WendyMcElroy.com

The tale begins abruptly on the morning of Sunday, December 7th, 1941. In a speech delivered at 12:30p.m. the next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called the 7th "a date which will live in infamy". He referred to a surprise aerial attack by the Japanese against the American naval base at Pearl Habor, Hawaii, which crippled the U.S. fleet. At the time of the attack, World War II had been raging for over two years. Although America was clearly supportive of the Allies (initially the United Kingdom and France) against the Axis Powers (initially Germany, Italy and Japan), the U.S. had not entered the war and there was significant domestic resistance to doing so. Within an hour of the President's speech, however, Congress formally declared war against Japan; on 11th December 1941, Germany responded by declaring war on the US.

The Masuda family did not have to wait a day to realize the full impact of Pearl Habor upon their lives. On the evening of December 7th, Gensuke (George) and Tamae Masuda were at their farmhouse in Talbert, Orange County, California when there was a knock on the door. At that time, Orange County was an agricultural area with the soil constituting its wealth. According to a 1940 census, the Japanese-American community comprised 1,855 people, most of whom were engaged in farming. Many were Issei – first generation Japanese who had immigranted. Gensuke had arrive in America in 1898 to work on a railroad in Oregon and, then, he moved to Talbert where he leased 200 acres and eventually purchased 10 more; his 5 sons and 4 daughters farmed the land as a family.

Sheriff deputies were the ones who knocked. Without explanation, they took Gensuke and loaded him onto a bus with other Issei. Ten days later -- without trial, legal representation or right of appeal -- Gensuke was accused of “subversive activity” and incarcerated in a stockade at Ft. Missoula, Montana. The authorities refused to state specific reasons for the accusation but there was a general fear that a Japanese invasion of the West Coast was imminent and would be assisted by resident Japanese citizens, such as Gensuke.

The news of his father's imprisonment incensed Kazuo, who had not been present at the farmhouse with other family members. On October 17, he and his brother Takashi had boarded a train to report for military duty at their respective basic training camps. Through the proper authorities at Fort Ord, Kazuo Masuda (Pvt. 39,166,362) wrote a letter to Washington D.C. in which he professed his father's allegiance to America. He wrote, in part,

“I cannot believe my father has done any act of disloyalty toward the United States. He has been a resident of this country for over 40 years, that is to say since 1898. He has been a farmer for over 35 years During this time he has seen his sons and daughters grow into good, solid American citizens....He has, in my opinion, maintained during his 44 years of residence in this country a perfect record of unquestionable loyalty to this country. He has never been arrested for any violations of the laws of this country. That he would commit acts which endanger the safety of this country is unthinkable....In all the 23 years I have lived with my father, he has never uttered a single word against the United States. He has always considered this nation his country, and I believe he has done his part in making it the great nation that we are. He did not, as so many others have done, send any of his children to Japan for any part of their education. He wanted his children to be Americans. I know that he has succeed in his wish. He has often expressed hope that he would be able to spend the remainder of his life in the United States.”

Kazuo's letter is credited for Gensuke's early release, at which time joined Tamae and the family in Fresno where they had retreated to live with a relative for safety. It would be short-lived.

On February 19, 1942, Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that gave the War Department authority at their sole discretion to exclude any “persons” from prescribed areas, including much of the West Coast. The Order was the basis of a campaign of relocation and mass detention aimed at both Issei and Nisei. In October 1942, the Masuda family joined thousands of other Japanese-Americans at the Fresno County Fairgrounds where they were ordered to assemble. They were held 56 days before being loaded onto trains for the five-day trip to the Jerome Relocation Center, a 10,000 acre internment camp that stretched over three southern Arkansas counties. Thus, the Masuda family joined over 110,000 japanese-Americans who involuntarily left their homes and businesses to be interned behind barbed wire by the War Relocation authority (WRA) in ten primitive 'relocation' centers in Colorado, California, Wyoming, Utah, Arkansas, Idaho and Arizona. The vast majority of the internees were American citizens; their detention lasted three years, from 1942 to 1945.

During the upheaval what did the major newspapers say? Next to no one spoke out against the massive violation of civil liberties, especially no one on the West Coast. A March 6, 1942 editorial in the San Francisco News was typical in arguing: "Japanese leaders in California who are counseling their people, both aliens and native-born, to cooperate with the Army in carrying out the evacuation plans are, in effect, offering the best possible way for all Japanese to demonstrate their loyalty to the United States."


