from her Hiroshima home during the atomic bombing, staying with friends 25 miles away. The search followed the division’s arrival in the area in October.
• Three Nisei GIs Recommended for Soldier’s Medal; Saved Lives of Buddies in Crash, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Three Nisei soldiers, Howard Murakami, Robert Iwamoto, and Hideo Nakagawa, are recommended for the Soldier’s Medal for aiding wounded comrades after an Army C-47 crash near Auburn on Nov. 28. Nine soldiers died and fifteen Japanese American veterans were injured.
• Sgt. Kuroki Talks on Problems of Returning Troops, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Tech. Sgt. Ben Kuroki spoke at Mitchell Field on the problems of returning GIs and the fight against racial and religious intolerance. Six hundred representatives attended the Army Air Forces program on Dec. 5.
• Captain Ushiro Takes Post of Regimental Surgeon in 442nd, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Captain California S. Ushiro of Los Altos became regimental surgeon of the 442nd Combat Team in Leghorn, succeeding Major Clarence Buckley. Ushiro had served as Second Battalion surgeon through the Italian and French campaigns and earned a Bronze Star.
• GIs Recall the Heroism of Their Buddies, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Bill Hosokawa recounts stories told by returning 442nd veterans about the courage of comrades, cooks, sergeants, and medics. He describes both the fear they endured and the lighter moments from their service.
• 42nd Eleven Sets Christmas Football Game, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The 442nd football team will play the 88th Division Blue Devils at Yankee Stadium in Leghorn on Christmas Day and in Trieste on New Year’s Day. The Nisei squad has won three and lost two games in the regular season.

Community

• Judge Orders Hostel in Stockton to Close, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Police Judge E. E. Breitenbucher ordered Frank Kanada to close his hostel for returned evacuees in Stockton over overcrowding and health violations. The order was issued November 21.
• Hunger, Filth, Cold Greet First Group of Repatriates From U.S. to Land in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The first repatriates from Tule Lake and Justice Department camps arrived in Japan on Dec. 10 to cold, hungry conditions and filthy reception barracks. Renunciant Tom Yoshiyama urged Tule Lake residents not to follow them.
• Placer County Legion Upholds Rights of Nisei War Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Auburn American Legion post adopted a resolution supporting the right of Japanese American veterans to equal citizenship consideration. The resolution also condemned dual citizenship and recommended enforcement of the California Alien Land law.
• Mother Faces Insanity Charge in Tule Slaying, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Shigeno Fudetani of Tule Lake was held after her 3.5-year-old daughter Violet was found dead of hammer blows and another daughter was injured. A coroner’s jury found the death was caused by persons unknown, and the district attorney planned insanity charges.
• Tommy Takatori Will Head Boise Chapter, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Boise Valley JACL chapter elected Tommy Takatori as president at its December 5 meeting in Caldwell. Other officers were also chosen for the coming year.
• Nisei Soldier Home in Nebraska After Occupation Duty, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Staff Sgt. Tatsuo Matsuda returned to Cozad, Nebraska after serving with the Army of Occupation in Sendai, Japan. He had served four years and four months in the Army.
• Returned Nisei Veteran Has Difficulty in Buying Home, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A decorated Nisei veteran and his family were denied a home purchase in Walla Walla after neighborhood opposition forced the seller to withdraw. The Walla Walla Interracial Committee publicized the incident.
• California Board Denies License to Nisei Girl, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The State Board of Equalization recommended denial of June Toguri’s beer and wine license application, partly because of her sister’s connection to Tokyo Rose. June Toguri stated the store was hers and unrelated to her sister.
• Bandit Holds Up S.F. Cleaning Shop, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A bandit robbed Mrs. Haru Gishifu of $20 at the Jefferson Cleaners in San Francisco on the night of Dec. 8. The robbery occurred while she was preparing to close.
• Cleveland Committee Plans Resettler Program as WRA Office Closes, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Cleveland Citizens’ Committee and its Nisei counterpart established five committees to handle resettler needs after the WRA office closes in January. Co-chairmen were named for each committee.
• Four Nisei Pass Illinois Dental Board, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Four Nisei dentists, Drs. T. T. Yatabe, Harry Kita, Thomas Hiura, and Clifford Fujimoto, passed the Illinois Dental Board examinations. Dr. Yatabe plans to open a practice in Chicago.
• Economic Reasons for Prejudice Told, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Reverend Walter Macoskey told the Tacoma Kiwanis that anti-Japanese feeling in the area was inspired by economic considerations. His remarks were made on November 27.
• Many Evacuees Fail to Rent Farms, by P.C. Staff, page 8. WRA officials reported that Japanese Americans returning to farming have largely failed to rent land. About 10,000 of the 36,000 people evacuated from Los Angeles County have returned.
• State Has No Evidence on Identity of Arsonist Who Set Fire to Sakamoto Home, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The California Department of Justice reported that its investigation of the Sakamoto home fire near Loomis showed incendiary evidence but identified no suspect. The Donner Post VFW had demanded results after publicly suggesting the arsonist was not white.

