Volunteers for the Army combat team: March 25, 1943

Vol. 16, No. 12, March 25, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

Japanese American volunteers for a new Army combat team were the main news of this eight-page issue. Secretary of War Henry Stimson said that more than one thousand men from the relocation centers had volunteered, and a War Department letter congratulated Mrs. Misa Sakura on her four sons from Minidoka. Inside are reports on volunteers at Poston, Topaz, Granada and Gila River, Hawaii’s raised quota, and Mike Masaoka’s eastern tour before induction. Editorials took up the combat unit, segregation and the California American Legion.

Columns by Bill Hosokawa, Fred Fertig, Robert Tsuda and Ann Nisei looked at fair play, loyalty and the question of leaving the centers. The issue also followed the WRA’s job offices, farm labor needs, housing shortages for resettlement, Senate visits to the centers, and a JACL friend-of-court brief in a Los Angeles evacuee property case.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• War Secretary Cites Figures on Army Unit; Sends Congratulations to Mother of Four Minidoka Volunteers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Secretary of War Stimson reported that more than one thousand Japanese Americans from the relocation centers volunteered for the new AJA combat team. A War Department letter congratulated Mrs. Misa Sakura on her four sons who enlisted.
• Masaoka Leaves Salt Lake City on Eastern Tour, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL national secretary Mike Masaoka, awaiting induction into the special combat team, departed on an eastern tour with his new bride. The couple planned stops in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Washington.
• U.S. Army Seeks Buddhist Chaplain for Combat Team, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department is seeking a Buddhist chaplain for the new Japanese American combat team being activated at Camp Shelby. Sources noted that a percentage of volunteers practice Buddhism.
• Hawaii Inducts Volunteers for Army Service, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The first Hawaiian volunteers for the AJA combat team were inducted on Kauai and sent to Schofield Barracks. Hawaii’s quota was raised from 1,500 to 2,600 after more than 10,000 volunteered.
• 233 in Poston Volunteer for Combat Team, by P.C. Staff, page 1. 233 evacuees at the Poston center volunteered for combat duty, a figure disclosed through registration of residents over 16. Project official Ralph Gelvin said an overwhelming majority registered loyalty to the United States.
• Nisei Volunteers Get Plane Trip Into Phoenix, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Four Poston volunteers were flown to Phoenix by Army transport as recognition of their patriotism. They spent a few days sightseeing before the official recruiting team arrived.
• Volunteers Outside Centers Urged to Check on Papers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Nisei volunteers living outside the relocation centers were advised to confirm with local draft boards that their papers were sent to Washington. Induction was expected to begin around late March or early April.
• Nisei Soldiers in Training, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Photo caption describing two Japanese American soldiers of the 100th Infantry Battalion firing a trench mortar during maneuvers. The photo is credited to the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
• 124 Granadans Await Induction Into Special Army Combat Unit, by P.C. Staff, page 2. 143 Granada center residents enlisted in the Army, with 124 about to begin training in the new combat unit. The enlistees include married men, college graduates and members of the fire department.
• ‘Volunteer for Victory’ Group Formed at Topaz by Inductees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. 104 Topaz residents volunteered for the combat team, about seven percent of eligible men. The volunteers formed a Volunteers for Victory group and adopted a credo to work for civil rights.
• Gila River Center Fetes 100 Volunteers, by P.C. Staff, page 2. War Department officials reported approvals for Japanese American volunteers from the relocation centers, with Gila River residents holding a farewell party for 100 men. Men will train at Camp Shelby after reception center processing.
• Nisei Girls Seek Enlistments in Women’s Army Corps, by P.C. Staff, page 2. WAAC recruiters visiting relocation centers found strong interest among nisei women, particularly at Heart Mountain. Hawaiian girls of Japanese ancestry also petitioned to join the Women’s Army Corps.
• Nisei Lieutenant Ordered to Report, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Second Lieutenant Kiyoshi Kitagawa, an infantry reserve officer employed at Poston, received orders to report for active duty once his WRA leave clearance is secured.
• Nisei, Once High-Ranking Boy Scout, Joins New Army Unit, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Harry Osaki of Fresno, a former leading Boy Scout who earned 103 merit badges, volunteered for the combat unit from Gila River. He was a Washington State college athlete and hopes his scouting skills will serve him in the army.
• Capt. Kinoshita Leaves WRA Center For Military Duty, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Captain Robert Kinoshita of the Army medical reserve left Heart Mountain to report to a medical training center at Carlisle Barracks. He had been an active member of the center’s medical staff and community organizations.
• Hunt Crew Will Help to Fight Fires on Range, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A volunteer crew of fifty young men from the Minidoka center is being organized to fight forest and range fires under Forest Service and Grazing Service direction. Training will begin March 29 to prepare for fire calls.

