Nisei soldiers in Europe and the violence facing returning families

Vol. 20, No. 20, May 19, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

Two stories ran side by side in this eight-page issue. On the war front, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion fought inside Germany with the Seventh Army from March to V-E Day, and Winston Churchill praised Japanese American units for their part in the victory in Italy. Lyn Crost reported General Mark W. Clark’s praise for the 442nd Infantry Regiment, and Joe Grant Masaoka told the story of Staff Sgt. Henry Gosho in the Burma jungle. At home, Secretary Harold Ickes counted 24 incidents of violence against returning Japanese Americans, and editorials by Patricia McGregor and others responded.

Elsewhere in the issue: a federal judge’s ruling on business licenses in Ogden, a Stockton union vote against working with returning families, and a San Diego case that may test California’s Alien Land Law. Casualty lists, hostel openings, and community news from Idaho, Ohio and Illinois fill the later pages.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Japanese American Battalion Took Active Part in Seventh Army’s Drive Inside Reich, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, composed mostly of Japanese Americans, fought in Germany from March to V-E Day with the Seventh Army. Its liaison crew accompanied veteran doughboys in the Rhine crossing near Worms.
• Fresno Police Chief Blames ‘Hoodlums’ for Recent Violence, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Fresno police chief Ray Wallace said attacks on returning evacuees were the work of hoodlums rather than neighborhood attitudes. He noted no threats had been received and that three incidents in the past week were the only signs of trouble.
• Nisei Soldiers Praised by Churchill for Italy Victories, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Prime Minister Winston Churchill singled out Japanese American units for praise in his tribute to the Fifth and Eighth Armies’ victory in Italy. He noted their contribution alongside other Allied divisions.
• Report 37 Killed, 104 Hurt in Recent Action in Europe, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Office of War Information identified 37 Japanese American soldiers killed and 104 wounded in recent European action, with one missing and one wounded in the Pacific. The totals since the Combat Team returned to Italy stand at 77 killed and 428 wounded.
• Centers, Next of Kin Report Details on Recent Casualties, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Reports from relocation centers and next of kin list 12 killed, 87 wounded, and one missing among Japanese American soldiers in northern Italy. Biographical details are given for many of the fallen, including Pfc. Takashi Ito and Pfc. Lloyd Onoye.
• Nisei Look for Place to Wash Howitzers, Catch Nazis Instead, by P.C. Staff, page 2. While seeking a place to wash howitzers, Lt. Suemi Ito and Sgt. Fred Oshima captured three German soldiers in the 522nd’s C Battery. Later scouting parties took 23 prisoners in total during the action inside the Reich.
• General Clark Praises 442nd Unit’s Record, by Lyn Crost, page 2. General Mark W. Clark, commander of the Fifteenth Army Group, praised the 442nd Infantry Regiment as having done one of the most magnificent jobs of the year. He described the unit’s heavy fighting against German troops in the advance toward La Spezia.
• Praises 442nd Unit’s Record, by Lyn Crost, page 2. General Clark, who had made a special request for the 442nd to return to Italy, said the unit was excellent for mountain fighting. The regiment’s rapid progress through the Ligurian coast contributed to the fall of Genoa.
• Mother of Nisei Hero Receives High Award, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mrs. Kikuyo Muranaga received the posthumous Distinguished Service Cross for her son Pfc. Kiyoshi Muranaga at the Granada relocation center. He was killed in action in Italy while serving on a mortar crew.
• Saga of ‘Horizontal Hank’ Gosho, by Joe Grant Masaoka, page 5. Staff Sgt. Henry H. Gosho, a Nisei intelligence specialist, describes his service with Merrill’s Marauders in the Burma jungle. He recounts intercepting enemy communications, questioning prisoners, and fighting through disease and banzai charges.
• Nisei Artillerymen Capture Big Gun Recently in Germany, by P.C. Staff, page 7. B Battery of the 522nd overran a German 150mm gun and turned it against the Siegfried Line. Crew members from the mess, maintenance, and headquarters sections manned the captured piece.
• Salt Lake Nisei Soldier Receives Bronze Star Medal, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Pfc. Tadao Sako of Salt Lake City received the Bronze Star for gallantry in action in Italy. Brig. Gen. Ralph Talbot Jr. made the presentation at the Utah ASF depot.

