Nisei veterans and returning evacuees, July 1945

Vol. 21, No. 4, July 28, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

Violence and prejudice against Japanese Americans returning to the West Coast ran through this eight-page issue. The Los Angeles chapter of the National Citizens Political Action Committee called for an investigation of their treatment, and California Attorney General Robert Kenney spoke in Monterey on support for law officers. Editorials looked at State Senator Jack B. Tenney’s record and at the Canadian court cases over the repatriation of Japanese Canadians. Bill Hosokawa’s column in From the Frying Pan described how Issei were faring as they resettled in Des Moines.

On the front page, Capt. George H. Grandstaff of the 442nd spoke about prejudice at home, and Rinji Maeyama wrote about Second Lieut. Hisae Shimatsu, a captured 100th Battalion officer questioned in Berlin. Pacific war veterans in Stockton were restoring a vandalized Japanese cemetery. Inside are reports on hostels in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Milwaukee, and a story on Eleanor Stabler Clarke’s baby gift project.

What’s in this issue

Community

• PAC Requests Investigation of Nisei Treatment, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Los Angeles chapter of the National Citizens Political Action Committee passed a resolution calling for an investigation of the treatment of persons of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast. The resolution also sought action by national and local governments against violence directed at returning evacuees.
• 81-Year Old Man Gives $1500 to Japanese American Friends, by P.C. Staff, page 1. An 81-year-old miner, Thomas Fehr, traveled to St. Louis to give $1500 to the Hara family, Japanese Americans who had sheltered him in Los Angeles before evacuation. The Haras planned to use the money to open a rooming house, and Fehr died shortly after the gift.
• Anti-Boycott Activities by WRA Anger Seattle Produce Dealers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Northwest Produce Association denounced the War Relocation Authority for alleged exaggerations and mishandling of the Japanese situation and demanded a Congressional investigation. The association’s secretary defended produce grown by Japanese farmers and said the WRA had overstepped its authority.
• Hunt Newspaper Will Suspend Publication Soon, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Minidoka Irrigator, published for three years at the Hunt, Idaho relocation center, will print its final issue on July 28. The weekly had a circulation of 4,000 and was distributed free to center residents.
• Veterans in Stockton Take Steps to Restore Cemetery, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Twenty-eight Pacific war veterans at the College of the Pacific are voluntarily restoring a Japanese cemetery near Stockton that was desecrated by vandals after Pearl Harbor. They are filling holes, straightening headstones, and plan to reseed the plots until evacuees return.
• L.A. Businessman Joins WRA Staff in Great Lakes Area, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Tom Sashihara, a Los Angeles businessman formerly of Heart Mountain, joined the WRA Great Lakes Area staff to help evacuees establish their own businesses. He has operated apartment and rooming houses in Cleveland since relocating.
• Wife of Soldier Gets Job in D.C., by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mrs. Lily Takahashi, wife of a 442nd soldier stationed in Italy, has worked since December 1944 for the District of Columbia Hospital Permit Bureau. Her mother-in-law also works in Washington.
• George Minato to Open JACL Seattle Office, by P.C. Staff, page 2. George Minato returned to Seattle to open the JACL’s Pacific Northwest office, announced by national president Saburo Kido. The office will focus on resettlement assistance and public relations until the Seattle chapter is reactivated.
• Last Rites Held for Pvt. Nitta in Denver, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Funeral rites were held in Denver for Pvt. Kongo Nitta, formerly of Poston, who died July 14 at Camp Maxey, Texas. He had been called to active duty in March.
• Prepare Hostel for Evacuees in Santa Barbara, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Santa Barbara Ministerial Union and United Churchwomen planned to convert a former Buddhist property into a temporary hostel for returning evacuees. The hostel was intended to meet a need for housing as people returned.
• Encouragement for Relocating Issei, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa reports that Issei, though facing language barriers and age-related difficulties, have been among the most stable and cooperative workers relocating to Des Moines. He notes white-collar Issei face greater challenges than tradesmen.