Incarceration & Redress

• JACL Files Brief in Oshiro Evacuee Property Test Case in L.A. as Friend of Court, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL filed an amicus curiae brief in a Los Angeles appeal concerning an evacuee’s liability on a hotel lease. The brief argues that the doctrine of frustration of purpose should excuse performance because of evacuation.

Community

• Nisei Problems Discussed at N.Y. Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A New York forum on March 17 featured Isamu Noguchi and Eddie Shimano discussing the problems of Japanese Americans. More than 100 people attended the program sponsored by the Common Council for American Unity.
• WRA Report Discloses Only 150 Pieces of Machinery Unused on West Coast Farms, by P.C. Staff, page 2. WRA Evacuee Property Office chief Russell Robinson stated only 150 pieces of farm machinery owned by evacuees remain idle, with all other equipment sold or leased. He said WRA handles private property rights through county war boards.
• Salinas Group Hears 500 Farm Machines Stored; Finds Five, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Salinas Chamber of Commerce rumor of 500 idle Japanese-owned farm machines was disproved when a War Production Board check found only five idle pieces. The chamber now asks where the rest supposedly are.
• Bay Area Group Hits Storage of Evacuee Goods at River Ports, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Bay Area Maritime Committee recommended that Sacramento and Stockton port facilities be used for loading rather than storing evacuee property. The committee said storage interfered with freight transfer from rail to river barges.
• Poston’s Camouflage Net Project Completes First Month’s Work, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Workers at the Poston camouflage net plants earned $15,817 in February, with $5,534.78 routed to the dividend fund. About 400 workers are now employed across units with a new plant opening.
• School Masters To Meet at Hunt, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The South Idaho school masters club will hold its regular meeting at the Minidoka center, with a tour of the facility followed by business. Richard Pomeroy will arrange the meeting.
• WRA Opens Milwaukee Office to Carry on Resettlement Program, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Milwaukee office of the War Relocation Authority opened to handle release of Japanese Americans to Wisconsin jobs, with another planned for Madison. Director Victor Tabaka said releases required loyalty clearance and definite jobs.
• WRA Opens New Salt Lake Office to Spur Employment, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The WRA employment office moved from San Francisco to Salt Lake City, headed by H. Rex Lee, to help western employers hire evacuees. Nine branch offices are planned for other cities in the region.
• Nisei Jiu-Jitsu Instructor Proves Value of Defense Art, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Masato Tamura, a nisei jiu-jitsu instructor, defeated a 205-pound professional wrestler in a Chicago exhibition match. The demonstration was staged to show the value of jiu-jitsu for military hand-to-hand combat.
• Housing Shortage Hinders Resettlement Program, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Lack of adequate housing is a major bottleneck in the evacuee resettlement program, with Quaker hostels providing limited relief. The article notes Denver’s residential restrictions are pushing evacuees into concentrated areas.
• Soldier Weds Ogden Girl in Mormon Ceremony, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Sergeant Sadao Takahashi married an Ogden woman in a Latter Day Saints ceremony performed by Elder Robert Richards. The couple was attended by friends from the military and the Salt Lake area.
• Nisei Loyalty Told By JACL Speaker at Weiser Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Masa Mukai, chairman of the public relations committee of the Boise Valley JACL, spoke to the Weiser Commercial Club on nisei loyalty. He described local efforts to supply farm labor and the Japanese American combat team.
• Hunt Will Raise Own Vegetables, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A five-mile irrigation lateral will be built to bring water from the Milner-Gooding canal to the Minidoka center. Workers from the center will handle other canal work so the camp can grow its own vegetables.
• Heart Mountain Pushes Work On Vigorous Agricultural Plan, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Heart Mountain is developing a farm program with over 1,000 acres being cleared for cultivation to make the center self-sustaining in vegetables. Donations of hogs, poultry and beans from local Japanese farmers are supporting the effort.
• Utah Tuberculosis Group to Cooperate With Topaz Medics, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Utah Tuberculosis Association will work with Topaz medical director Dr. Donnell Boardman on a preventive health education program. The center lacks surgical facilities for tuberculosis patients, making prevention especially important.
• Heart Mountain Band To Make Weekly Radio Broadcast, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Alfred Tanaka Surf Riders Hawaiian band will broadcast weekly over Powell station KPOW after a successful Red Cross benefit. The program follows an invitation from the station operator.
• Problems Faced by WRA in Relocating Evacuees Told in Christian Science Monitor, by Dorothea Kahn, page 7. A Christian Science Monitor article describes the WRA Chicago office’s effort to place loyal evacuees in Midwest jobs. Officials believe dispersal will help integrate Japanese Americans, though local prejudice remains an obstacle.
• Townspeople Give Plants to Hunt, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Twin Falls residents donated bulbs, shrubs and flower seeds to the Minidoka center to beautify the new town site. Donors were asked to tag their gifts with plant variety and donor name.
• Senator Chandler May Revive Issue of Control of Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Senator Chandler’s return from inspecting centers may bring renewed debate over whether the army or civilians should manage relocation camps. The War Department reportedly is not interested in taking over control.
• Senate Committee Official Holds Hearing at Poston, by P.C. Staff, page 8. George Malone, consultant to Senator Chandler’s subcommittee, held a hearing at Poston on the Wallgren-Holman bill. He said the bill aims to focus public attention on the postwar relocation problem rather than transfer the centers to the Army.
• Fifty Topaz Evacuees Leave for Farm Work, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Fifty Topaz residents left the center to work on farms in Nevada, Midvale and the Spanish Fork and Provo areas. The workers are harvesting carrots and cultivating food-for-victory crops.
• Idaho Farmers Will Use Evacuee Workers, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Gooding area farmers were informed they can again obtain evacuee labor from the Minidoka center if adequate housing is provided. The arrangement depends on housing availability.
• West Jordan Farmers Seek Evacuee Help, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Seventeen West Jordan farmers created a farm workers’ center in a boarding house, which has attracted fourteen workers from Topaz. The workers will help with farm chores and sugar beet and truck gardening work.

