Nisei soldiers in Italy and the fight over return to the West Coast

Vol. 19, No. 4, July 29, 1944. 8 pages. View this issue

The 100th Infantry Battalion was the story of this eight-page issue from July 29, 1944. Lt. Gen. Mark Clark conferred the distinguished unit citation on the battalion after its part in the capture of Livorno, and Allan Ohata received the Distinguished Service Cross. Sid Feder of the Associated Press reported on a Japanese American patrol led by Lt. Arthur M. Boyd that was the first American unit into Pisa. Casualty lists from the 442nd and 100th ran beside them, with next of kin named from several camps, including Heart Mountain, Minidoka and Gila River.

At home, three American citizens of Japanese ancestry sued to return to the West Coast, and their case was removed to federal court. The same page carried news on draft charges at Minidoka and a hunger strike at Tule Lake. Larry Tajiri and Bill Hosokawa wrote the columns, and an editorial praised the Nisei soldiers.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• L.A. Test Case Removed to Federal Court, page 1. A test case brought by three American citizens of Japanese ancestry seeks to enjoin military authorities from preventing their return to the West Coast. The suit, filed by the ACLU, was removed to federal court on July 21.
• Twelve from Hunt Face Draft Charges, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Twelve Japanese Americans from the Minidoka center were arraigned in Twin Falls on draft evasion charges. Records show that most had requested expatriation to Japan.
• 14 Segregees Stage Hunger Strike at Tule, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Fourteen men held in the Tule Lake stockade began a hunger strike to obtain release from isolation. Project director Ray Best said food was being delivered regularly to the men.
• Butte Supervisors Exclude Soldiers in Ban on Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Butte County supervisors endorsed a Native Sons of the Golden West stand against the return of evacuees, while exempting soldiers. The resolution was passed on July 25.
• Judge Dismisses Draft Law Complaints Against Segregees, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Judge Louis Goodman dismissed charges against 26 Tule Lake citizens, ruling that confinement under presidential order denied them due process. He said coercing confined citizens into service was shocking to the conscience.
• Ogden Asked To Reconsider License Stand, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Tom Kinomoto asked the Ogden city commission to reconsider denying him a business license, citing a federal ruling in the Clarence Okuda case. The commission took the letter under advisement.
• Washington AFL Would Denationalize, Deport U.S. Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The State Federation of Labor in Washington passed a resolution urging legislation to strip Japanese Americans of citizenship and deport them after the war. The Associated Press reported the measure passed by a substantial majority.
• Engle Plans House Bill on Deportation, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Rep. Clair Engle told a Legion meeting he would introduce a House bill to deport persons of Japanese ancestry after the war. He said disloyal Tule Lake residents could walk out of the centers once the war ended.
• Nisei Returns to Evacuated Area to Report for Induction, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Masagi Yasuda, a Japanese American who relocated to New York, traveled to California to report for an army preinduction exam and was taken into custody for violating the exclusion order. He was released on his own recognizance pending word from the Western Defense Command.

