Wounded Nisei veterans on the Hayes, and Tule Lake closes

Vol. 22, No. 12, March 23, 1946. 8 pages. View this issue

Forty-four wounded Nisei veterans said they were forced to travel in the hold of the Navy transport President Hayes while civilians had staterooms, and the charge led the March 23, 1946 issue. Senator Sheridan Downey started an investigation, and Mike Masaoka filed a JACL protest with the War Department. An editorial, “GI Protests,” demanded a thorough inquiry. The same page reported that Tule Lake, the last of the War Relocation Authority’s centers, had closed as a residence, ending the agency’s four-year wartime job, and that Mrs. Nawa Munemori had received her son Pfc. Sadao Munemori’s Congressional Medal of Honor.

Elsewhere in these 8 pages, Ben Kuroki explained why he joined the American Legion, and Bill Hosokawa wrote about Manchuria. John Kitasako told Hank Gosho’s story of Merrill’s Marauders. Editorials took up segregated veterans posts and Hollywood’s portrayal of Nisei, and chapter news, bowling and basketball results filled the inside pages.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

  • Japanese American Veterans Forced to Travel in Hold of Navy Transport Hayes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Forty-four wounded Nisei veterans charged they were treated like prisoners and forced to travel in the hold of the Navy transport President Hayes from San Francisco to Honolulu. Senator Sheridan Downey started an investigation while the Army disputed some details of the conditions.
  • JACL Protests Treatment of Nisei Wounded on Ship, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mike Masaoka, JACL national secretary, filed a protest with the War Department over the treatment of 44 wounded 442nd veterans on the Hayes. He requested an official investigation and better consideration for Nisei veterans being returned to Hawaii.

Incarceration & Redress

  • Tule Lake, Last of Centers, Closed by Relocation Agency, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Relocation Authority’s Tule Lake center closed as a residence, marking the substantial completion of the agency’s four-year wartime job. Interior Secretary Krug and WRA Director Dillon Myer summarized the agency’s history and resettlement figures.
  • Charge Wounded Nisei Treated Like PWs As Mother Receives Son’s Medal of Honor, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mrs. Nawa Munemori received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously awarded to her son Pfc. Sadao Munemori at Fort MacArthur. The article pairs this honor with the ongoing complaints about the treatment of wounded Nisei veterans.
  • Clark Reveals Santa Fe Camp Will Be Closed, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Attorney General Tom Clark announced the Santa Fe alien enemy internment camp will close April 19, with about 700 Japanese deported to Japan. The remaining internees will be transferred to Crystal City, Texas.
  • Request Full Panel to Hear Draft Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Three judges of the Ninth Circuit ordered appeals of three Nisei charged with draft law violations to be heard by all seven justices in San Francisco. The cases raise whether Nisei held in relocation centers were subject to the draft.

Sports

  • Keo Nakama Ruled Ineligible for Swimming Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Keo Nakama, a national AAU swimming champion, was disqualified from the Hawaiian AAU championships because he is a paid physical education instructor. The ruling kept him out of the weekend competition.