National

• Two Thousand Alien Japanese Interned By U.S., by P.C. Staff, page 2. Attorney General Biddle reported that 2,100 alien Japanese picked up since Pearl Harbor have been ordered interned for the duration. Total alien enemy internments of all nationalities stood at 4,163.
• Wallgren Will Support Move on Segregation, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Senator Mon Wallgren said after visiting Tule Lake that he favors segregating disloyal evacuees and reducing camp size. He argued that loyal evacuees should be given a chance to work.
• Rundquist Visits WRA Centers in Arkansas, by P.C. Staff, page 2. George Rundquist of the Committee on Resettlement began a tour of relocation centers to promote individual resettlement outside the WRA projects. His itinerary included Jerome, Rohwer and several other centers through late April.
• WRA Launches Drive for Jobs Outside Centers, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The WRA employment division established main relocation offices in Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, Chicago and Cleveland to place evacuees in jobs. Each office will serve a designated multi-state region.
• Ten From Tule Lake To Be Relocated Monthly Under Plan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Ten evacuees per month from Tule Lake will be accepted at a Chicago hostel sponsored by the Church of Brethren. Residents pay a dollar a day until they find work, then $12 weekly until they find housing.
• Jewish Americans Oppose Bill To Return Centers to Military, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Los Angeles Jewish Peace Fellowship wrote Senator Reynolds opposing a bill to return the relocation centers to Army control. The letter argued that restrictive methods toward a minority harm democratic problem-solving.
• Nisei Character Proves Hero in Comic Magazine, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A nisei boy named Nikki Fuji is the hero of a comic serial in Four Favorites, in which he helps foil sabotage in Los Angeles. The story portrays him as a typical American youngster.
• Iron Mine Retrieved From Japanese Owner in New Jersey, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Iron mines in Paterson, New Jersey, once owned by Japanese financier Baron Heitaro Fujita, were placed in the hands of the alien property custodian. The mines had supplied ore for American cannons in four wars.
• Evacuees Will Provide Supply of Labor for Western Farms, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Evacuee workers from WRA centers are expected to again help harvest sugar beets in the West this year. The program places responsibility for labor with the U.S. Employment Service, with a higher contract price for growers.
• Drawing by Evacuee Artist Shown at S.F. Art Museum, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A drawing titled On Guard by Mine Okubo, a Topaz resident and former Bay Area artist, is included in a San Francisco Museum of Art exhibition. Okubo is also the art editor of the Topaz publication Trek.
• California Will Make Inventory Of Equipment, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The California state department of agriculture began inventorying farm machinery owned by evacuees to release it to farmers. Federal officials had so far denied local agencies the right to obtain the machinery.

