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Feelings Mixed Among TownspeopleEDITOR'S NOTE: For the next few months the Lordsburg Liberal will publish several Bicentennial stories written by local researchers. The local research was conducted by students enrolled in Dr. Phil Cook’s “Problems in American History’’ class.By MOLLIE PRESSLER Special To The Liberal Japanese InterneesThe Japanese who were incarcerated at the LordsburgInternment CamD had beendetermined by the FederalBureau of Investigation to be sympathizers to tine cause ofJapanese Imperialism, or enemy aliens. Since Pearl Harbor, intense investigation,Suestioning, and evaluation of le Japanese had been done by the FBI. When the Japanese on the West Coast and Alaska were placed in War Relocation camps, further intensive evaluation decided the type of camp each would inhabit. The Lordsburg camp, designated as a camp for enemy aliens, received its first shiDment of internees in June, 1942.Only men were located at the Lordsburg camp. Their ages ranged from late teens to elderly, with the major portion of them being middle aged and elderly men.How did Lordsburg citizens react to having enemy aliens interned less than six miles from their town? Then, as now, reactions were mixed. Some had feelings that ran high against the Japanese, and resented them being here. There were and are those who felt such incarceration was entirely justified, since America was at war .Others questioned the internment, feeling wrong was being done to American citizens. Whatever position was taken, however, Lordsburg citizens for the most part were more tolerant toward the Japanese that were here, forit was somewhat hard to see in these mostly middle aged or elderly people any threat.The enemy aliens were delivered to Lordsburg on a special highball train from California. They were unloaded, usually in the middle of the night, at the Ulmorris siding, about two miles from camp. Here, they were received by a guard company and marched to their quarters. Reports of shootings during these marches are as follows:Internee ShotLt. E.W. Mitchell, former Intelligence Officer and Provost Marshal of the camp, recalls: “I only saw one man shot, and he broke ranks on die march from the railroad sidingto the camp and did not halt When challenged, and the guard shot him. Really not anyone’s fault, the man may not have understood English, although his buddies were cautioning him in Japanese. I think the poor old man had ust had so many calamities that he wished to be shot. I was in charge of the movement, so Col. Ledbetter, Camp Commander, and I were court mar-tialed for the incident and found not guilty. Any time a man is killed under such circumstances, there is a court martial except in theatres of war.”Another officer remembers seeing two being shot at the same time: “These two broke into a run, and a soldier called ‘Halt!’ three times. They did not, so they were shot. At first, the boy that did the shooting was hailed as a hero, and the people of Lordsburg took up a collection for him. They offered him free drinks and meals all over town. Col. Bell from the Eighth Corps Headquarters in Dallas was making an inspection here at the time, and he went out and gathered up the shells as souvenirs. He said that personally, he thought a medal should be struck for this guard, but whenhe reported back to Headquarters, he was told to arrest andWURLITZERPianosandOrgansat theHidalgo County FairSeptember 10 and 11A whole truckload of Factory FreshWURLITZER PIANOS ORGANSWill Be Available In Lordsburg4021 N. MesaEl Paso, Texas 532-1630For Your SelectionLook For The ShutesRed-White-And BlueCabooseFun For TheServing the Southwest since 1896 Whole Family$25 Discountcourt martial the man...This was done, and the man was cleared.”couponSpecialpriceLimitpianoorganCouponPurchaseShutes El Paso PianoNot every Lordsburg citizen considered these deeds to be heroic. Years later, some still remark they felt these shootings were senseless, for even if the men escaped, there was“no place for them to go,” andilthey could have easily been “rounded up” in those wide, open spaces.Once internees arrived at the camp, the custodial officer, Lt. J.F. Hughes, took charge of all property and valuables of die internees, collected and deposited all funds in the bank, and issued receipts for them.Each name and number was recorded, and each was assigned to a barracks within the compounds. Of the three compounds, only two were fully utilized during the stay of the Japanese.Mayor ElectedEach compound elected a “mayor” to represent the inmates. The “mayor” acted as spokesman for his compound, reported to the officer in charge, and spoke with representatives of the International Red Cross, the Spanish Embassy, Department of State, Department of Justice, or other such inspecting agencies.Records from the National Archives reflect these contentions. Various letters composed by these “barracks lawyers” outlining complaints were sent to the Spanish Embassy, overseer of Japanese interests in the United States. On one occasion, a mis-interpretation by these “lawyers” resulted in some prisoners’ refusing to work.Likes CampIt should be pointed out here that not all internees had diffident feelings about the camp management. In fact, dissen-tion of the type above was infrequent and isolated. A letter of appreciation was written to the Spanish Consul as follows: “We, the patients in this hospital are all satisfied and there is absolutely nothing whatsoever for us to complain of. In fact we are thankful for the kind treatment being given us, the service is very best; the food good. Doctors and nurses and Japanese nurses are all very nice to us. Colonel Baker, often visits us and when he does he would come smiling and would speak very kindwords to each of us and he wouldshake hands with elderly patients and would pat on their shoulder and backs, comforting them. His calls on us, is really a pleasure to us...When I say this, I am expressing the general sentiment existing among all my fellow patients...