Granada Pioneer, Vol. II, No. 42

              Page  6_____________________PIONEER_________________March  29, 1944
WAR  DEPARTMENT’S   VIEWS  ON
     NISEI  DRAFT   SENT   TO  TOPAZ
   TOPAZ, Utah-The War Department sent its views on nisei draft to the Topaz
Citizens  Committee    upon    the     latter's     request.     The reply was sent by Lt. Col.
Gehardt   of the  General  Staff Corps  and  read  as   follows:
   "Your letter of February 25, 1944, addressed to the
Honorable Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War, has been
referred to this office. I note in your third para-
graph that you desire an expression of opinion from
the War Department regarding the status of Japanese
American citizens now located in Heart Mountain, and
the reason for discriminating against them by compelling
them to accept service in branches of the armed  forces
where    they    are  segregated.     In so  far  as the War De-
partment   is   concerned    their  citizenship  status   is not
within the   jurisdiction  of the War Department.
    “I note further that you mention discrimination
against Japanese American citizens on the part of the
War Department by compelling them to accept service in
certain branches of the armed forces. I should like
to point out that the use of Japanese Americans in
specific units is not based upon any discrimination
policy. The assignment of personnel in the armed for-
ces is based upon military considerations and not upon
racial derivation. I should like to explain more fully
some of the reasons which make it necessary at this
time  to assign these   inductees   to   special  units.
   “The War Department does not consider it advisable
to utilize Japanese Americans in the Pacific theater
of operations. If a Japanese American unit were pre-
sent in combat in the pacific it would be possible
for the enemy Japanese to secure American uniforms from
dead soldiers and mingle with American Japanese units,
thereby causing considerable confusion and. increasing
hazards of enemy infiltration. Should this occur it
would jeopardize the American Japanese soldier inasmuch
as his facial characteristics make it difficult to dis-
tinguish him from the enemy infiltrators. Again if a
Japanese American were captured in the Pacific it is
felt that retaliation measures taken by the Japanese
would  be   in the  form of extreme torture   since   it   seems
apparent  from past  Japanese  actions  that such individ-
uals might  not be  considered as   prisoners   of war.
    "If they were generally assigned to all units it
would then be necessary to screen units which are to
be employed in the Pacific theater before such a
unit could be shipped. This would not only add an addition-
al step in the present process but would tend to delay
getting our units ready for combat and would further
result in disrupting the efficient operation of the
combat unit by removing,in an advanced state of train-
ing, personnel from the organization. Since it is im-
possible to forecast, at the time an organization be-
gins its training, in which theater of operations that
particular unit will be used it would be uneconomical
to assign Japanese Americans under a general assign-
ment policy. It has therefore been deemed advisable
to utilize this group in a homogenious combat organiza-
tion. It must be remembered that an organization such
as a combat team includes units of Infantry, Field Ar-
tillery, Engineers, and Medical personnel in which
there is a wide range of opportunity to employ various
abilities  and   skills.
   “Certain Japanese Americans have been employed as
interpreters in the Pacific theaters but this use has
been made by Japanese American personnel with the full
realization by the War Department of the risks involved
to these   individuaIs.
   "May I point out that the privilege of requesting
assignment in a specific.branch is,as you have pointed
out in your letter, a privilege and not an obligation
upon the War Department to see that these requests are
always  granted.    It   is  impossible to  comply with every
assignment request which a
candidate makes upon induc-
tion. It is the War Depart-
ment’s policy to assign an
individual to the branch
of service which he chooses
if that is consistent with
our military needs, since
it is realized that this
is one determinant in the
process of proper assign-
ment of personnel. However
as the character of the war
continues to change from
defensive to offensive
operations, the number of
different types of units
which are required will
change in increasing measure.
This necessitates a  con-
tant conversion of units
from one type to another
and in this   conversion the
wishes of the individual
will often have to be sub-
ordinated to the overall
military need.
   " I feel that the Japanese
American citizens who will
now be inducted should ac-
cept their assignments,
wherever they may be, with
the spirit that they are
fulfilling an obligation
to their country and that
largely upon their manner
of performance will be judged
the loyalty and sincerity
of all American citizens
of  Japanese    descent."
MORE  AWARS
MADE TO 100th
BATTALION
   One Distinguished Ser-
vice Cross and 13 Silver
Stars have been awarded
the Japanese Americans (in
the 100th Infantry Ballal-
io'), according to the
Mar. 9 issue of the Wash-
inton Daily News. Most
recent to receive a Silver
Star was Lt. Young Kim,
whose mother lives in Los
Angeles.  It was awarded
for gallant action around
Santa Maria where he de-
liberately drew German ma-
chine gun fire while other
nisei sneaked  around the
side and wiped out the
nest with grenades. For
nests were destroyed in
this  manner.