Nisei intelligence work revealed, and camps begin to close

Vol. 21, No. 16, October 20, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

The Army’s disclosure of the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) led this issue. The secret unit of mostly Japanese American soldiers interrogated prisoners, translated captured documents and located enemy units across the Pacific. Larry Tajiri’s column praised their contribution, and other pages covered federal agencies lifting employment restrictions on Japanese Americans and the Tule Lake renunciants’ plans to seek their citizenship back through a federal court case.

The last residents left Amache, in Colorado, on October 15, and Minidoka was set to close ahead of its November 1 deadline. Tajiri’s editorials argued for welfare help for stranded elderly evacuees, earlier discharge for 442nd veterans and an end to the Navy’s refusal to induct Nisei. Bill Hosokawa wrote about the home front’s duty to returning veterans. Inside are also a report on the 100th Infantry Battalion, Denver and St. Louis community news, and a fund drive for a guide dog for Aiko Kuroki.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Army Reveals Work of Nisei in Pacific: Japanese Americans in ATIS Provided U.S. With Human ‘Secret Weapon’ During War, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Army revealed the existence of the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), a secret unit of mostly Japanese American soldiers who gathered critical intelligence across the Pacific. Their work included interrogating prisoners, translating captured documents, and locating Japanese units, saving many Allied lives.
• Nisei Veteran Reenlists, Hopes to Search Hiroshima for Mother, page 1. Pfc. Kaizo Uyeda, a 31-year-old Nisei veteran of World War II, reenlisted in the Regular Army and volunteered for duty in Japan. He hopes to search the atomic bomb ruins of Hiroshima for his aged mother, from whom he last heard by letter.
• 100th Infantry Battalion Best Infantry Outfit, Says Colonel, page 2. Colonel Gordon C. Singles, commander of the Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion, visited the Denver JACL and praised the unit as the best outfit in the Army. He recounted his service with the battalion through Italy, France, and Germany.
• Sergeant Yoshio Nakagawa Wins Commendation for Valorous Action, page 2. Sergeant Yoshio Nakagawa of Mount Eden, California, of the 442nd Combat Team, received a Fifth Army commendation for leading a reconnaissance patrol into enemy territory near La Houssiere. His volunteer patrol gathered information that proved valuable in the advance that followed.
• Navy Officials Believe No Hawaii-Educated Japanese Participated in Pearl Harbor Attack, page 3. Officials of Japan’s Imperial Navy Department believe no Hawaiian-educated Japanese pilots or crew took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The report, from a Honolulu Star-Bulletin correspondent in Tokyo, dispels wartime rumors that circulated on the West Coast.
• Nisei Participate in Captured German Submarine Action, page 3. Capt. Thomas E. Crowley, an officer with the 442nd in Italy and France, described how a Nisei unit captured a German submarine that had beached in a bay in the Maritime Alps. The Nisei took the crew prisoner and turned the sub over to the Navy.
• No Plans Made as Yet by Navy to Return Repatriates at Tule Lake, page 3. The U.S. Navy has made no plans to return Japanese nationals from the United States and Canada, and repatriation is estimated to be at least six months away. Shipping is the central problem, and it is considered unlikely the Navy would use carriers for return trips to Japan.
• Hank Gosho Plays Kuroki Role on Treasury Program, page 3. NBC recorded a Treasury Salute program about Tech. Sgt. Ben Kuroki, a Nisei gunner who fought in the Air Forces, with Henry Gosho playing the lead role. Gosho is a former Merrill’s Marauders soldier who had also appeared on radio programs.
• 26 States, Hawaii Represented in 522nd Field Artillery Unit, page 8. The home addresses of men in the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion stationed in Donauworth, Germany, show representation from 26 states, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia. Hawaii had the largest contingent, followed by California.

National

• Federal Agencies Modify Special Restrictions Against Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Following the end of the war, several federal agencies have lifted or modified restrictions on the employment of persons of Japanese ancestry. The Civil Service Commission and War Department rescinded many procedures, though some clearance requirements remain.
• Rep. Cannon Would Deport Aliens at Tule Lake, page 3. Representative Cannon, chairman of the House appropriations committee, demanded the immediate deportation of aliens held at the Tule Lake segregation camp. He criticized the Justice Department for taking too long to deport aliens.
• California Equalization Board Reverses Discriminatory Stand Against Japanese Applicants, page 3. After Attorney General Robert Kenny declined to defend the policy, the California State Board of Equalization granted a sales tax permit to Kenzo Sugino and reversed its policy of withholding permits from Issei businessmen. The suit was sponsored by the ACLU, and the board agreed not to discriminate on racial grounds.
• Ministers in New Hampshire Welcome Evacuees, page 3. The Baptist ministers of New Hampshire issued a statement welcoming resettlers and pledging assistance to any who choose to live in the state. They expressed hope that many would establish homes there.