National

• Fires Nisei in Academic Row, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The University of Missouri dismissed four liberal professors and instructors, including Nisei instructor Teru Hayashi, over a dispute involving a student interracial education committee. The dismissals were the climax of a two-year conflict between liberal and conservative faculty.
• Legion Post Refuses to Rent Hall to Anti-Nisei Promoters, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Japanese Exclusion League was denied use of the American Legion hall in Weiser, Idaho, and the ballpark was also unavailable to them. The league, backed by an Oregon group, has pushed for stripping Japanese Americans of citizenship and deporting them.
• Federal Judge’s Ruling Upsets Ogden City’s Policy of Denying Business Licenses to Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Federal Judge Tillman D. Johnson ruled that Ogden City cannot deny a business license to Clarence Okuda and George Sugihara because of their Japanese ancestry. The decision followed a similar Layton case decided in the plaintiffs’ favor last year.
• Incendiary Fire Destroys Vacant Hotel in Concord, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A fire believed to be of incendiary origin destroyed the vacant Royal Hotel in Concord, California, owned by Masatushi and Toshina Ide. Condemnation proceedings against the building were already pending.
• WRA Acts to Protect Nisei Girl on Coast, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The War Relocation Authority prepared to turn over names of five men who threatened Mary Masuda of Orange County, California. Her four brothers include one killed in action in Italy and one wounded serving with the 442nd.
• Secretary Ickes Blasts Terror Raids on Coast Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes reported 24 incidents of violence or intimidation against returning Japanese Americans in the past four months. He said the attacks reflected planned terrorism that local law enforcement had failed to stop.
• Nisei Woman Seeks Divorce; Refuses to Renounce Loyalty, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Mrs. Futayo Bingo filed for divorce from Saburo Bingo, whom she accused of trying to get her to renounce her American citizenship. Her husband was held at a Department of Justice camp awaiting possible deportation.
• San Diego Escheat Case May Test Validity of California’s Anti-Alien Land Legislation, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Attorneys for Yoshitaro Yoshimura moved for judgment in San Diego Superior Court so an immediate appeal could reach the higher courts on the Alien Land Law. The motion argues the law was adopted to discriminate against persons of Japanese descent.
• Arson, Dynamiting Case Will Face Morals Charge, by P.C. Staff, page 7. James Edward Watson, acquitted in the arson and dynamiting case against Sumio Doi’s property, faced new charges of contributing to the delinquency of minors. The charges concern liquor sales to young men who took part in the terror raids.
• Capital Nisei Plan Action to Aid Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Washington Nisei Council took initial steps toward a nationwide campaign to aid returning Nisei veterans. A new committee will gather information on services and fund recreation for Nisei soldiers at Camp Snelling.
• Closing Dates Set for Schools in War Relocation Projects, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The War Relocation Authority announced closing dates for school programs at several centers, with Minidoka ending May 18 and Rohwer May 25. Students needing to relocate may receive make-up work to complete their studies.

