Hearings and Reports on the Evacuation Claims Bills

              Mr.  Bryson.     And generally speaking were  the   Japs   cooperative?
Did they  submit  as willingly as may be we would under  like   circumstances?
I  imagine  it was  quite a  shock to  them?
Mr. Myer.    Well,  Mr.   Chairman,   I would  just like to say they
submitted more willingly than we would.
Mr. Bryson.     They recognized the  necessity  for   it?
Mr.  Myer.    Well,  they recognized the   fact that they were  a minority
group and there was  not anything for  them to do but  to  cooperate.     I  don't
say they did not  protest?     Two-thirds   of them were Americans  and we  know
how to protest.     I would  like to say after the experience  I had,   and  I  have
had very little experience with people  of Japanese  ancestry, but they were
the best disciplined  group  of people  I have  ever known in my existence.
They were friendly;   they were  generally  cooperative,   and  they did a very
excellent  job under very,  very difficult circumstances  in assisting in
carrying out this   program-  and   cooperating with the  administration in getting
the  job done  not only in the period   of evacuation when they were  being
moved out at assembly centers  and   later  in relocation centers.     During
the removal  period we  had  two  or  three  incidents which were widely publicized,    lie had the  so-called  strike  at  Poston and we he.d  the  flare-up
at Manzanar which was  called a riot,  perhaps   it was.     One  or two  people
were killed by  the military there;   and later   on at  Tule   Lake,   I was  out
there and  the  papers  carried a story far and wide  that  I was   imprisoned
one afternoon, which  I denied.     I want to say again that  generally speaking
folks  did  cooperate.
They did their  job  well  under  the  circumstances,   and  there  is  one
other thing  I would  like  to say.    Upon the  urgings   of  some of the  folks
in the War Department,   and many  of us  for several months,  an opportunity
was  finally given for volunteers  in the  American Army from the  relocation
centers and from the Islands   of Hawaii.    As   the   result of opening  up  of
that program to  these youngsters,   I  have  not the precise  figures  here today
but  some  33,000 Nisei boys   and girls Including a few who were  aliens  served
the American A-rmy during  thi s period as members  of our  Armed Forces.     They
made  a record that will  go down in history as  one of  the  greatest  records
of any war.     They were,  in the   famous  442nd Regimental   Combat Team of
Japanese Americans.     They also  served and were  invaluable  in the   intelligence  services  and   served  every division before  the war was  over  in the
Pacific.     Those were boys   of Japanese ancestry who took their training
and  served as  eyes and  ears  and  interpreters  for the Armed forces  and did
a magnificent  job.    At every stage   of the   game they rendered magnificent
service.
Mr.  Gwynne,    What percentage  of the men and women  of military age
who were  evacuees  did go  in the  Armed  services ?
Mr.  Myer.     I would say a pretty  large percentage;   I  don't  remember
the exact figures.    At least after the   selective  service was established
it ran pretty  close to the  normal figure by the  time we  caught up with
them.
Mr.  Gviynne.    What do you mean by the  normal  figure?
Mr. Myer-     The  normal percentage  of the total number.     It was
about the same.    You remember  for  a time they were barred from the  Armed
forces.     There were  about  5,000 in the  Armed forces at the time  the
evacuees started through the  selective  service.     Some were  drafted at
that  stage of the  game.
Mr.  Gwynne.     y/hat   percentage  of the   total  number  of eligibles
volunteered?
Mr. Myer.     The  percentage of volunteers,   of  course,  was  not  too
high.     I am just trying to recall  these  figures.     I  can get that figure
for  the  record but I don't have  it right  off hand.     I  think I  have  it
30.