Incarceration & Redress

• Tule Lake Group Will Initiate Legal Action to Regain Citizen Rights Lost by Renunciation, page 2. Two to three thousand of the 4,400 renunciants at the Tule Lake segregation center have begun steps to regain their lost citizenship through a federal court case. The case will argue that renunciations were made under duress created by fanatical minority groups such as the Hoshi Dan.
• Nisei Obtain Evidence of War Crimes from Captured Japanese Documents, page 2. Hundreds of Nisei scrutinized thousands of captured Japanese documents and helped identify a Japanese soldier who beheaded an Australian aviator. Their work with the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section made these identifications possible.

Community

• Canadian Evacuees Seek to Cancel Bids for Repatriation, page 2. Hundreds of repatriates at Tashme, B.C., are individually applying to cancel the repatriation requests they made earlier in the year. A majority of those in Canadian evacuee centers had originally requested repatriation or expatriation to Japan.
• Father of GIs Missing on Trip, Believed Slain, page 2. N. Kurisu, 61, father of two boys in the U.S. Army, has been missing since leaving a lumber camp in Oregon, and is believed to have been murdered. His car, war bonds, wallet, and watch were found in the possession of an 18-year-old youth in Texas.
• JACL Officer Reports Some Evacuees Stranded on Return, page 2. Scotty Tsuchiya, Los Angeles JACL representative, reported that returning evacuees were stranded in Los Angeles for days while awaiting connections, with the Koyasan Hostel overtaxed. He blamed carelessness or ignorance by responsible persons for the situations.
• Colorado Has Another Ghost Town as Last Evacuee Group Leaves Granada WRA Center, page 2. The last 55 residents of the Amache (Granada) war relocation center in Colorado left on October 15, closing the camp. The article traces the camp’s history from its construction in 1942 through its population peak and the 953 young people who served in the military.
• Denver Jury Awards Full Damages to Nisei Plaintiff, page 2. A Denver county court jury awarded Frank Kitada full damages after his automobile was stolen from a parking lot. The verdict ordered the Glen Place Auto Park to pay him in full for the loss.
• Canadian Nisei Veteran Will Return with English Bride, page 3. Bombardier James Oshiro, a Canadian soldier of Japanese ancestry, married English-born Belle Dixon in August 1945 and will bring her home to Canada. He fought in Italy and the central European front and plans to pursue a career in medicine.
• Minidoka Camp Will Be Closed Before Deadline, page 3. The Minidoka relocation center in Idaho will close before the November 1 deadline, with the last evacuees scheduled to leave on October 23. Most remaining evacuees are returning to West Coast cities.
• No Hawaii-Educated Japanese Used in Pearl Harbor Attack, Declare Japan Navy Officials, page 3. Officials of the Imperial Navy Department in Tokyo said no Hawaiian-educated Japanese flew or served on ships in the Pearl Harbor attack. The report corrects rumors widely circulated on the West Coast before the 1942 evacuation.
• 100th Commander to Speak Before Denver JACL, page 6. Colonel Gordon C. Singles, commander of the 100th Infantry Battalion, will address the Denver JACL on October 25. The event includes dancing and refreshments and is open to the public without admission charge.
• Denver Marriage: Yuriko Lily Date and Dr. Setsuo Ernest Torigoe, page 6. Yuriko Lily Date and Dr. Setsuo Ernest Torigoe were married in a formal double-ring ceremony at the Warren Methodist church in Denver on October 6. More than 150 friends witnessed the ceremony.
• Speakers’ Bureau Organized in St. Louis, page 6. The Nisei Coordinating Council of St. Louis organized a speakers bureau on October 12 to foster goodwill toward relocatees in the area. Discussions focused on material for public addresses.
• Drive to Get Seeing-Eye Dog Oversubscribed for Nisei Girl, page 6. Bay Area residents donated enough money in two days to purchase a guide dog for Aiko Kuroki, a 23-year-old blind Nisei woman. The surplus will go toward her training and education at UC Berkeley.
• Furniture Drive Proves Successful in St. Louis, page 7. A request through the Church Federation Resettlement Committee brought in donations of furniture sufficient for emergency needs and a reserve for other families. A Nisei committee has taken responsibility for picking up the furniture.
• High Praise Given Nisei Student Nurses, page 7. A letter published in the Des Moines Register praised 75 Nisei student nurses at St. Mary’s hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. The writer said the hospital could hardly operate without them.
• Liberated Prisoner Protests Spokane VFW Policy on Nisei, page 7. A civilian internee from Santo Tomas added his protest to the rejection of Sgt. Koyama’s application by the Spokane VFW post. The rejection was the third such case involving a Japanese American soldier.
• Topaz Births and Marriages Outpace Deaths and Divorces, page 8. Statistics compiled at the Topaz relocation center show 379 births and 136 marriages versus 135 deaths and five divorces since the camp opened in 1942. The peak population was 8,316, and the present population is 3,819.
• Nisei Soldier Urges FEPC Passage at Manila Meeting, page 8. A Japanese American GI in Manila urged passage of a permanent Fair Employment Practices Committee at a meeting of the American Veterans Committee. He voiced fears of discrimination when Nisei veterans return home.
• Colusa Board Opposes Aid to Evacuee Group, page 8. The Colusa County Board of Supervisors resolved to oppose county indigent aid to any Japanese unless they volunteered in the armed forces. Meanwhile, 22 former residents of Japanese ancestry returned to Colusa and found household articles missing from the Japanese school.
• Democracy in Japan Will Be Subject of Forum in Chicago, page 8. The Triple I organization will hold a panel discussion titled ‘Japan at the Crossroad’ in Chicago, featuring speakers Dr. Leland Gulick and Roy Smith. The forum will address the democratization of Japan.
• Nisei Contributions in War Told at Social Work Parley, page 8. Four speakers described Japanese American contributions as soldiers and challenges as resettlers at a Milwaukee chapter meeting of social workers. Among them was Capt. Masao Yamada, chaplain of the 442nd Infantry Regiment.

