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Washingtonsure whllt; lion* pub] t ion slioi otheTthatThebuttBackgroundBy Thomas L. StokesWashington, Feb. 22. —• Life , perc moves on like a book of short jtjon stories Li which the same characters reappear, except that in war the pace is swifter, the events more dramatic, the tragedies so much more frequent and poignant.rhe?chefHere in this space, only a week ago. there was related the story of the American Legion post at I Hood River, Ore., which had By erased the names of 16 Japanese- NK/ Americans, or Nisei as they are M called, from its honor roll, and i mor how National Comdr. Edward N. shir Scheiberling intervened with the post, in vain, to recall its action.Now comes the story of one of the 16, Frank T. Hachiya, 25. of Portland, Ore., who died a hero’s death after a dangerous mission for which he volunteered at Leyte. pi Rin It was one of those sharpcameos of war. The regiment was in a difficult position. Information of the disposition ofJohOsCiBingBIng:EFitsEBatthe enemy was needed. Hachiya j or] volunteered to lead a patrol across ^ y a valley sw'ept by Japanese fire. '^c( He got ouf ahead of the patrol.: yA Jap sniper shot him through put the stomach. He w*as able to make his way hack up the hill, j y But the bullet barf passed through ; t arhis liver. He died on the operat- y ing table.onWhat the American boys who I jan served with him thought of him y\y is shown by the fact that nearlyIWa(everybody in the regiment volunteered to give blood transfusions to try to save his life.Wr(Will his name go back on the honor roll? jcesIn this same place, too, only a Rnlt; week ago, was told the story of the Disabled American Veterans tjle post at Hermiston, Ore., which \yyhad voted against admission of: j)llt Japanese-American or negro vet- | ent erans to membership. tllcNow comes the copy of a letter WI. which an American aviator, a joii first lieutenant, has sent to that post, from which the followingBnairCoBnGr«Khaglt;coris quoted:I read in the morning paper where you had recently voted ‘never to allow a Japanese or a colored veteran’ to become members of your post.“It is impossible for me to convey to you the great dismay wjjthat seeing this caused me. hei “I have just returned from a ; sor j tour of combat duty as a naviga- in^, I tor on a B-24 with the 15th air crc force and am fully aware of the great esteem in which the colored fighter pilots are held by the bomber boys they cover. Are they fighting for the continuance of | discrimination against t h e m-1 selves? ^“Infantrymen returning on the | se( same boat with me told me of sei 5 the fine record established by theaIAuJo;lovha* Japanese-American troops of the an3 j Fifth army. These white men to,lu^1 whom I spoke had only great ^admiration for these ‘Japs’ who had evidently carried far more ja| than their share of the battle. pe “Consider, gentlemen. what many such things as you are doing would mean. j prBrfirPameHe referred then to other inci-j jai dents of discrimination against i“Read and reflect on this. Other references suggested are the Bible and the American constitution.Japanese-Americans reported here a week#ago.DaTvatco 1 u ]£fss1t“Please do not consider this as gj] a mischievous paper but rather a letter from a man genuinely concerned with wrliat he considers to be an un-American trend and one detrimental to the interests of our country.stleied iovSuch tolerance is typical among servicemen who have fought side by side with Americans of other races.edsi-ilTolerant, too, are communications which haVe come from civilians in this country.They reflect the view that this country is a haven for refuges from other lands, that it has always been so, and that once they become citizens, they are due the protection of our laws which are a guarantee of our democratic tradition. They also point out, quite aptly, that we all stem back to “aliens.-8wisl~
Newspaper Details
Helena Independent
Helena, Montana, US
Thu, Feb 22, 1945
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 30 Sep 2018
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