December 1943: Nisei casualties in Italy and the fight over the WRA

Vol. 17, No. 24, December 18, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

Word from the Italian front opened the issue: the War Department named two Japanese American soldiers killed and 33 wounded, believed to be part of the toll sustained by the 100th Infantry Battalion. Another front-page story reported that the Arizona Supreme Court had unanimously struck down the state’s wartime business law aimed at evacuees. Inside, the debate over the War Relocation Authority ran through the news and the editorials. Attorney General Francis Biddle told the Dies subcommittee the WRA had no legal right to intern American citizens, while Gov. Earl Warren and a group of West Coast congressmen attacked the agency and Dillon Myer. Larry Tajiri wrote on compensation for evacuation losses.

Other pages carried Bill Hosokawa’s column on answering hate-mongers, Saburo Kido on District Attorney Howser’s claims, and Grant Muchioka on the cost of disunity. Readers will also find a resolution from San Diego clergymen, a letter from Episcopal bishops backing Biddle, the closing of the Leupp camp in Arizona, and a page of soup recipes.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• War Department Announces Names of 2 Killed, 33 Hurt Among Nisei Troops in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department listed two Japanese American soldiers killed and dozens wounded in recent combat in Italy with the 100th Infantry Battalion. Casualty lists identified the men and their next-of-kin in Hawaii.
• Nisei Seaman Meets Hundredth Infantry, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Merchant seaman Chester Sumida from Manzanar met former Hawaiian friends of the 100th Infantry in North Africa. He described wartime experiences in the Mediterranean before returning to the United States.
• Nisei Seaman Helps Donate War Souvenir to Columnist, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Merchant seamen of the SS Joseph Leidy, including Japanese American John Saito, presented Westbrook Pegler with a plaque from a torpedoed ship. The gift answered Pegler’s earlier attacks on the National Maritime Union.
• Soldier in Italy Writes to Nisei at Camp Shelby, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A soldier with the 100th Infantry wrote to Pvt. Charles Arakaki at Camp Shelby describing the unit’s battles in Italy. He reported the unit had never lost a battle and sent regards to the trainees.
• Benefit Payments Assured Nisei Army Volunteers in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Recruiting officers in Hawaii told young Japanese Americans with family obligations that the new benefit pay scale covers dependents. The assurance was meant to encourage volunteering.
• Three Japanese Americans Inducted Into Women’s Army, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Iris Watanabe of Santa Cruz became the first evacuee sworn into the Women’s Army Corps in a Denver ceremony. Two other Japanese American women from Colorado were sworn in with her.
• Tule Lake Parents Learn Son Killed in Italy Action, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Hidoka family, recently moved to the Tule Lake segregation center, learned their son Pvt. Eiji Hidoka died in Italy from wounds. The War Department notified them of his death.
• Private Fukugawa Killed in Action in Italy Nov. 6, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pvt. Masami Fukugawa of Honolulu was killed in action in Italy, according to word received by his uncle. He had been an electrical foreman before induction.

National

• State Supreme Court Ruling Affirms Lower Tribunal in Japanese American Case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously declared the state’s wartime anti-evacuee business law unconstitutional. The ruling affirmed a Maricopa County decision in the Ikeda case.
• Nisei Buddhists Hope for Victory Against Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Buddhist evacuees at the Gila River center gathered on Pearl Harbor day to pledge loyalty to the United States. They expressed hope for Allied victory against Germany and Japan.
• West Coast Congressmen Ask Ouster of Dillon Myer, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A special committee of West Coast congressmen sought the removal of WRA director Dillon Myer. The request reflected frustration with the handling of relocation and the Tule Lake situation.
• Idaho Official Doubts Rumor About Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Idaho liquor dispensary superintendent L. W. Rawson said rumors of evacuees buying large amounts of whiskey were unfounded. Sales records showed Japanese buyers accounted for only three or four percent of purchases.
• WRA Closes Leupp Isolation Camp in Arizona, by P.C. Staff, page 3. WRA director Dillon Myer announced the Leupp, Arizona detention camp would close and inmates would move to Tule Lake. He said the facility was no longer needed.
• Californians Hit Army Policy on Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A California State Senate committee protested the army’s alleged permitting of Japanese Americans to return to the Pacific coast. The committee warned such policy would lead to violence and sabotage.
• Gov. Warren Wants Action on Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Governor Earl Warren branded the War Relocation Authority wholly incompetent in handling the Japanese problem. He spoke before the American Legion executive committee in San Francisco.
• Gen. Emmons Declares Army Policy Unchanged Regarding Return of Evacuees to Coast, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Lt. Gen. Delos Emmons said the army’s exclusion policy has not changed and only sixteen mixed-blood or mixed-marriage cases were admitted recently. He denied rumors of wholesale return to the coast.
• Episcopal Bishops Back Biddle’s Stand on Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Eleven Protestant Episcopal bishops wrote to Attorney General Biddle praising his defense of Japanese American citizens’ rights. They urged churches to vindicate the liberties the nation is fighting for.
• Biddle Tells Dies Group WRA’s Role in Relocation Misunderstood, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Attorney General Francis Biddle told the Dies subcommittee the WRA has no legal right to intern American citizens. He said the agency’s authority rests on social service and expressed doubt the courts would uphold holding citizens without charges.

