Nisei soldiers in Italy and Saipan, and life in the camps, August 1944

Vol. 19, No. 6, August 12, 1944. 8 pages. View this issue

Japanese American soldiers were the news of this 8-page issue. The front page reported that six Nisei were cited for action in the capture of Saipan, five of them with Bronze Star Medals, and that 49 Japanese Americans from Hawaii were wounded in Italy. Casualty lists, Silver Stars for men of the 100th Infantry Battalion, and notices of memorial services at Amache, Poston, Minidoka and Topaz filled pages 1 through 3. Editorials, Bill Hosokawa’s column and Saburo Kido’s two pieces turned to West Coast attitudes, a desecrated cemetery in Portland and a Hearst campaign against relocated families in Chicago.

Also inside: Ralph Lazo, a Los Angeles youth of Mexican parentage who chose to live at Manzanar with his Japanese American friends. Mrs. Henry Monsky wrote about relocation in Omaha, and Dr. J. Henry Carpenter reported on New York City. The paper also covered Canada’s plan to separate Japanese Canadians by loyalty.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Japanese Americans Participated in Capture of Saipan, Six Cited for Meritorious Action, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Six American soldiers of Japanese ancestry were cited for meritorious action during the battle of Saipan, with five receiving Bronze Star Medals. The report notes that four of the soldiers are from California.
• War Department Identifies 49 Japanese Americans from Hawaii Wounded in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department identified 50 Japanese Americans wounded in recent Italian action, with 49 from Hawaii, most presumably members of the 100th Infantry Battalion. Names and next-of-kin locations were listed.
• Report Ten Mainland Nisei Killed in Action in Italy; 26 Others Suffer Wounds, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Ten Japanese American soldiers from the mainland were killed and 26 others wounded in recent Italian action, bringing totals to 32 killed and 63 wounded. An unofficial list of casualties with relocation center locations was compiled from next-of-kin reports.
• Nisei Buddies Killed Same Day on Rome Outskirts, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Two Honolulu Nisei soldiers, Pfc. Henry Mamoru Terada and Pvt. Patrick Mitsuru Tokushima of the 100th Infantry Battalion, were killed on the same day near Rome. Both were McKinley High graduates and memorial services were held in Honolulu.
• War Department Cites Combat Record of Japanese American Infantry Battalion in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The 100th Infantry Battalion, cited by General Mark Clark, fought on virtually every front of the Italian campaign and lost only two soldiers as prisoners. The unit has received over 1,000 Purple Hearts and numerous other decorations.
• Seven Granadans Reportedly Wounded on Italian Warfront, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Seven soldiers from the Granada relocation center were wounded in Italy, all former California residents. Their names, family addresses, and dates of injury were listed.
• Battlefield Promotion Won by Nisei in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Tech Sgt. Victor Akimoto of the First Battalion, 442nd Infantry received a battlefield promotion for capturing German soldiers without weapons. The report came from friends at Camp Shelby.
• Hawaii Nisei Led Unit in Drive on Rome, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Pfc. Jesse Hirata of Kona, Hawaii led his company of the 100th Infantry Battalion in the drive up the Appian Way, according to the Anzio Beachhead News. The paper described his capture of three German soldiers with a rifle and then a charge into a dugout.