Military & Veterans

• Report Ten Nisei Soldiers Killed, 12 Wounded in Recent Combat Action on Italy Front, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Relocation center families were notified of Japanese American casualties in Italy, mostly from the 442nd and 100th Battalion. Several next-of-kin notifications from Granada, Minidoka, Heart Mountain and other centers are listed.
• Gen. Mark Clark Accompanied Nisei Battalion in Surprise Assault Which Took Livorno, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lt. Gen. Mark Clark conferred the War Department’s distinguished unit citation on the 100th Infantry Battalion on July 27. He praised the unit’s battlefield record and their role in the capture of Livorno.
• Japanese American Given DSC for Valor in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Allan Ohata, a member of the 100th Infantry Battalion, received the Distinguished Service Cross for actions near Cerasuolo, Italy. Masanao Otake was promoted and Bert M. Tanaka received the Silver Star.
• Hawaii Nisei for Battle Valor, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The War Department awarded Silver Stars to eight members of the 100th Infantry Battalion from Hawaii for heroic actions in Italy. Citations describe the acts of each soldier, two awards given posthumously.
• Artillery Shelling Punctuates Nisei Appearance on Radio, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Two members of the 100th Infantry Battalion described their battle experiences on the NBC Army Hour from near Livorno. They credited the battalion’s success to the spirit of cooperation among members.
• Omura, Seven Others Arrested On Draft Conspiracy Charges, by P.C. Staff, page 2. James Omura, former English editor of the Rocky Shimpo, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges of aiding Japanese Americans in draft evasion. Seven others were also indicted in connection with the Fair Play Committee.
• Nisei Patrols First to Enter City of Pisa, by Sid Feder, Associated Press, page 3. A 22-man Japanese American patrol led by Lt. Arthur M. Boyd was the first American unit to enter Pisa. The patrol scouted the city and returned without casualties apart from a broken wristwatch.
• Staff Sgt. Bill Iwao Yamaji Killed in Action on Italy Front, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Staff Sgt. Bill Iwao Yamaji, a Granada evacuee and member of the 143rd Infantry, was killed in Italy on June 15. He had volunteered in January 1940 and is survived by parents and siblings.
• Lieutenant Sees Action on Two Fronts, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Lieut. Richard Hayashi, a Japanese American officer from California, compared enemy tactics in Italy with those he faced in the Pacific. He had fought with the U.S. Air Force in the New Hebrides before being reassigned to Italy.
• Rivers Volunteer Wounded in Action With Combat Team, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pfc. Sam Yoshihara of the Gila River center received the Purple Heart for wounds sustained with the 442nd Infantry in Italy. He reported he was recovering well.
• Three Minidoka Soldiers Killed, Nine Wounded, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Irrigator reported three Minidoka servicemen killed and nine wounded in Italy, along with one missing. Next-of-kin addresses were listed for each soldier.
• Parents Learn of Death of Lieut. Tanahashi, Cpl. Yoshiharu Aoyama, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Lieut. Kei Tanahashi and Cpl. Yoshiharu Aoyama, both former Los Angeles residents of the 442nd, were killed in Italy. The two had been boyhood friends and members of the same Boy Scout troop.
• Nisei Patrols Enter City of Pisa, by Sid Feder, Associated Press, page 3. An AP dispatch describes how a Japanese American patrol slipped behind German lines to enter Pisa. Scouts gathered intelligence on mines and booby traps before returning.
• Tule Segregee’s Son Killed in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Tech. Zentaro Akiyama, son of Tule Lake segregation camp residents, was killed in action in Italy. The WRA said it was believed to be the first such death of a soldier whose parents were held at the segregation camp.
• Three Unarmed Nisei Take Four Unarmed Germans Prisoner, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Three Granada-area Nisei soldiers captured four German prisoners in Italy without weapons after surprising them. The Germans were also unarmed and surrendered peacefully.
• The Nisei Soldiers, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Combat Team for their combat record and the loyalty they demonstrate. It notes the war’s heavy toll on Japanese American families who are still in relocation centers.
• Wounded Nisei Veteran Gets Combat Infantryman’s Badge, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Pvt. Kenneth Otagaki, wounded in Italy with the 100th Battalion, received the Combat Infantryman Badge at Walter Reed Hospital. He is the first of several Japanese American veterans there to receive it.
• Soldier Regains Citizenship Through Service in U.S. Army, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Cpl. Terry T. Toi, who once served in the Japanese army, was sworn in as a U.S. citizen in St. Paul despite protest from a fellow petitioner. He is engaged in deciphering Japanese documents for the Army.

Commentary

• Our Nazi-Like Race Codes, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial argues that race-based immigration and naturalization laws barring Asian aliens from citizenship should be repealed, citing Commissioner Earl Harrison’s report. It calls such discrimination unworthy of American democracy.
• Nikkei USA: Canadian Racists Win a Round, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri condemns Canada’s Wartime Elections Bill, which disfranchises Japanese Canadians at the urging of British Columbia racists. He argues the move echoes the fascism Canadian troops are fighting and praises CCF opposition.
• From the Frying Pan: Political Conventions — And Two GI Letters, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa criticizes the pageantry of the national political conventions as out of step with wartime seriousness. He quotes letters from two Nisei soldiers who urge the home front to fight for democracy and expose political backstabbers.
• Ann Nisei’s Column: Wages Higher, But So Are Living Costs, by Ann Nisei, page 6. The column advises consumers how to fight rising prices and select quality cotton dresses, sheets, and home medicines. It urges women to support the OPA and to buy only what is necessary.
• Washington Letter: Lea Committee Questions Two in FCC Quiz, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Lea Committee investigating the FCC seized foreign broadcast files from rooms of two Japanese American government employees. Both were questioned about access to restricted materials.

In-Depth

• Hawaii Tradition of Racial Equality Makes for Success, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A report by Ward Madden from the University of Hawaii credits the islands’ tradition of racial equality with the relatively smooth treatment of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor. It finds no evidence of concerted disloyal action among Hawaii’s Japanese residents.

Community

• Salt Lake Police Search for Youths Who Fired on Swimmers, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Police sought two teenage boys who fired shots at a group of Japanese Americans swimming near Salt Lake City. One bullet struck a parked car, and no one was injured.
• Body of Boy Recovered After Long Search, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The body of 8-year-old Shizuo Kaku was recovered from the Bear River canal in East Garland after an all-night search. He had gone swimming and was believed to have drowned.

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