Community

• Jimmy Kajikawa Elected Captain of Arizona Eleven, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Jimmy Kajikawa was elected captain of the Tempe Union high school football team for the 1945 season. He succeeds Homer Wood and is the brother of Bill Kajikawa, a former Arizona State athlete now serving with the 522nd.
• Opposes Nisei Return to Area, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Delegates at the third war conference of the California Junior Chamber of Commerce adopted a resolution urging the delay of Japanese American return to California until after the war. The resolution also called for returning servicemen to have first chance to acquire confiscated lands.
• San Francisco to Care for Issei Indigent Group, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The first group of elderly and indigent Issei evacuees returned to San Francisco to receive care at Laguna Honda Home. Four other evacuees from Topaz were in the tuberculosis ward of San Francisco Hospital.
• Dr. Yatabe Embarks on New Tour of Midwestern District, by P.C. Staff, page 7. JACL Midwest director Dr. Thomas Y. Yatabe began a series of speaking engagements in Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Dayton as part of the organization’s public relations program. He appeared on radio and addressed community groups.
• Stockton ILWU Members Refuse to Work with Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Members of Stockton’s Local 6 of the ILWU voted to refuse work alongside returning Japanese American evacuees. The vote reversed the local’s earlier no-discrimination policy after three Nisei were assigned warehouse jobs.
• Calling All Chapters!, by Hito Okada, page 7. National JACL headquarters reported contributions received from chapters and members across the country. The column thanks donors and notes the Denver chapter’s fundraising progress.
• Nisei Soldier Back From Philippines, Weds in Milwaukee, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Sgt. Minoru Namba, returning on leave from the Philippines, married Patricia Hashimoto in Milwaukee. The wedding was noted in the local community column.
• Nisei Couple Given Reception in Nampa, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura were honored with a reception in Nampa, Idaho, following their marriage. The bride is the former Miss Marie Hashimoto.
• Open Hostel for Evacuees in Boston, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The first hostel for returning American evacuees in Boston opened on Beacon Hill under the American Friends Service Committee. Local reactions varied, with some residents voicing objection.
• Evacuee Student Elected Captain of School Team, by P.C. Staff, page 7. George Hinoki, a Nisei student from Granada who transferred to University High School in Columbus, Ohio, was elected captain of the school’s baseball team. He had also been elected vice president of the student body.
• University Students Raise Funds for Nisei Scholarship, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Students at James Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, raised a $100 scholarship for a Nisei girl. The effort grew from interest in the relocation program.
• Nisei Girl Joins New Idaho Sorority, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Marchi Yamasaki of Idaho Falls is a charter member of the Iota Phi sorority at the College of Idaho. The sorority is newly organized on the Caldwell campus.
• Tule Lake Evacuee Firemen Save Neighboring Town, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Firefighters from the Tule Lake segregation center volunteered to help extinguish a blaze in Newell that destroyed the Homestead cafe. The camp’s fire department responded when the town’s volunteers could not control the fire.
• Vandals Break, Enter San Jose Buddhist Church, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Vandals broke into the San Jose Buddhist church and damaged or removed property including supplies and religious items. Police were investigating the incident.
• Student Designer Wins War Bond, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Alice Uchiyama, a 22-year-old Drake University art student, won a $50 war bond as second-place winner in a national art competition. She hopes to develop a career in advertising art.
• WRA Will Open Office in Visalia, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A branch office of the War Relocation Authority will open in the Larkin building in Visalia, California. The announcement was made by relocation supervisor Charles F. Mijler.
• Fresno Methodist Church Hostel Welcomes Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Fresno Japanese Methodist church opened emergency lodging for returning evacuees regardless of religious faith. Lodgers pay 25 cents per night and stays are limited to two weeks.
• Japanese American Writes Book on Nippon Militarism, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A Japanese American author has written a book analyzing Nippon militarism, based on special war work for the United States government. The author is a National Director of the JACL.

Commentary

• Psychological War, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that truth is democracy’s secret weapon against Japanese propaganda and that Nisei contributions to psychological warfare matter. It also notes that Japanese Americans’ loyalty undermines fascist race-hatred messaging.
• Ickes Turns National Attention to Terrorism, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises Secretary Ickes for focusing national attention on the terrorism against Japanese Americans in California. It warns that tolerated violence threatens all civil rights and calls for arrests and prosecutions.
• Fascism, American Brand, by Patricia McGregor, page 4. Reprinted from the Daily Californian, this editorial compares the racist attacks on Japanese Americans to Nazi tactics. It notes that a Placer County jury acquitted men who admitted a dynamite and arson attack on the Doi ranch.
• Rights of the Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Chicago Sun editorial argues the federal government has an obligation to protect citizens from organized violation of their rights. It notes Governor Warren and Attorney General Kenny have acted but federal intervention may be needed.
• Amache’s Gold Star Mothers, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Gold stars were presented to evacuee mothers at Amache whose sons were killed overseas. The presentation was made by K. Okura of the USO.

Obituaries

• Body of Boy Found in Idaho Canal, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Nine-year-old Eugene Inove drowned in a canal near his home in Nampa, Idaho, on May 15. Neighbors and police searched for the boy before his body was recovered.
• Young Evacuee Takes Own Life in New York City, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Nagai, a 22-year-old Issei formerly at Tule Lake and Minidoka, was found dead of poisoning in his New York apartment on May 11. WRA officials said he had been moody and unstable and had previously attempted suicide in Chicago.

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