Commentary

• Great Opposition Developing Against Oregon’s Senate Move To Deport Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Oregon Statesman reported growing opposition to a memorial calling for deportation of persons of Japanese ancestry after the war. The paper argued that the measure was a Nazi-style approach that should not be adopted.
• Notes on Segregation, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial endorses separating disloyal from loyal evacuees while warning against mechanical or mass determinations of disloyalty. It urges that cleared evacuees be granted full rights including freedom of movement and the right to serve.
• Hawaiians Respond to Army Call, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises the response of Hawaiians of Japanese ancestry, with 40 percent of eligible males volunteering for combat duty. It notes this refutes the earlier Balch plan for evacuation from Hawaii.
• Hawaii Uses the Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial quotes a Honolulu Star-Bulletin piece explaining why Japanese ancestry clerical workers are employed in Hawaii. It notes such hiring follows civil service rules and reflects proven ability.
• Newspapers in Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial commends center newspapers for their complete and supportive coverage of the nisei volunteer combat unit. It notes their editors reach every home in the camps and wield influence.
• The Un-American Legion, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns the California American Legion for campaigning for detention and deportation of Japanese Americans. It traces the Legion’s history as a corporate-backed organization hostile to civil liberties and labor.
• Fair Play, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa argues that race-baiting groups in California represent only a small segment of the population. He points to the broad community leaders in the Pacific Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play as more representative.
• Some Notes for the Nisei, by Fred Fertig, page 5. Fertig distinguishes between militarist Japan and the liberal Japan of the 1920s, and between American racialism and American democracy. He argues Japanese Americans can remain loyal to America while rejecting militarism.
• War on Rumors, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Center papers continued to debunk rumors, including one about a shipment of crutches and wheelchairs that was found to be false at Poston and Denson. The item notes the rumor was spreading to other centers.
• Race-Baiters Comprise Small Segment of California Population, by Robert Tsuda, page 5. Tsuda argues that the vocal race-baiting groups in California are outnumbered by respected educators, ministers and community workers. He warns that the majority should not be mistaken for the loud minority.
• How War Came, by Robert R. Tsuda, page 5. Tsuda reviews the book How War Came by Forrest Davis and Ernest Lindley, which explains the Roosevelt administration’s approach to war before Pearl Harbor. He notes the book presents the administration’s view of events.
• Nisei Says: Question of the Hour: Shall I Leave the Center?, by Ann Nisei, page 5. The columnist encourages evacuees to consider leaving the centers for relocation despite fears of hostility. She advises against carrying a chip on the shoulder and urges readers to focus on building their lives.
• Senators Move Toward International Cooperation, by Peter Wood, page 6. A bipartisan Senate resolution would guarantee American participation in post-war relief and prevention of aggression. Wood argues the American people must accept that power carries moral responsibility in world affairs.
• Dual Citizen Status Proven to Be a Myth, by Otto K. Isensee, page 6. Isensee writes that his wife discovered there is no legal concept of dual citizenship, a myth that had helped justify evacuation. He asks the paper to acknowledge the finding to help address evacuee problems.

JACL

• National JACL Official Speaks in Colorado, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Joe Grant Masaoka spoke to the Longmont Rotary Club, calling the evacuation a violation of American liberty. He argued that Asian peoples resisting aggression are watching how America treats the evacuees.
• Awakened Political Consciousness Urged, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Joe Masaoka urged Japanese Americans in Longmont to develop political awareness and recognize the threats to them. The meeting with about forty local residents ran until nearly midnight.

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