Community

  • California Personnel Board Expected to Drop Charges Against Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dismissal charges filed in 1942 against Nisei California state employees are expected to be withdrawn except where subversive activity can be proved. Some 82 dismissed workers have pending damage suits represented by attorney James Purcell.
  • Snake River JACL to Study Oregon Alien Land Act, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Snake River JACL chapter appointed a committee led by Tuggy Itow to study the Oregon anti-alien land act and its application. The chapter also planned a spring dance and a membership drive.
  • Nisei Veterans Will Speak at Salt Lake Fete, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mike Masaoka and ex-sergeant Ben Kuroki will speak at a welcome-home dinner dance for returned Nisei servicemen at the Hotel Utah on March 29. The event also thanks civic and WRA officials.
  • Tulare Nisei to Work in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Miyo Izumi of Tulare is traveling to Japan on a one-year War Department assignment. The brief notes her departure as part of the growing number of Nisei civilian employees going overseas.
  • Nisei Girl in Japan Seeks Whereabouts of Parents in U.S., by P.C. Staff, page 6. Mitsuko Sakai, 20, of Clarksburg, California, has been detained in Nagasaki since 1940 and seeks news of her evacuated parents. She hopes to return to the United States.
  • WRA Secretary Given Gift, Farewell Party, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Indianapolis friends and the WRA advisory board honored departing WRA secretary Tad Kitazumi with a wrist watch and farewell party. The gathering was hosted by Mary Miyasaki.
  • Salt Lake City Bowlers Dominate Pocatello Tourney, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Salt Lake City bowlers took most honors at the Pocatello JACL Nisei bowling tournament, including men’s singles and doubles and women’s singles. The Idaho Wolves won the team division.
  • Murray Chapter Plays Host to Salt Lake JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Mount Olympus JACL chapter hosted a joint meeting with Salt Lake JACL, attended by over one hundred members. George Fujii led the program and Tom Matsumori gave the convention report.
  • Zephyrs Lead in Chicago Cage Repairs, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Zephyr basketball team took first place in the Chicago Nisei Athletic Association tournament after defeating CYO Ayes 28-26. Midseason standings and other game results were also reported.
  • Final Deadline Set by WRA on Property, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The WRA set April 1 as the final deadline for evacuees to remove goods from Los Angeles warehouses. Unclaimed property will be sold at auction and proceeds placed in trust with the Treasury.
  • State Denies Liquor Sales Rights to Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The California state board of equalization denied liquor license applications from three Japanese Americans in Los Angeles. The denials followed a recommendation from board member William Bonelli.
  • Masaoka, Kuroki Will Speak Tuesday at New York JACL Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Mike Masaoka and Ben Kuroki will address a New York JACL public meeting on unsolved problems of the West Coast evacuation. The talk covers the League’s program adopted at the Denver convention, including evacuation indemnity claims.

National

  • Evanston Group Asks Extension of Naturalization to Issei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Committee on Social Action of the First Congregational Church of Evanston asked Congress to extend naturalization rights to Issei and repeal exclusion acts. The letter cited the hardships endured by Japanese aliens and the sacrifice of their American-born sons.
  • Nisei Housed At El Segundo, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Thirty elderly or ill returned evacuees were moved from Burbank and Lomita housing projects to the El Segundo project. WRA officials said the move reflected the availability of nursing care and special diets.

Commentary

  • Segregated Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial questions the wisdom of forming separate minority veterans posts in national veterans organizations, citing Chinese, Mexican, and Negro cases. It urges Nisei to reject the Spokane VFW’s suggestion of a segregated post and notes that newer veterans groups have not proposed segregation.
  • GI Protests, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial calls the reported neglect of wounded servicemen aboard the President Hayes disgraceful and demands a thorough investigation. It argues there is no excuse for neglecting or mistreating wounded American servicemen.
  • Evacuation Reasons, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial challenges a Sacramento Bee claim that an FBI report proves evacuation was necessary. It argues most arrested Japanese were released, none were tried for treason, and no sabotage occurred in the four months after Pearl Harbor.
  • Hollywood and the Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The column observes that Hollywood has depicted Nisei mainly as villains and saboteurs and has never shown a Nisei in uniform. It cites John McManus’s suggestion for a Nisei war film and notes radio dramas by Arch Oboler and Millard Lampell as models.
  • Why I Joined the Legion, by Ben Kuroki, page 5. Ben Kuroki explains that he joined the American Legion and the American Veterans Committee to gain influence on jobs, housing, and wages. He urges Nisei veterans to join veterans groups, back the JACL, and fight discrimination from within.
  • Reflections on the Cockpit of Asia, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa recalls failed West Coast Japanese plans to introduce American-style farming into Manchuria and reflects on the region’s continued instability. He also comments on newsroom cynicism after reading a week of crime stories.

In-Depth

  • Hank Gosho Fought With Famous Merrill’s Marauders, by John Kitasako, page 5. Hank Gosho, one of fourteen Nisei who volunteered for Merrill’s Marauders, recounts the unit’s hit-and-run campaign through the Burma jungle. He describes how the campaign culminated in the capture of Myitkyina and his later work with the OWI.

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