Commentary

• Return to the Coast, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial condemns the neglect of elderly, sick, and disabled evacuees stranded in Los Angeles after the closing of WRA centers. It calls on the WRA to guarantee welfare assistance before such persons are moved from the centers.
• Demobilization, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial argues that combat veterans of the 442nd should be discharged sooner, since many high-point men remain overseas while their West Coast families face relocation hardships. It asks the War Department to give special consideration to these volunteer soldiers.
• Navy and the Nisei, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial criticizes the Navy’s continued refusal to induct Japanese Americans, noting that Nisei soldiers served effectively in Pacific campaigns. It argues the policy is indefensible now that the war has ended.
• Nisei Contributions to Victory in Pacific, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The column praises Nisei intelligence specialists whose translations and interrogations helped expose enemy secrets and saved American lives. It describes the Nisei loyalty as a remarkable contribution the nation should honor.
• The Nisei Decision, page 4. An editorial reprinted from America magazine condemns the wartime mass evacuation of Japanese Americans as an unjust violation of civil rights. It hopes the dissenting opinions of Justices Roberts, Murphy, and Jackson will someday prevail.
• Incident on a Street Car, by John Kitasako, page 4. A Nisei woman in Washington, D.C., confronted two women who mistook her for Chinese and made derogatory remarks about Japanese Americans. Her firm response drew approval from a male passenger and the other riders.
• Nisei at Home Have an Obligation, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa argues that Nisei on the home front should help returning veterans readjust to civilian life, including finding jobs and housing. He notes that many veterans will face lost businesses and economic hardship after evacuation.
• Congress Threatens WRA Funds (Editorial Digest), page 4. The Christian Century warned that a proposed $5,000,000 cut to the War Relocation Authority budget could disrupt the orderly return of Japanese Americans to normal life. It urged assurance of adequate housing, employment help, and care for the aged.
• Nisei Veterans (Editorial Digest), page 4. The San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune quoted Lt. Roger Smith urging that returning Japanese American soldiers be honored for their gallantry. The editorial reflects support for their return to civilian life.
• WRA Funds (Editorial Digest), page 4. The Chicago Sun protested a House committee’s recommended $5,000,000 cut to WRA funding, arguing the full sum is needed for complete relocation. It warned that neglecting this minority group could have lasting ill effects.
• Violence in Watsonville (Editorial Digest), page 4. The Watsonville Register-Pajaronian condemned flare-throwing attacks on a hostel for returning evacuees and supported prosecution of those inciting violence. It said citizens should back police in preventing repetition.
• Letter to the Editor: The 522nd, by Earl I. Tanaka, page 6. Earl I. Tanaka, editor of The High Angle, wrote to correct the Pacific Citizen’s error in identifying the 652nd instead of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion. He also noted the battalion newspaper had ceased publication.

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