Commentary

• Richard Loo’s Chinese ‘Creed’ Written by Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The creed read by actor Richard Loo at the Santa Ana rally was actually a Japanese American creed written by JACL national secretary Mike Masaoka. JACL representative Scotty Tsuchiya clarified the attribution.
• Segregation Is Out of Date, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that segregation is an outmoded concept that wastes men, money, and hours in a world made small by science. It cites the Missouri separate-school example and urges an end to color-based distinctions.
• Citizenship for Issei, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial supports naturalization for Issei who proved loyal during the war, noting their sons’ service and their own contributions. It suggests special congressional legislation could grant citizenship without revising immigration law.
• A Separate VFW Post, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes the chartering of a Chinese American VFW post in San Francisco as a contradiction of integration trends in the military. It argues such segregation reinforces the Chinatown pattern of enforced separation.
• The Yellow Peril in 1946, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial observes that Jap-baiting has lost its political value in California and predicts the 1946 campaigns will lack the Japanese issue. It credits the Nisei war record and cites candidates and congressmen who have shown fair-minded conduct.
• Pacific Northwest Letter: Employment, Housing Problems Concern Returned Evacuees, by Elmer R. Smith, page 4. Elmer Smith describes employment discrimination by Seattle labor unions and housing shortages affecting returning evacuees in Seattle and Tacoma. He classifies community members by their approaches to solving postwar problems.
• Action By Congress Closes America’s Ears to the World, by John Kitasako, page 4. Congress halved funding for the Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service, forcing it to cease operations and ending America’s monitoring of foreign broadcasts. Kitasako highlights the Nisei staff’s wartime contributions to psychological warfare and translation.
• Editorial Digest: Thoroughly Democratic, by San Francisco News, page 4. The San Francisco News editorial argues that Tule Lake renunciants have a democratic right to seek restoration of citizenship through legal channels. It notes their wartime removal created abnormal conditions that may have led to hard decisions.

Arts & Entertainment

• Ruby Yoshino Weds Noted Accompanist, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Nisei singer Ruby Yoshino married singing coach-accompanist Rudolf Schaarf in Baltimore. The couple will reside in New York City.

Incarceration & Redress

• Issei Petition Congress for Naturalization Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Issei members of the Japanese American Civil Rights Defense Union petitioned Congress for naturalization rights at their Stockton organizational meeting. The petition cited the war contributions of resident aliens and the service of their sons.
• 1500 Voluntary Repatriates Leave Tule Lake Center for Deportation Journey to Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Fifteen hundred repatriates from Tule Lake were set to depart for Japan on Dec. 18 by train to Seattle and an Army transport. Officials said the departures would reduce the camp population to below 10,000.
• Legal Defense Planned on Escheat Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Issei and Nisei leaders formed the Japanese American Civil Rights Defense Union in Stockton to combat California escheat proceedings and alien land law actions. More than 40 escheat cases had been filed by the state.
• Enemy Alien Travel, Contraband Restrictions Abolished, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Attorney General Tom Clark canceled wartime regulations restricting travel and possession of items like cameras, weapons, and short-wave radios for German and Japanese aliens. The action followed a presidential proclamation that the controls were no longer required.

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