• Heart Mountain Soldiers Reported Wounded in Action, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Three Heart Mountain soldiers, Pfc. Jiei Nakama, Pfc. Satoru Nomura, and Pfc. Isamu Oka, were wounded in Italy in July 1944. Their family and residence details were provided.
• Nisei Soldier Goes to Army OCS School, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sgt. Haruo Miyamoto left Camp Shelby to attend Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He is one of several Japanese Americans attending the infantry OCS.
• Parents at WRA Camp Learn of Two Poston Nisei Killed in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sgt. Atsushi Sakamoto and Pfc. Shichizo Toyota of Poston were killed fighting in Italy, and four others were wounded. All were former California residents.
• St. Louis Nisei Wounded in Action on Italian Front, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Chester G. Tanaka, a St. Louis native and Washington University graduate, was wounded in Italy with a shrapnel wound. He had volunteered after being drafted in November 1943.
• Four Minidoka Center Nisei Killed in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Four Minidoka Nisei volunteers from Hunt, Idaho were reported killed in Italy and six others wounded. The four killed had trained at Camp Shelby after volunteering from the camp.
• Two Silver Stars Awarded Posthumously to Nisei Heroes of Famed 100th Infantry, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The War Department awarded Silver Stars to three 100th Infantry Battalion soldiers, two posthumously, including Sgt. Gary Hisaoka who received an Oak Leaf Cluster. The citations describe their acts of courage in Italy.
• Two Topaz Volunteers Reported Killed; Six Others Wounded, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pvt. Nobu Kajiwara and Pfc. Takanori Allen Nishi of Topaz were killed in action in Italy, and three others were wounded. Biographical details and family survivors were listed for each.
• Three West Coast Nisei Wounded in Action Against Nazis, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Three Gila River soldiers, all former Pacific coast residents, were wounded in Italy. Each had volunteered or been inducted, and details of their families and service were given.
• Death of Son: Arikawa Family Notified, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Arikawa family of Manzanar learned their son Pfc. Frank Nobuo Arikawa was killed in Italy on July 6. Two other brothers were in military service.
• Sgt. Sugiyama Reported Killed on Italy Front; Brother in Utah Informed, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sgt. Togo S. Sugiyama of Los Angeles was killed in Italy on July 12, according to a War Department telegram to his brother in Utah. He was a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
• All Nisei Units Took Part in Final Assault on Livorno, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The First Battalion, 442nd Infantry learned that their comrades in Italy participated in the final assault capturing Livorno. A letter from Lt. Sherwood Dixon confirmed the 2nd and 3rd Battalions led the advance.
• American Army Hero Praises Nisei Soldiers, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Pvt. Jerome Novitsky, a Silver Star recipient, praised 100th Infantry Battalion soldiers at Cassino for their fearlessness and determination. He described how they suffered worse wounds than others while proving their Americanism.
• Nisei Soldiers Play on Winning Baseball Team, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The 232nd Battalion team, which includes Japanese American troops at Camp Blanding, won the IRTC softball tournament. The camp newspaper reported their ten straight victories.