The feisty libertarian R.C. Hoiles was a rare exception. On Feb. 5, before the internment order was announced, Hoiles declared in the Orange County Register: "The recommendation of the grand jury to have all alien enemies removed from Orange County calls for a difficult undertaking. Every bit of wealth that these workers are prevented from creating, which we so badly need during the war, will have to be created by the labor of some other worker. "Of course, there is no such thing as absolute security. We must run some risks in every move. Risks are life itself. It would seem that we should not become too skeptical of the loyalty of those people who were born in a foreign country and have lived in the country as good citizens for many years. It is very hard to believe that they are dangerous."

As the internments became law, Hoiles became more aggressive in his defense of Japanese-Americans; In an October 14th column, again in the Register, Hoiles called the evacuations “unconstitutional” and an error “we should make every effort possible to correct...as rapidly as possible.” He argued that “convicting people of disloyalty to our country without having specific evidence against them is too foreign to our way of life and too close akin to the kind of government we are fighting....We cannot help but believe that we would shorten the war and lose fewer lives and less property if we would rescind the order and let the Japanese return and go to work, until such time as we have reason to suspect any individuals of being guilty of being disloyal to America.”

Meanwhile, Kazuo experienced his own personal battles in the military. Although he ranked first in Morse code classes, the Signal Corps rejected him and he was offered, instead, work as a gardener . When the 442nd Infantry Regiment was formed at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, Kazuo quickly joined and rose to the rank of Staff Sargeant. The 442nd was formed in early February 1943 to establish an all Japanese-American combat unit. It subsequently became known as the “Go for Broke Regiment” because of its extreme valor. The book “Honor By Fire” by Lyn Crost -- the definitive work on the 442nd – explains that it was the most decorated unit of its size and length of service in U.S. military history. Crost reported that it was collectively awarded 18,143 decorations, including 9,486 Purple Hearts.

On furlough, before going into active battle in Italy, Kazuo visited his family in block 15-03-D in Jerome. Thereafter the Masudas were moved to the Gila River Relocation Center, in the hot Arizona desert. There they would stay in block 49-11-D of Butte, the larger of the two camps at Gila until their release in the summer of 1945.

It was at Gila that Tamae received a Western Union telegram from the War Department in which her name was misspelled. “The Secretary of War desires me to express his deep regret that your son Staff Sgt. Kazuo Masuda was killed in action on 27th August in Italy. Letter follows.” Kazuo was 25-years-old. The subsequent one-page letter offered little additional information, claiming that “reports of this nature contain only the briefest details as they are prepared under battle conditions and the means of transmission are limited.”

An article in the “Fifth Army News” filled in the blanks when it reported on Kazuo being posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action. He had already received the European Theater Ribbon with a battle star, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the American Defense Ribbon and the Good Conduct Medal; he would later be awarded a Purple Heart. The article read, in part,

“While the 442nd was attached to the 34th “Red Bull” Division, Masuda was operating from a forward observation post but enemy shells cut communication lines, makng the OP useless. Unwilling to risk the lives of members of his mortar crew, he obtained a mortar tube, 20 rounds of ammunition and an extra helmet. With his load, Masuda walked 200 yards through enemy fire.

“Using the helmet packed with dirt as a baseplate, he went into action when the enemy attacked, firing all 20 rounds and repulsing the Germans. The Nazis location his position and subjected him to an intense mortar and artillery fire but Masuda held his ground, returning to his line for more ammunition. His fire was so effective, another attack did not even threaten the company line.

In the action in which he subsequently was killed, Masuda crawled ahead of his men when they heard noises. He discovered himself only five yards from the enemy. Firing his submachine gun, Masuda called to his men to withdraw. They, thinking he was following, retired. Next day, they found Masuda dead, with his sub-machine gun in his hands and facing the enemy, lying over a dead German machine pistol operator.”

At Gila, the Masudas held a Buddhist memorial which was rendered all the more significance by the fact that another son, Masao, was due to report for duty.

In early May, 1945, Mary Masuda was granted permission to travel to Talbert in order to prepare the way for her parent's return to the farm. Her return was not welcome by all. Nor was the hostility she experienced an isolated event. In reporting the threats against Mary, the Utah Nippo” (Salt lake City) stated on May 18, 1945, “The new incidents are in addition to 15 shooting attacks, one attempted dynamiting, three arson cases, and five threatening visits...in California in the last four months.”

Why was there such hostility toward returnees? One reason was economic. Secretary of Interior Harold L. Ickes explained, is quoted as saying, ”The hoodlums grow more desperate in their lawlessness as some of them see that they will not be able to establish an economic beachhead on the property of the evacuees they vainly hoped would sell out or run out.”