(signed) Uncle Fujii While the average citizen during the war did without or was rationed such items as sugar, butter, shortening, good beef, these same items were available to the internees as everyday supplies, furnished by the government.On one ocassion, the wife of Col. Sage, a longtime and respected resident ofLordsburg, visited the camp.When she saw the Japanese had cokes to drink in their canteen, she was reportedly very upset, since her husband had been taken prisoner by the Japanese overseas, and she knew no such simple luxury was afforded to him.The canteen provided for the internees contained a variety of items such as toiletry articles, cigarettes, etc.Each internee was issued canteen coupons, for which he was not required to work, and could spend them at the canteen. Any unused coupons could be put into rations savings, the same system used forenlisted men.Bonzai PrisonersOne of the most remarkable incidents which occurred during the Japanese internment was the arrival of about 50 Bonzai Japanese prisoners of war, sent by the War Department to the Lordsburg camp by mistake.These prisoners reportedlyibmarineJapanese submarine crew who had shelled Santa Barbara. They had their heads shaved, Bonzai fashion, and the internees hailed them as heroes.Put' in a separate compound,;y were very uncooperativeidand sat mute. One guard, however, made them get up early for exercise and drill. One ofthem remarked to the guard, “One day, we are going to out there (pointing outside the fence), and you are going to bein here.” Capt. Dockum refers to their stay as “one of the tense times at camp. They ran a Japanese flag up over their barracks. We managed to getthe flag down. They weren’tcuaround more than a day or two.The War Department saw its mistake and moved them out. It was tense.”Burials Capt. Dockum also described the burial procedures for deceased internees: ‘ ‘Every time a Japanese woulddie, they all wanted to be cremated. Usually, the next of kinwould be notified to send money to ship the body to Albuquerque for cremation. Then it would be sent to the family. If the family didn’t have enough money, they would take a collection to ship the body to Albuquerque, and if they did not come up with enough money, Lundy sould say, ‘Bury him!’ One time, a ceremony started, and went towards the cemetery. The boys were still collecting their canteen coupons to get enough money to ship the body. ‘Stop, stop, we’ve got enough money,’ they would say, they they’d stop the ceremony. They had their robes and noisemakers out for the procession. No, they didn’t haveenough money, so Lunday would say again, ‘Bury him!’ They did this three times that day.We were due to go over to Faye Clayton’s house, and they were trying to raise money, and this had gone on all day. We had started out to Faye’s, and there was a train derailment, and a casket had fallen out of the boxcar, I said, “Oh, my God, there he i» again! ”MORE STMS• • • ..x*xxx-x*x*x-m.\\•• •xvXXvXvXvivXvX•xvxx-x:-■ . •mmaCol. Lundy always had two or three graves dug ahead, and if money could not be raised, he deceased would be buried. Later, when enough money could be raised, the body was then disinterred and sent on toAlbuquerque.Not all burials took place with ceremony. H. Vearle Payne, former Lordsburg resident and lawyer, now Chief Judge of the United States District Court in Albuquerque, recalls: “At one time two Japanese prisoners were killed at the camp. Mr. Jack Heather embalmed them and when he went out to the camp to bury them I went along with him. When we arrived, we found thatthe soldiers had dug thegraves, but they were dug facing north and south instead of east and west. The soldiers went ahead and buried them and Jack and I returned totown.”Camp RemainsThere still remains at the campsite the graves of three Japanese, names unknown. Several years ago, the family of one of these men stopped here and placed food around the graves, according to custom. R.W. Cureton, who later came in possession of the land, purposely had concrete abutt-ments and barbed wire piled around the graves so they would not inadvertently be lowed up. The graves are ocated near the ruins of the sewer system, part of which is still in use.Also still remaining at the camp is a concrete slab upon which the official seal of the United States has been fashioned in inlaid native rocks. It is said that the Japanese internees made this while at the camp. They are remembered as being very good at making things from concrete - bird baths, drinking fountains, statues, wishing wells, and other formations which one might see in a typical Japanese garden.Some of their handcrafts were put on display at the camp in October of 1942, and the public was invited to see them. One officer reviewed the exhibit in the “Lordsburg Internment Camp News”:‘ ‘The display consisted of wood carvings, paintings, stone pol-E• »•••«•• • •11. V.V.%^v.v.wiipINDIANWlAtt• • •. •sumwv.v.V.'.y.ymmmmmamiiii!^VXXvXvX-X X-XvXyXyNEW MEXICOmill......• •■ •■••■I ••••• ••:y;v:y.v.y^.v.y.v.