• Calling All Chapters! Baby Project, by Eleanor Stabler Clarke, page 5. The American Friends Service Committee describes sending baby gifts and clothing to more than 3,400 Nisei infants born in relocation centers, using Pacific Citizen birth announcements. The project ends August 1, 1945, as the centers close.
• Nisei Canadians See Action in Montreal Leagues, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Japanese Canadian baseball players, including former Vancouver Asahi standouts, are playing in Montreal leagues and receiving favorable press. Kaz Suga and Koei Mitsui are among those playing for local teams.
• Protest Against Work Policy Misleading, Says WRA Official, by P.C. Staff, page 5. WRA acting relocation supervisor Ariel S. Ballif called a Utah farm bureau protest misleading regarding rules on evacuees leaving Topaz for farm work. He said short-term leaves are allowed and returns are restricted once evacuees accept outside employment.
• Evacuees Will Be Welcomed in Milwaukee, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Robertson M. Fort of the American Friends Service Committee praised Milwaukee as one of the friendliest communities and promoted a hostel for incoming resettlers. He said evacuees expected help only in re-establishing themselves.
• Hold First Nisei Fellowship Service in Minneapolis, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A Nisei interdenominational fellowship service was scheduled at the Minneapolis YWCA on July 29. Mrs. Ruth Gage Colby was to speak on the San Francisco conference she attended.
• Evacuee Success Story: Ex-Janitors Now Employ 130 in Chicago Packing Service, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Two Nisei who began as janitors in a Chicago packing firm built Toy Packing Service into a business employing 130 Nisei and Issei women. The company now solicits assembly and shipping jobs from major Chicago firms.
• Rev. Olson Heads Milwaukee Committee to Aid Resettlers, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Rev. Justus E. Olson was elected chairman of the newly organized Milwaukee Citizens’ Committee on Resettlement. The committee includes representatives of labor, religious, and social agencies.
• Victim of Placer Terrorists Will Be Inducted into Army, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Sumio Doi, a Placer County farmer whose return from Granada led to terrorism charges against four men, was scheduled to be inducted into the Army at Camp Beale. The case drew attention to threats against returning evacuees.
• Woman Jailed for Anti-Evacuee Outburst, Reiterates Statement, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Mrs. Tony Insigne, 34, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for disturbing the peace after cursing Japanese Americans and threatening to burn the home of a returned Nisei soldier. She told the Sacramento Bee she denied threatening anyone.
• Committee Will Fight Racism, Declares California Legislator, by P.C. Staff, page 6. State Senator Jack B. Tenney said his committee regarded anti-Japanese violence as un-American as Communism or Fascism. He named new regional vice chairmen for the committee.
• WRA Official Answers Charge by Sen. Donnelly, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Cecil Morgan, Fresno district WRA officer, called State Senator Hugh P. Donnelly’s charge that WRA pamphlets help evacuees evade the Alien Land Law ridiculous. He challenged anyone to find anything subversive in WRA pamphlets.
• Coast Paper Answers Protest Over Picture of Nisei Soldier, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Telegram-Tribune of San Luis Obispo defended its front-page photo of T/4 Higachi greeting his father on Okinawa. The editorial argued that a soldier who fought with distinction deserves to be honored regardless of ancestry.
• Eight Hostels Serve Evacuees Returning to Los Angeles, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Los Angeles area now has eight hostels for returning evacuees, operated by churches and temples at modest rates. Advance reservations are recommended and a volunteer committee is arranging transportation.
• Cleveland Girl Weds Soldier at Snelling, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Jean Macy Bose of Cleveland married T/5 William Clore at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fort Snelling, Minnesota on July 12. The bride was attended by friends from Cleveland.
• Reemploys Issei Chef, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Clifford Clinton, operator of Clifton’s Cafeterias in Los Angeles, rehired an Issei chef who had worked there fifteen years before evacuation. Clinton said he was putting fair play principles into practice.

