On December 7, 1941, Ben Kuroki listened in horror to the announcement that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor without warning or a declaration of war. Like millions of other American sons and daughters, this second generation American son of immigrant parents went with his brother Fred to the local recruiting office to enlist. The distinguishing difference was that Ben was Nisei, an American born child of Japanese parents. And Ben was ashamed that the Japanese had viciously attacked his country. Ben’s reaction reflected the attitude of the majority of Issei (non-citizen Japanese immigrants) and Nisei (second generation Japanese-American citizens). Eager to prove their loyalty, they enlisted in droves. Still, as a result of President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 1066, Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast were rounded up and forcibly moved to “relocation centers,” leaving their property and businesses behind. In relocation centers, like Heart Mountain, Japanese American dissenter activists struggled to regain their civil rights. Both the soldiers and dissenters wished to improve their status under the law and gain majority America’s respect for their racial and cultural heritage. In battle, the soldiers proved their loyalty in combat, earned trust and gained respect while the civilian dissenters were (unfairly) viewed as disloyal, untrustworthy and unpatriotic. A comparison of the two groups during and immediately after World War II American suggests that the soldiers succeeded, while the dissenters appeared to have failed: however, in retrospect, the dissenters succeeded on a different level that was not appreciated until decades later.
Japanese Americans who immediately enlisted in the armed services had the opportunity to prove themselves straightaway, while those on the West Coast (who were interned under the presupposition of disloyalty), fought for their civil liberties in court. During the first two years of the war, soldiers like Ben Kuroki were trained and eagerly sought action in the European theatre. Not so the internees. While the Nisei soldiers were fighting overseas, the internee dissenters were fighting for their constitutional rights. In Hirabyashi vs. the United States, Supreme Court Justice Stone held that racial discrimination was justified since "in time of war residents having ethnic affiliations with an invading enemy may be a greater source of danger than those of a different ancestry."1 Korematsu vs. The United States tested the constitutionality of Executive Order 1066, giving the government the right to exclude individuals of a particular race from areas critical to national defense. Korematsu lost. These quiet battles were being fought in the courts while military battles were being fought by Nisei in the European front. American sentiments were more inspired by wins on the battlefield than legal battles that spotlighted civil disobedience.
During their time in the field Nisei soldiers gained the trust of their comrades in arms through the shared suffering of war while dissenters were looked upon with mistrust and suspicion. The highly regarded 442nd Infantry Regiment, composed primarily of Japanese Americans, fought with distinction in Italy, Southern France and Germany. Many of the Japanese American troops had families who had lost their homes and businesses and were crowded into cold, poorly built internment camps in desolate parts of the country. In spite of these tribulations, Nisei soldiers were determined to fight for their country and the 442nd went on to become one of the most highly decorated regiments in the United States Armed Forces. In contrast, the dissenters resisted the draft on principle. They believed that they should not be asked to fight for the rights of others while being denied those same rights themselves. Other dissenters refused to sign a loyalty agreement. Frank Emi was a dissenter at Heart Mountain who “never had an allegiance to Japan, so how could he renounce such an allegiance?”2 Mr. Emi and his cohorts in the Fair Play Committee (“FPC”) viewed their acts as patriotic because they were attempting to challenge what they held as unconstitutional laws.3 The FPC leaders were convicted of conspiracy to help draft evaders, but their sentences were appealed and overturned in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Soldiers like Ben Kuroki won the respect of military and civilians alike while dissenters were accused of being unpatriotic for refusing to register for the draft. Mr. Kuroki flew thirty combat missions in the European theatre. His record was such that Secretary of War Henry Stimson overlooked the policy against allowing Japanese American to fight in the Pacific and allowed him to transfer to the 484th Squadron. By the end of the war he had flown fifty-eight combat missions. Because of his record, the Air Force asked him to travel to various relocation centers in the United States to urge internees to volunteer for military service. At the Heart Mountain center Mr. Kuroki spoke to the internees, encouraging them to enlist. While he was received as a hero by the children, many Issei adults were cold to him, offended by his “American ways.”4 The meetings between Kuroki and the draft resisters were tense and members of the FPC wanted to “beat him up.”5 The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) was wildly opposed to the FPC for putting Japanese American loyalty and patriotism at risk. In spite of draft resistance efforts, over 700 eligible Nisei at Heart Mountain registered for the draft. The incidents like those between FPC members and Mr. Kuroki showed dissenters in a bad light.
While the dissenters’ efforts to gain respect and rights under the law may have failed at the time of World War II, perception of the dissenters has changed and their efforts are now appreciated along with those of the Nisei soldiers. During and after the war the dissenters at Heart Mountain and other relocation camps were dismissed as “draft dodgers,” “pro-Japan,” and “traitors.”6 But heroism takes many forms. Today it is recognized that the dissenters fought racism through court action and civil disobedience and were willing to go to jail for their beliefs. There was no cowardice there, but a shared bitterness of poor treatment at the hands of state and federal government7 and determination to fight for their rights as Americans. In 1988, President Ronald Regan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that: (1) formally apologized to the Japanese Americans who were interred in World War two; (2) provided for a token restitution of $20,000 for each affected family; (3) acknowledged the injustice of the evacuation; and (4) provided for funds to educate the public about the internment to prevent a recurrance.8 The soldiers always were and remain heroes to this day. Ben Kuroki, soldier and hero, became a journalist after the war and an advocate for racial equality. He experienced first-hand poor treatment because of his race and “had to fight like hell for the right to fight for [his] country.”9 World War II was fought to defend democracy and defeat tyranny. Japanese Americans fought a two front war, abroad and at home; and through their dignity, honor and patriotism, won both.
Notes and footnotes:
1. (Gordon Hirabyashi was a University of Washington student for was arrested for a curfew violation; it is believed that he deliberately broke the law to test its constitutionality.)
3. Ibid.
4. http://www.pbs.org/itvs/conscience/resources/for_teachers/college_guide.pdf
6. http://www.pbs.org/itvs/conscience/resources/for_teachers/college_guide.pdf
7. (primarily by the State of California, with Washington and Oregon not far behind)
8. http://www.civics-online.org/library/formatted/texts/civilact1988.html
9. http://www.netnebraska.org/about/pdfs/062807_01.pdf
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