Nisei soldiers, the Oyama land law case and closing the camps

Vol. 21, No. 18, November 3, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

The Oyama case led the news: the National JACL announced it would file an amicus curiae brief in Fred Oyama’s San Diego escheat case before the California Supreme Court, arguing that the Alien Land Law discriminates against the future of American citizens of Japanese ancestry. Beside it ran stories of Nisei in uniform, including Lawrence Boardman on linguists who decoded Japanese plans for the Philippines, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team’s 848 men heading home, and Ben K. Hara’s death in a Tokyo barracks. Tech. Sgt. Ben Kuroki told his own story on page 5.

Other pages followed the closing of the Topaz center on October 31, the Minidoka family that refused to leave, and returnees meeting hostility in Leucadia, Ivanhoe and Centerville. Larry Tajiri, Bill Hosokawa and John Kitasako wrote columns, and Saburo Kido said he would not run for JACL president in 1946.

What’s in this issue

National

• Oyama Case Testing Validity of California Alien Land Law, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The National JACL announced it will file an amicus curiae brief in the appeal of Fred Oyama’s San Diego escheat case to the California Supreme Court. The League argues the Alien Land Law discriminates against the future of American citizens of Japanese ancestry.
• Attends Tea at White House, page 1. Mrs. Ira Shimasaki of Washington attended a tea at the White House on October 24 and met President and Mrs. Truman. She is probably the first Nisei woman to meet Mr. Truman.
• Preliminary Hearing Held in Centerville Terrorism Cases, page 2. Preliminary hearings were completed for two men charged with firing shots into the homes of returned evacuee families in Centerville. The alleged attacks occurred on September 16.
• Harsh Policy Toward Issei, page 2. Concern arose after Edwin Pauley suggested alien Japanese properties, including the corner grocery store, could be seized for reparations. The article reports that such a harsh policy is unlikely and that reparations would probably be limited to property already held by the government.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Soldier Killed by Gas in Tokyo Barracks, page 1. Ben K. Hara, a 22-year-old Nisei soldier attached to the Allied Translation and Interpreter Section, died of suffocation from gas in a Tokyo barracks on October 22. His body was discovered after escaping gas led investigators to an unused fourth-floor room.
• Japanese Plan for Philippines Defense Known to U.S. Forces Through Work of Nisei Troops, by Lawrence Boardman, page 1. Nisei linguists trained at Fort Snelling decoded captured Japanese battle plans for the Philippines, allowing American commanders to anticipate enemy operations. Their intelligence work also cleared paths for troops and flushed out enemy positions in the Pacific campaigns.
• Nisei Americans Served With Every Major Allied Unit, Revealed at Fort Snelling, page 1. The story of Fort Snelling, which trained over 4,000 Nisei troops, was revealed for the first time, showing Nisei served alongside English, Australian, New Zealand and Chinese forces. The Nisei participated in every major engagement from Attu and Guadalcanal to the march into Tokyo.
• 848 Veterans of 442nd Now En Route Home, page 1. Eight hundred forty-eight high-point men of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team left Leghorn for Naples on the first step of their journey home. They had been guarding German prisoners of war while awaiting redeployment.
• Report Nisei Passed Unprecedented Test of Loyalty to U.S., by Richard Wilbur, page 1. Richard Wilbur, writing in Stars and Stripes, described the loyalty test Nisei soldiers faced during the war and how they passed it. His article traced the origin of the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Combat Team.
• Distinguished Unit Citation Awarded Engineers Group of Japanese American Regiment, page 2. The 232nd Combat Engineers company, the only all-Japanese American unit in U.S. military history, received the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation. The company built a supply road under heavy fire near Bruyeres, France, enabling the 36th Division to outflank enemy forces.
• Ben Kuroki’s Story: Nebraska Boy Over Japan, by Tech. Sgt. Ben Kuroki, page 5. Nisei air gunner Ben Kuroki recounts his path from Nebraska farm boy to combat veteran who flew 58 missions over Europe and the Pacific. He describes facing discrimination at home even after his service and why he sees the fight against prejudice continuing.
• Idaho Serviceman Wins Silver Star, page 6. Pfc. Tommy Matsushita of Company K, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action in October and November 1944. His citation describes him killing enemy riflemen and destroying a machine gun position.
• Combat Team Leads Football Play in Italy, page 8. The 442nd Combat Team football eleven remained unbeaten, defeating the 6lst QM Wolves 26 to 0 in Yankee Stadium on October 19. The team’s bid for the Peninsular Base Section championship depends on its upcoming game against the 92nd Infantry Division.