National

• Kenny Asks Support for Law Officers in Monterey Talk, by P.C. Staff, page 1. California Attorney General Robert Kenney urged public support for law enforcement officers in a talk before the Monterey Interracial Council. He condemned organizations he said were opposing the return of evacuees under the guise of patriotism while seeking financial gain.
• Japanese Canadians File Cases to Test Validity of Dominion’s Evacuee Segregation Program, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Three writs were filed in British Columbia against the Security Commission challenging the repatriation program for Japanese Canadians held in interior housing centers. The suits argue the government cannot repatriate Canadians of Japanese ancestry and that those who signed repatriation papers did so under duress.
• Report WRA Sought Housing for Evacuees in Richmond, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The WRA reportedly requested housing for approximately 1,000 evacuee families in Richmond, California. The Richmond Housing Authority and Standard Oil both declined, citing Navy needs and reluctance to hire Japanese at the time.
• WRA Official Counters Charge of ‘Conspiracy’ by Legislator, by P.C. Staff, page 2. WRA Area Supervisor Paul G. Robertson rejected Rep. Harry Sheppard’s charge that the WRA conspired to release internees for sabotage. Robertson said only the War Department controls return to the West Coast and that the WRA’s liquidation dates have been announced.
• Rep. Sheppard Wrong in Entire Statement, Declares Cozzens, by P.C. Staff, page 2. WRA Assistant Director R. B. Cozzens replied that Rep. Sheppard was wrong, noting internment camps were run by the Justice Department. He said WRA releases only persons cleared by the Western Defense Command.
• War Veterans Oppose VFW’s Plan for Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Members of the Veterans Anti-Prejudice Committee at Baxter General Hospital in Spokane opposed a separate VFW post for Japanese American soldiers. Sgt. Edward K. Salsich said the group formed after a Spokane VFW post rejected Pfc. Richard Naito.
• 425 Evacuees Leave Rohwer Center on Special Train for Former Homes in California, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A special train carrying 425 evacuees departed the Rohwer, Arkansas relocation center for California, the first such train to transport evacuees back to the West Coast. The trip was arranged under Office of Defense Transportation rules.
• Florida VFW Paper Hails Nisei Soldiers, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Florida Veterans of Foreign Wars News praised the bravery of Japanese American soldiers in Italy, publishing a photo of surviving members of a 100th Infantry platoon. The paper declared that Americanism is not a matter of race or ancestry.
• Gls on Okinawa Condemn Home Town’s Discrimination, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Letters from Springfield, Missouri residents and servicemen on Okinawa condemned citizens who blocked the burial of Ikuta Kishimura in Eastlawn Cemetery. The News and Leader reported no letters defending the petitioners.