Community

• JACL Oratorical Fund Will Be Used for War Bonds, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Centerville, Calif. JACL chapter’s $250 fund for speaking contest trophies at Washington Union High School will be invested in war bonds. The contest was discontinued when Japanese Americans were evacuated in 1942.
• Successful Relocation in East Reported by Dr. Carpenter, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Rev. Dr. J. Henry Carpenter reported that evacuees from California were finding employment in New York City with few hostile encounters. He described a hostel accommodating Japanese Americans there.
• Minister Protests Prejudices Displayed in Wyoming Town, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Dr. E. W. J. Schmitt wrote to Cody, Wyoming’s mayor criticizing anti-Japanese signs in local shops. He urged the signs be changed to reflect democratic principles.

National

• Canada Plans Segregation of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced a program to determine the loyalty of Japanese Canadians, with the disloyal to be sent to Japan. He also stated that complete postwar Japanese immigration exclusion would be enforced.
• District Court Jury Convicts Three Sisters on Charge of Conspiracy to Commit Treason, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Denver federal jury convicted three Shitara sisters of conspiracy to commit treason for aiding German prisoners of war to escape, though they were acquitted of treason. The defense argued the prisoners were anti-Nazis, and testimony described their opposition to Hitler.

Incarceration & Redress

• Non-Japanese Youth Lived in WRA Camp as Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Ralph Lazo, a 19-year-old Los Angeles youth of Mexican parentage, registered as Japanese American and lived at Manzanar for two years before his army induction was announced. He explained he chose to go with his Japanese American friends rather than remain behind.
• Memorial Services Held for Six Amache Heroes, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Memorial services were held at the Granada relocation center for six Japanese American soldiers killed fighting in Italy, all of whom were California residents before evacuation. Their names and hometowns were listed.
• WRA Employee Quits, Demands Probe of Center, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Alvin H. Connor, superintendent of motor transport at Minidoka, resigned and demanded an investigation of the center and the removal of its director, Harry L. Stafford. Stafford declined immediate comment.
• Japanese Americans Have Staunch Friends, by Saburo Kido, page 6. Kido praises non-Japanese allies, including professors, broadcasters, public officials, and church leaders, who fought for justice for Japanese Americans. He urges Nisei to support the educational program for better understanding.
• Lee Tracy Helped Recruit Nisei Volunteers for Combat Team, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Former captain and actor Lee Tracy, who helped recruit Topaz volunteers in 1943, expressed happiness at their success in Italy. He described finding that loudest protesters were often most loyal to the Emperor.

Commentary

• Loyalty of Hawaii Nisei Told by Navy Man in Salt Lake, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Navy Chief Petty Officer Merton R. Smith asserted that the average person of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii is loyal and faithful. Smith, who was aboard the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor, spoke in Salt Lake City.
• West Coast Attitudes, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues public sentiment toward Japanese Americans on the West Coast is better than at any time since Pearl Harbor, citing Pasadena community support. It contends race-baiting groups do not represent the attitudes of most Californians.
• The Evacuation Story, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises Carey McWilliams’ forthcoming book Prejudice on the evacuation of Japanese Americans and quotes his argument that the mass evacuation was unwarranted. It criticizes anti-Japanese groups for seeking deportation rather than security.
• A Despicable Crime, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns the second desecration of the Japanese cemetery in Portland, Oregon, in which about 200 grave markers were destroyed. It calls on authorities to protect the evacuees’ property and hallowed ground.
• The Nisei in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial notes Nisei soldiers in Italy generously shared candy and food with Italian children and refugees. It observes that many of these soldiers were themselves refugees from the West Coast only two years earlier.
• Hearst in Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial examines a Hearst Herald-American campaign against Japanese Americans relocated to Chicago, which triggered a union strike threat. It argues the campaign is an extension of Hearst’s long-standing anti-Japanese smears.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa criticizes Canada’s plan to deport loyal-disloyal Japanese Canadians, including native-born, to Japan. He argues that exiling Canadian-born citizens without trial is comparable to Nazi expulsions.
• Nisei USA: Hearst in Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This column details how the Herald-American spread false claims about 5,000 evacuees in Chicago, noting no security crimes were recorded. It describes a union strike vote over the employment of 59 Japanese American trackmen.
• Successful Relocation in Omaha, by Mrs. Henry Monsky, page 5. Mrs. Monsky reports that relocated evacuees in Omaha have found employment and been welcomed by the community. She describes several families who have adjusted well to life there.
• Nisei Co-ed Writes Article on Evacuees for Mademoiselle, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Hattie Kawahara, a Mount Holyoke graduate assistant, wrote in Mademoiselle that Nisei share a stake in the democratic ideals of the war. The article describes wartime contributions and the hardships of evacuation.
• Letter from Hawaii, by Shigeo Yoshida, page 6. Shigeo Yoshida of the Hawaii Emergency Service Committee writes that the Masao Akiyama draft refusal case is an isolated incident not representing Hawaii’s Japanese population. He notes Akiyama sought to renounce citizenship.
• Topics: Same Old Tripe Offered by Racists, by Saburo Kido, page 6. Kido critiques a Town Meeting debate on Japanese assimilation, pointing out California’s anti-miscegenation laws. He cites scientific rebuttals to racial assimilation myths.
• Raps Beating of Evacuees by Laramie Youths, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The University of Wyoming’s Branding Iron criticized the beating of two Japanese American students by teenagers in Laramie. The editorial questioned whether the melting pot is failing.
• Lea Committee May Abandon Nisei Inquiry, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Heart Mountain Sentinel reported that hearings on John Kitasako, an FCC employee, may be dropped after Rep. Clarence Lea said nothing criminal was uncovered. The investigation was seen as an attack on the FCC.

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