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TRIPES* 'Puerto Rican GIs On OahuIncensed Over Dock Roles(Follow in* pabllrrttlon lit Fnrrfo RIlt;o, and later In l.\ S. nrw M»jtperK. of ffiarfffi that •*.la|»* and Vnitkren had mUtreated Puerto Kioto noiriter*' *a Hawaiian doefca, the Jhar* and Strl|»e« wen* a reporter to Investigate.— urr#hU findings.) *By T/4 GORDON DAVISStar* and Ktripen Stuff WriterTo bring morale to the Puerto Rican troops on Oahu you’re going to have to lower it by rope—they’re that far down.Back on their Caribbean island the newspaper “El Impartial” recently screamed in a headline, “Japs and Yankees Mistreat Puerto Hicans on Hawaiian Docks!”-^30 discharged Puerto Ricans had —-j“talked” and the stateside paperslistened.2 Honolulu AreasHere’s the story behind thatheadline, compiled after talking to HI J Aff ¥ • *. the Puerto Ricans stationed atr laced Uti Limits Wahiawa their officers-and impartial observers. It’s a familiar one to GIs.YidigPatinr-it21*t-idl-JtiditThe Joint Army-Navy Disciplinary Control Board has declared two additional areas of Honolulu “Off Limits’* because ofundesirable conditions detrimental to the health of servicemen.Upper Kalihi-uka beyond the intersection of Kamehameha IV Road with Kafihi St. was restricted because of a brothel within the area. Several servicemen were infected with a venereal disease which was contracted in that area.Other Honolulu establishments and areas previously announced “Off Limits” by the Joint board are: Standard Hotel, 1470 Fort St.; Chun Rooms, 1615 Fort St.; Swanky Hotel, 551 N. King St.; Chows Chop Sui, 922 Alakea St. (for insanitation); a rooming house at 112 So. School St., the area bounded by Ala Moana, Koula St., Auahi St. and Ward Ave.: and the area bounded by Webb Lane, Leleo Lane, King St. and a footpath connecting Webb Lane with Leleo Lane.Tops For CombatTrained as jungle combat troops for a year and a half in Panama, the Puerto Hicans came to Oahu last spring prior to going down under to apply their skills in battle. Proud of their ability as infantrymen, their espritf de corps was high. As combat troops they were rated “tops.”But they never left the island. Since June they have been working as stevedores on Oahu docks. The end of the war has apparently frozen them in that category.El Impartial” specifically charges, however, that Puerto Ricans were working with PWs and were also guarded by armed MPs. This, in a loose sense, has happened, but if they wanted more sensational copy they could have added that Puerto Ricans also wore clothing marked “PW.”Guards OrderedOn Thanksgiving Day, men of the 1114th F. A. Battalion refusedV he,meri may KltrTZe *?us~|to work beyond the time originally ct. * ? ,es. on . e, boundary se* by tj,e captyin \n charge. Tostieets, but looming houses and foj*ce them to do the oxtP'i workpmate homes therein are -Off th*~aptX ordered tostand over them. The men com-At the same time the “Offr . • *• , plained and as a result this cap-K tain “was relieved ot duly becausel'V°Z H:’tel of tack °t judgment and tact/(now known as the Pikake Hotel) 1133 Maunakea St.; Polv-le5Sni_\)I.ePWs have been working on the jdocks for months—anyone assignednesian Gardens 2004 Furt St,;lhere could claim he is work ng Castle Hotel (now a private;“with” them i dwelling) 41 S Beretania St,J Hyle Convention rules, PWs are not*™ Apartments, 302 Ohua Ave.and lowed to handle cargo: hence while a rooming house at 1549 Emma St.,the GIs do the heavy w.u'k theKorean PWs push brooms underdnstee.Senate Gives OKTo Mrs. RooseveltWASHINGTON (AP) — Mrs. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, Edward R. Stettinius, Jr.. and other noini-n nees of President Truman as dele-dildgates to the United Nations Organization were confirmed by tlje Senate. Thursday.Sen. Bilbo (D-Miss.) momen-guard—a situation resented by the GIs.PW ClothingOn Nov. 2 Puerto Ricans wereworking in the refrigerators at the Honolulu Sake Co. (operated by QM) and had to don clothing to protect themselves—the clothing was marked “PW.” On Nov. 7, some of them were moved from one job to the other in the same truck with PWs.These unfortunate incidents have been investigated and measurestartly delayed Mrs. Roosevelt s taken Vo ;make sure thcv “re-a confirmation, but, although he expressed opposition, no dissentingidm21*»r•umftidiei~Id~etotyievoice was heard on the vote.Sen. Langer (R-N. D.) declared the U. N. O. would fail to obtain world peace, but he surprised the Senate by saying he would vote for Stettinius.In the House, Rep. Vursell (R-111.) criticized Mrs. Roosevelt’s appointment as “A bad start toward international cooperation.” Rep. Biemiller (D-Wis.) countered with praise for her selection.cur.Eiclielberger Fa vorsWives-To-Japan FlanNEW YORK (ANS)—Optimis-le'tic over the current state of Japa-j- nese occupation, Lt. Gen. Robert►n;L. Eichelberger, commander of the, ____ « ......... ........Eighth Army, reiterated Thursday show up late; work-days sometimes1* ■ 1 1 . ■ _ _ _ I _ _ . _ lt;41 V 1 ,1 ■» kt-To answer their resentment that as infantrymen they shouldn’t be performing the duties of service troops, the Army Port and Service Command points out that the Mid-Pac labor pool draws from all outfits, continental troops as well as territorial, many of them combat. This is said necessary due to the loss of men by demobilization.List ObjectionsHowever, the Puerto Ricans list their objections to taking orders from civilians (now corrected— they work under their own NCOs); the lack of hot lunches or no lunches when they’ve switched from one dock to another and the chow-wagon doesn’t find them; arising for a six o’clock reveille, and then waiting for trucks whichas long as 12 hours, lengthened by the long rides to and from work;his proposal that wives of officersf-jand enlisted men in the first three ---------—.... ,isjgrades be permitted to join their j working at night; lack of recogni-*k: husbands in Nippon. ition for their work; an area with-“Most of them (Eighth Army,out a service club and an outdoor e-jtroops) are loo young to have movie theater in a part of the to; wives.” Eichelberger said in ex-j island where rain is commonplace i- planution of his arbitrary Jimita- every night.^sitious. He added that “if just one i-jman in five had a wife who wanted to come over we could manage it.i-idis?nof3-“They were good workers up to a couple months ago,” their Puerto Rican CO, Col, Ramon A. Nadall,The general said there was said. “They’re generous men and “plenty of room on ships going!easy to get along with, but highly to Japan,” and said he believed;sensitive. We’ve been furnishing maybe it can be arranged by!a labor detail on the average of‘700 a day for the last six months, and the men feel that the brunt ofspring,“We can get the billets and they can buy food at the Army commissary,” he concluded.the work is being borne by them.tiNEW AITSSTK MINISTER
Newspaper Details
Middle Pacific Stars and Stripes
Honolulu, Hawaii, US
Sat, Dec 22, 1945
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Noemi F.
FL, USA 22 Aug 2021
Other Publications Near Honolulu, Hawaii
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Honolulu Hawaiian Gazette
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Middle Pacific Stars and Stripes