Mary discovered that someone, without paying rent or receiving authorization, had farmed the Masuda land and lived in their home. On the first evening of her return, she was 'visited' by five men who threatened her with bodily harm if she did leave town; the Gila News-Courier (May 15, 1945) identified the men as “several Orange County farmers.” When Mary reported the incident to the police, she was told that nothing could be done about it. Several days later, he changed his mind.

The sheriff changed his mind several days later due to both public and official pressure.

R.C. Hoiles spearheaded the public pressure by featuring a photo of Mary and Masao on the front page of the then-Santa Ana Register (now the Orange County Register). He also published lengthy commentaries by Mary, as well as columns defending the returnees and their property rights. On June 6th, in a letter-to-editor, Mary expressed her gratitude to Hoiles. “This letter should have been written long ago and I hope you will forgive me for my negligence,” she wrote. “The fine publicity of my incident, along with the large picture of Masao and myself appearing in the front page of your newspaper was indeed a great honor and I am deeply grateful to you....It is truly gratifying to know that an influential concern as your newspaper is standing by the minority group, for the democratic principles so that our gallant men who are giving their supreme sacrifices are not dying in vain.”

The official pressure came from government officials, especially from within the War Department and WRA, who saw the postwar wisdom of reversing the hostility toward Japanese-Americans which they had been instrumental in creating. Whereas Hoiles publicized the injustice being done to returnees without fanfare, those with more political motives trumpeted the Masuda case. On December 8th, Four Star General Joseph W. Stilwell, accompanied by General Arthur E. Easterbrook, took the unprecedented step of flying 3,000 miles from Washington, D.C. to visit the Masuda farm which had been returned to the family. There he presented Mary with a Purple Heart on behalf of Kazuo. Usually such medals are presented by the highest ranking officer in the area at the nearest army installation; traditionally, the medal is given to a parent, both of whom attended the December 8th ceremony. Arguably, however, Mary was the more press worthy family member due to her earlier news coverage.

A December 10th press release from the WRA declared of the ceremony, “There were four newsreel companies there; two broadcasting networks; and many reporters and photographers. General Stilwell in a history-making little drama of modern democracy walked up to the weather-beaten front porch of the Masuda home and pinned the D.S.C. on Mary Masuda.” Life Magazine memorialized the moment. Thereafter, Stilwell and Mary proceeded to a 'United America' rally at the Santa Ana Municipal Bowl to attend a political rally that included Hollywood celebrities. Introduced by Will Rogers, Stilwell declared, “Who, after all, is the real American? The real American is the man who calls it a fair exchange to law down his life in order that American ideals may go on living. And judging by such a test, Sgt. Masuda was a better American than any of us here today.” Actor and army captain Ronald Reagan spoke on behalf of the American Veterans Committee. Mary also addressed the crowd.

In 1948, Kazuo's body was brought home from Italy for burial in Westminster Memorial Park, Orange County. But the controversy over his Nisei status did not end with death. A November 20, 1948 headline in the “Citizen” read, “Home Town Cemetery Bars Burial of Nisei War Hero.” The article explained that Kazuo could not be buried in a “desirable” plot with trees and lawns because of a restrictive covenant against those of Japanese ancestry. Due to intervention by Gen. Mark Clark under whom Kazuo had fought, the cemetery relented. Kazuo was buried in a “desirable” plot with full military honors. His grave became a gathering point for annual ceremonies honoring Nisei veterans who died in the war.

In 1957, the Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670 was founded in Orange County. On December 17, 1975, the Kazuo Masuda School was dedicated and became the first American public school named for a Nisei.

In a public ceremony in November 2005, Mas Masuda thanked R.C. Hoiles on behalf of his family, stating, "We are very grateful for what he did.”

What R.C. Hoiles did was to speak out against an injustice that had overwhelming public support. After the war, it became popular and politic to defend the Nisei. But Hoiles spoke when it counted most -- while the injustice was happening. He did not act in self-promotion or to erase a mistake; he spoke out of simple decency.

When the Nisei veterans returned from Italy in July 1946, President Harry S. Truman stated, “You fought not only the enemy, but you fought prejudice – and you have won.”

Three years earlier, in a letter sent to Mary while she was in a detention camp, Kazuo wrote, “I'll be alright wherever I may be. I can take care of myself. Of course, no one likes this war, no one likes to fight and die if he doesn't have to, but it is much easier if one know what he is in here for. Myself and the rest of the Combat Team, I believe, know for what he fights. It is for us, our future in America....Of course, we haven't been treated exactly fair, we've been kicked around. We know that. But we can take it on the chin and come up fighting and we will win out in the end.”