Military & Veterans

• Los Angeles Nisei Wins Commission at Fort Benning, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Seiji Takano of Los Angeles was commissioned a Second Lieutenant upon completing the Officer Candidate Course at the Infantry School in Fort Benning, Georgia. He had been inducted in 1941 and served with the 2nd Regiment before entering officer training, having previously held the rank of staff sergeant.
• 442nd Officer Goes to War Against Home Front Prejudice, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Capt. George H. Grandstaff, a decorated veteran of the 100th Battalion and 442nd, warned that anti-Japanese American acts are being magnified in Japan and used to justify killing American prisoners. He said he was disturbed by racial prejudice at home in a war fought for democracy and is touring to speak on behalf of Japanese American soldiers.
• Montana Soldier Gets Bronze Star for Heroic Action, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Pfc. Ted Kusumoto of Whitefish, Montana, received the Bronze Star for heroic action on the Fifth Army front in Italy. He crawled through a minefield and threw grenades to force German troops to withdraw and wounded a machinegun crew.
• Nisei Girl Sings for 442nd Infantry in Italian City, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Toshiko Hasegawa, a Sacramento-born singer who had lived in Europe since 1935, performed for men of the 442nd Infantry in Lecco, Italy. She said she would not return to California and planned to settle in New York City.
• Captured Nisei Officer Quizzed by Nazis, Japanese in Berlin, by Rinji Maeyama, page 1. Second Lieut. Hisae Shimatsu of Kekaha, Kauai, a 100th Infantry Battalion officer, recounted being questioned by German and Japanese officials in Berlin on July 20, 1944, the day of the plot against Hitler. He had been a German prisoner for over a year and was released when Russian armies advanced.
• Nisei Hero Given Posthumous Award, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Staff Sgt. Abe M. Fuji of the 442nd was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in France on October 15, 1944. He was killed while removing a booby trap to open a vital supply route after his men were pinned down by enemy fire.
• Three Nisei Soldiers Return from Service in Northwest Pacific, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Three Nisei soldiers, Tech. Sgt. Yasuo Umetani, T/3 Kuny Nakao and Pvt. Roy Hashizawa, arrived at Fort Snelling after 28 months in the Northwest Pacific. Tech. Sgt. Tom Taketa, who served 13 months with the First Air Commando group in Burma-India, was assigned to the school faculty there.
• Report Nisei War Veteran Wants Action Against Pacific Enemy, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sgt. Edward Ikegami, a Los Angeles veteran of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion with a Purple Heart and two battle stars, requested another overseas assignment to fight the Japanese. He was on furlough from a San Diego hospital.
• VFW Posts in Hawaii Welcome Japanese American Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Veterans of Foreign Wars posts in Hawaii announced they would welcome Japanese American combat veterans as members, in contrast to a Spokane post that rejected Pfc. Richard Naito. The Kaimuki-Waikiki post commander said his post was willing to consider Naito’s application.
• Japanese Alien Volunteer Wins U.S. Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pvt. Harvey Sabu Kawakami of Waimea, Kauai, became a naturalized U.S. citizen after serving over three months in the Army. He declined an offered discharge, saying he would not take an easy out while the war against Japan continued.
• 100th Veterans Record, Would Volunteer Again, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Seattle Times reported that wounded 100th Infantry veterans at Fort Lawton Hospital were met with an incident at a soda fountain. Veterans said public reception had mostly been good and they would volunteer again.
• Nisei Major Returns to Texas Home After Service in Germany, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Maj. Robert Saibara, a radio officer with the First Army in Germany, returned to Webster, Texas and awaits orders for the Pacific. He reflected on Americans’ race-conscious treatment compared to the Germans and recounted a near-capture avoided through Nazi misidentification.
• Nisei Officer Quizzes Japanese Guerrilla Leader, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Lieut. Wallace S. Amioka, a Japanese American intelligence officer from Hawaii with the Tenth Army, interviewed Lt. Col. Tokiharu Aoyagi, a Japanese guerrilla officer on Okinawa. Aoyagi was later shot while attempting escape.

Incarceration & Redress

• Letter by Wounded Sergeant Regrets Friend’s Loss of Faith, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A wounded Nisei sergeant at Modesto’s Lyman General Hospital wrote to a friend who renounced his U.S. citizenship and was interned. The sergeant affirmed he is an American to the last drop of his blood despite discrimination.

Commentary

• Stockton Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises Pacific war veterans in Stockton who are restoring a desecrated Japanese cemetery, noting they have no hatred for Japanese Americans. It contrasts their restraint with the hate and violence minorities have faced at home.
• Canadian Test Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial examines the Canadian government’s repatriation program for Japanese Canadians and the court challenges now filed. It argues that the wartime service of Japanese Canadians strengthens their claim to full citizenship.
• Political Double-Talk, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes State Senator Jack B. Tenney for claiming opposition to anti-Nisei activity despite his record of inflaming prejudice against evacuees. It notes his committee’s regional chairmen were previously proponents of anti-Nisei legislation.
• Political Tides in California, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial examines Rep. Rankin’s blocking of Tenney’s report and Rep. Sheppard’s charges against the WRA, arguing these reflect a broader racist campaign. It calls on California politicians to publicly oppose anti-Nisei agitation.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Columnist Bill Hosokawa encourages Issei relocating from centers, citing Des Moines hostel directors who found Issei stable and cooperative workers. He notes that Issei in trades have adjusted readily while white-collar Issei face greater difficulty.
• Nisei Attitudes, by Am Interested Reader, page 4. A letter writer from Columbus, Ohio responds to a column by John Nakamura, urging Nisei to reject pessimism and find purpose. The writer argues most Nisei are not the maladjusted figures portrayed in the column.
• Change of Heart, by Franklin Del Monte, page 4. A Chicago businessman writes that his prejudice toward Japanese Americans changed after working with a Nisei woman in his department. He credits that personal contact with ending his ill feeling.

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