Community

• 340 Returnees Move to San Francisco Housing Project, page 1. Three hundred forty Japanese Americans returning from Topaz moved into the government’s Bay Street housing project at Hunters Point in San Francisco. Temporary community kitchens were established to feed the evacuees during their stay.
• Leucadia Nursery Operated by Evacuees Destroyed by Fire, page 1. A nursery at Leucadia near San Diego, operated by Usahiro Ito and his family, was destroyed by fire on October 24. An earlier attempt to burn the nursery had failed three weeks before, and a painter was taken for observation after threatening Japanese residents.
• Hoodlums Create Disturbance at Ivanhoe Postoffice, page 1. A group of hoodlums smashed watermelons over the Ivanhoe postoffice lobby and scrawled anti-Japanese epithets on windows and shopwindows. County and Federal authorities were called in to investigate the disturbance linked to an anti-evacuee movement.
• See Little Likelihood For Housing of Evacuees In Army Barracks Protested in Burbank, page 2. Eighty-seven Burbank residents signed a petition protesting the conversion of Army barracks into temporary housing for returning evacuees. The petition called such housing a slum that no progressive group should establish.
• Saburo Kido Declares He Will Not Be Candidate in 1946, page 6. JACL President Saburo Kido announced he will not seek reelection in 1946. Officer elections will be the first since 1940 and will take place at the March conference in Denver.
• Conference Set On Problems of Evacuees, page 6. The Committee on Resettlement of Japanese Americans will hold a national conference in New York City on November 8 to address evacuee problems. Speakers include Mrs. Ruth Kingman and a JACL representative.
• Poston Newspaper Marks Happy Ending, page 7. The Poston Chronicle published its final edition on October 23 with an editorial titled ‘A Happy Ending.’ The project newspaper had operated since May 1942, first as the Press Bulletin.
• Camp Kohler to Be Used to House Evacuees, page 8. Camp Kohler near Sacramento will house returning Japanese American evacuees who lack housing, with the first group arriving November 9. The barracks had been available since curtailed Army Air Forces activity at the camp.
• Only One of Three Evacuees Returns to San Joaquin Valley, page 8. WRA statistics show only about one-third of the prewar Japanese ancestry population of the San Joaquin Valley has returned. Fresno County received the largest share, with 44.4 percent of its prewar population returning.
• Canadian Nisei Workers Union Proposed in Lethbridge, page 8. A proposal to form a union for Japanese Canadian domestic workers and set standards for wages and hours was discussed at a Lethbridge youth council meeting. Definite action awaited confirmation of whether Canadians of Japanese ancestry could legally work in Lethbridge.

Incarceration & Redress

• WRA Closes Central Utah Camp On Time as Last Group Leaves, page 1. The Topaz war relocation center closed on schedule on October 31 with the departure of its final group of 32 evacuees. WRA Director Dillon Myer reported that relocation was nearly 100 percent voluntary.
• Last Evacuee Family at Hunt Refused to Leave Center, page 2. The Yamaguchi family, the last evacuees at the Minidoka center, refused to leave and were jailed overnight after threatening self-destruction. They were later placed aboard a train bound for the West Coast.

Commentary

• Gls and Democracy, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises cartoonist Bill Mauldin for defending Nisei veterans and opposing racial prejudice after his return from Italy. It notes that veterans’ groups like the VCER and American Veterans Committee are also fighting discrimination against Japanese Americans.
• The Fourth Estate, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial commends the San Francisco News and other papers for fair coverage of Japanese Americans and racial minorities. It calls on the press to interpret events and promote democratic treatment of minorities in California.
• Anti-Nisei Racism and Politics, by Larry Tajiri, page 5. Larry Tajiri argues that anti-Nisei racism has lost its political and economic value on the West Coast. He cites electoral defeats of anti-Japanese politicians and Nisei military service as reasons the racist movement is fading.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa describes the prosperous corn belt farms of Iowa and the integration of Nisei into the region’s economy. He notes Japanese Americans working as professionals, tradesmen and farmhands who have settled there.
• Nisei Veteran, by Roy G. Mita, page 6. Roy G. Mita writes to correct errors about his wife’s name and background in earlier coverage of his American Legion post membership. He also describes his service with Co. F, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, including two wounds in the Vosges Mountains.
• Washington News-Letter: DAR’s Attitude Dramatizes Race Bias in Nation’s Capital, by John Kitasako, page 6. John Kitasako examines the Daughters of the American Revolution’s refusal to let Hazel Scott perform at Constitution Hall. He argues the controversy, though unpleasant, exposes racial prejudice and helps move the nation toward equality.

JACL

• JACL Sponsors Showings of Japanese American Paintings, page 8. The Japanese American Citizens League held a showing of Japanese American paintings at the International House in Chicago on October 21. The exhibit then traveled to Cleveland College and other cities.

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