\v.,.vX,XvXyX:-lt;x.x.nx*x*x*x-x-x*x-:-x- x*XyX|pr.*X:• • • • •SEPT. 15ishing and various unique and unusual items made from cactus plants, sagebrush roots and scrap matenals of all types; the entire display was constructed from non-essential materials. I have often noticed twisted roots of various trees and brushes, but to me they never reminded me of anythinguntil I viewed this display. The removal of a knot here and die addition of an eye there makes some of the most grotesque birds and snakes from these gnarled roots. The addition of a bit of polish or a daub of paint bings about a result that will make you recoil from the viewof a realistic snake that never lived.”Boring LifeJust as it did for the enlisted men, the routine of camp life proved to be boring forthe internees. One attempt at breaking the monotony is remembered here: “The internees in the compounds would be bored, and the guards in the towers would be bored. The internees were not allowed to get near than ten feet from the fence, but one day, an internee went up to the fence. He was told to get off. He ignored the order and leaned on the fence. The guard put abullet through the fence post,and the internee took off.”Another out of the ordinary occurrence took place: “We had one boy that was a Pfc. He was down in the guard companies, and the internees were at the PX. All at once, the Pfc. jumped on an internee when hecame out of the canteen and started stabbing him. We didn’t know what made him do it. Maybe he had a relative, a brother or someone, who had been captured by the Japanese or killed in the war at Bataan or something. But he just snapped. Nothing was ever done to him.”The majority of the time, things at the camp were more relaxed. Together day in and day out, the internees and the enlisted men came to know each other intimately. Lt. E.W. Mitchell of Roswell, reports he continued to receive letters and cards from former internees until a couple of years ago, a span of about 30 years. This is one example of the comradery and high esteem which existed betweenmen on different sides of the fences.Trust was there, too. BurkeStiles, who was employed durif the camping construction recalls seeing a guard hand his gun to an internee while the guard climbed into a wagon. After the guard was seated, the internee handed the gun back to him.There was also laughing and joking among the men.The latest camp joke is the one about the Internee who called the Officer of the day to tell him there was a guard mis-sing.How could a certain Sgt. weighing over a ton get a prior-ity on lumber to have his wooden clogs made (by an internee)? An Internee asked that certain Sgt. if he couldborrow the clogs in case he repatriated. “If boat is sunk,I’ll still be safe.”Holidays Celebration of the holiday season was a special occasion for die internees, as well as theenlisted men.Three hundred Christian Japanese celebrated Christmas in Compound No. 3 under the direction of Paul Osomi, protestant minister. The typical Christmas program with _ « • . • ___Lt. E.W. Mitchell sunmarizes 1942-1943, die year lt;the internees.“All in all, I feel that th camp was handled in humane way, in accordanc with the Treaty of Geneva rei ulating treatment of POW’s l confinement. These internee were well fed, had good med cal attention, had an opportui ity to work to make pin monej and were looked after quilan exchange of gifts was given.' ffiip to me to makdiAt tne same and enlisted men were celebrating the New Year 1943, the Japanese in true Oriental style were welcoming the year 2603. The internees performed asam • • DI • SGeisha girls and other Japanese characters in their LionIgment as I wi a soldier and did what I wi ordered to do.As we later learned, the camp at Lordsburg wi Paradise as compared vis a v to the Japanese camps for oimen.dance. Perhaps this is the most _unusual New Year’s program |Q UDCIlcelebrated in any one spot in the entire state of New Mexico.Both Christian and oriental celebrations took place on the same date within approximately the same area.The internees probably wel-Practicecorned the activity of growingelca garden, but welcomed evenmore the opportunity to benreunited with their families camps with family typeapartments were completed in Idaho and Crystal City, Texas.summer of 1943 internees of Lordsburg were all relocated at these and othercamps.Dr. Edward Reisman wi! open his practice in temporar facilities in the Walter Chiroj ractic Center at 7th am Pyramid Streets, on Tuesdaj September 7 at 8:30 a.m. Di Charles Walter is moving hi office out of town.Dr. Reisman’s office will b located at this address until th County’s Medical Clinic i available the middle o October.Why do more doctorsthan ever beforerecommend Myadec?$598Myadec is a high-potency vitamin formula with minerals. In fact, Myadec contains 9 important vitamins and 6 minerals—an ideal formulation for active.ic^lt;5.•iiSpeople on the go. That’s why physicians and pharmacists recommend Myadec more than ever before. If you want a high-potency vitamin formula with minerals—recommended by many doctors and pharmacists—stop in today and buy some Myadec capsules or easy-to-take tablets.NewStore9-6 Monday thru SaturdayHoursWe Will No Longer Be Open Thursday Evenings.Superamqs/MEN'S KNIT PANTSReg.♦20.00$1200Reg.FAMOUS BRAND18.00Ml00Reg.$10°°Reg.$000LEISURECOATS
Newspaper Details
Lordsburg Liberal
Lordsburg, New Mexico, US
Fri, Sep 03, 1976
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USA 01 Jul 2019
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