Community

• Utah Governor Lauds Evacuee Farm Workers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Gov. Herbert B. Maw praised Japanese American volunteer farm workers from relocation centers at the opening of a labor camp in Orem. He thanked them for helping solve Utah’s farm labor shortage.
• Story of Nisei Evacuee Is Principal of Little Iowa High School, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Patrick Noda, a 23-year-old Nisei, was hired as principal of Galt High School in Iowa after disclosing his ancestry. The superintendent said the board’s decision was a wise one.
• Nisei Minister Arrives in Denver, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Rev. Junichi Fujimori arrived in Denver with his family to take over ministerial duties at a Nisei congregation. He came from Manzanar and is a University of California graduate.
• Not One Japanese American Found Illegally in Evacuated Zone, Says L.A. Sheriff, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Capt. George Contreras reported that every Japanese American found in the Los Angeles evacuated zone held proper army permits. Most were wives of non-Japanese husbands whose loyalty was verified.
• San Diego Clergymen Affirm Faith in Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The San Diego County Ministerial Association unanimously passed a resolution affirming the good citizenship of Japanese Americans. It called for racial and religious freedom and opposed restrictions on movement.

Commentary

• Losses in Evacuation, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial welcomes Judge William Denman’s call for Congressional compensation for evacuation losses estimated at $400,000,000. It argues that restitution is deserved and urges Congress to act fairly.
• The Role of the WRA, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial notes Attorney General Biddle’s testimony that the WRA is a social service agency without authority to hold citizens. It criticizes press and politicians who misrepresent the agency’s role.
• The Gannon Committee, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes the California Assembly Gannon committee for browbeating witnesses at its Los Angeles hearings. It says the committee disqualified itself through conduct unbecoming a legislative inquiry.
• Hearst’s Yellow Perils, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial contrasts the vicious portrayals of Japanese Americans in Hearst papers with the real contributions of Nisei soldiers, workers and seamen. It argues the press has misidentified who the supposed threats are.
• Race Tensions in Arizona, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial traces the 1934 Salt River Valley anti-Japanese demonstrations and the 1943 Arizona business law as economically motivated race baiting. It warns against renewed extralegal action and criticizes Governor Osborne.
• Mr. Tojo of Japan, by Larry Tajiri, page 5. Larry Tajiri’s column in the Nisei USA section addresses the cartoon themes of the period. It comments on how Japanese Americans are portrayed in wartime American media.
• The Los Angeles Times And the Hate Campaign Against Japanese Americans, by Westwood Hills Press, page 5. Reprinting a Westwood Hills Press editorial, the piece critiques the Los Angeles Times’ loaded questionnaire on Japanese Americans. It catalogs unsupported sabotage stories and inflammatory headlines the paper ran.
• From the Frying Pan: How Effective Is Back Talk to Hate-Mongers?, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa questions whether rebuttals to organized anti-Japanese agitators have any effect. He presents a letter from an unnamed writer advising patience and letting the natural reaction come.
• Japanese Americans Can Ill Afford to Be Disunited, by Grant Muchioka, page 6. The column uses the Trojan horse and Maginot Line as analogies for how enemy propaganda divides Americans. It urges Japanese Americans to avoid suspicion and infighting, including attacks on the JACL.
• Better Soups Can Be Made at Home, by P.C. Staff, page 6. This column offers home recipes for onion, vegetable, corn-potato, oyster and fish soups. It argues homemade soup is better and more economical than commercial varieties.
• Timely Topics: Mr. Howser and Murder Threats, by Saburo Kido, page 6. Kido examines Los Angeles District Attorney Howser’s claim of veterans’ murder threats against returning Japanese Americans. He cites California Penal Code sections on security to keep the peace and says Howser has legal remedies he is ignoring.

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