The Japanese Relocation During WW2: Executive Order 9066 Revisited

"The first to present his case seems right, 
till another comes forward and questions him."
--Proverbs 18:16

Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash

It's practically a given that there are two sides to every story. This is why we need to re-examine our basic beliefs now and then, because much of what we have accepted as fact is nothing more than conclusions drawn from hearing only one side of a story.

This blog post aims to suggest that our harsh criticism of the Japanese "internment camp" program during World War Two may be unwarranted. 

In 2018 I wrote a blog post addressing Executive Order 9066, calling it "one more cause for shame" as Americans. On the surface, this conclusion seems reasonable. Upon deeper investigation, a strong case can be made that the real events that occurred reveal a remarkable degree of compassion and generosity of spirit and little to be entirely ashamed of.

James Nickel, a friend from California, suggested I look into this further and by doing so I learned much that I hadn't previously understood or known about. What follows are notes gleaned from Dwight D. Murphey's essay "The Relocation of the Japanese-Americans During World War II."

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To re-think any issue or learn about it in depth requires a commitment of time. What follows are some of the primary facts of which I was unaware, shedding new light on what had previously been in shadow.

For continuity sake I will follow Murphey's outline. First, what actually happened? Then second, why was it done and was it really necessary?

EdNote: The complete article is 25 pages in length with 96 footnotes. What follows is an attempt to represent fairly the findings of Mr. Murphey's research. 

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What actually happened?

Click to enlarge. Public domain.

Immigration laws at the beginning of the 20th century permitted Japanese to freely immigrate to this country. This became restricted after 1908 and was cut off completely in 1924. The 1940 U.S. Census showed that there were 126,946 persons of Japanese origin in this country, 79,642 born here and thereby considered U.S. citizens.

As tensions escalated with Japan near the end of the 1930s, American intelligence agencies had begun compiling a list of people whom they considered dangerous in the event of a war with Japan. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. arrested and incarcerated 3000.

Two months after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the establishment of military areas where all people could be excluded. This was extended to all parts of the West Coast in which no Japanese were then permitted to reside. 

This is what led to the creation of camps where the Japanese would be moved. The evacuees were moved to location centers further East. Here are some of the things I learned from reading the Murphey essay.

1. The centers were run by Japanese Americans, not some kind of U.S. Gestapo. 

2. The centers were not surrounded by barbed wire, like a prison camp. They had stores, movies, activities...

3. The college-aged children continued their education, and 4300 were attending more than 300 universities around the country by the war's end.  

4. Only one of the relocation centers became an actual internment camp. This was used for the small minority of Japanese Americans.

5. The centers were intended as places where people could stay until they found other places around the country to relocate to. In 1943, 16,000 left the centers and in 1944 18,500 more left to begin anew in other parts of the country.

6. Extensive efforts were made by the army to safeguard the property of those who were evacuated. Similarly, neighbors and friends helped take care of their properties until they returned. (At the end of this blog post is a letter to the editor expressing gratitude for the kindnesses they received in this difficult time.)

Why did this happen? Was it really necessary?

The context for this decision needs consideration. The U.S. fleet, our first line of defense, had been nearly destroyed. And invasion fleet from Japan could have arrived on our shores unimpeded. A Japanese submarine shelled an oil field in California in February. Five Japanese planes flew over L.A. 

In hindsight it could be argued that the evacuation was not necessary. Looked at another way, California and the Northwest were quite vulnerable. The water supply could be sabotaged as could the power grid. A "systematic campaign of incendiarism" could do massive damage.

Those who argue that the relocation was unnecessary, Murphey demonstrates, are either unaware of the facts or deny them. U.S. codebreakers identified hundreds of communications dealing with U.S. espionage activities. 

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In addition to encouraging me to review Dwight Murphey's essay, James sent me several clippings from the local newspaper including the letter to the editor below. He accompanied the clippings with this note:

"I recognize the disconnect most people have with WWII and the relocation camps. You have to live in that season to grasp what was going on, as you note. I think the newspaper articles from the Reedley Exponent show that the majority of the townspeople sought to help the local Japanese, their neighbors, in any way they could given the exigences of the times."

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A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The Reedley Exponent
20 August 1942

To the good people of Reedley, California

We wish to thank you one and all in behalf of ourselves as well as for many Japanese evacuees who had made their home amongst you for regretfully such a short period of time.

What has prompted me to write this letter of appreciation to you good residents of Reedley is that you were so kind and tolerant towards us in this time of unrest and turmoil. Of course it is understood that we residents of California have naught to do with this war, yet being Japanese of Americans of Japanese ancestry we do not feel happy that the two countries closest to our hearts are at war and feel that we may have been at fault for the outburst of this deplorable international complication.

However, while our sojourn in Reedley the residents of Reedley, the good people on whose property we resided, the civic authorities as well as the federal officials (by which I mean the postoffice officials at Reedley) whose patience we sorely tried with our innumerable questions, all to these good people we wish to thank you for your sympathy and understanding you had shown us.

One does not realize what a friendly smile means to a stranger who, not knowing the attitude of the people of such community, are compelled to usurp their have, until and unless one finds themselves in a similar predicament. And such a kindly attitude was shown me and to many others, not on one but on many occasions and for which we wish to thank you from the depths of our hearts.

May God bless you all for your friendliness to us bewildered evacuees, and may His teachings continue to flourish in your good community.

Dr. & Mrs. F. T. Inukai

Related Links

My blog post addressing Executive Order 9066

Introduction to the Dwight D. Murphey Rebuttal

The Dispossession of the American Indian and Other Key Issues in American History  (Dwight Murphey's essay on the Japanese American relocation is found in this book.)

Final Note: This is not an attempt to whitewash all that happened. It is, however, an attempt to suggest that the current narrative that is most pervasive does not present an accurate picture of what occurred and why.

Beyond Pearl Harbor: Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Day of Infamy

Bombing of Pearl Harbor. Photo: U.S. Navy. Public domain.

The USS West Virginia was struck by 6 torpedoes and 2 bombs.

On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japan launched a sneak attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, as part of a plan to eliminate any potential challenge to Japanese conquests in Asia.*

* * * *

The Japanese attack force—which included six aircraft carriers and 420 planes—sailed from Hitokappu Bay in the Kurile Islands, on a 3,500 mile voyage to a staging area 230 miles off the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

The attack killed 2,403 service members and wounded 1,178 more, and sank or destroyed six U.S. ships,. They also destroyed 169 U.S. Navy and Army Air Corps planes.*

More than half the fatalities were on the USS Arizona . 

THERE ARE a lot of things that happened that are seldom noted when we remember this historic event. That same day, the Japanese followed up with assaults on the Philippines, Guam, Midway Island and the Wake Islands. They also attacked the British colonies of Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong. Soon after they invaded Thailand. Within months all of these were conquered, the Japanese flag flying over all.

Most history books describe the assault on these Southwest Pacific islands as taking place the next day. The history books state that they were bombed and attacked on December 8. This is because the International Date Line is West of Hawaii. The Japanese, according to their history books, place the attack on Pearl Harbor as having occurred on December 8.

10 Peso Note in Philippines. Colonies had U.S. notables on their money.

What I also find interesting is that in our contemporary minds, we consider the attack on Hawaii an attack on the United States when in reality Hawaii was no more a state than the Philippines, Guam or the Wake Islands. In fact, all of these island territories had been colonies of the United States at one time. Because the term "colony" was out of favor and politically incorrect, we began calling them territories.. (Hawaii became a state in 1959.) Not only did Japan attack all of these, the Japanese soon overran these others completely.

16 million Filipinos, who saluted the U.S. flag and called FDR their commander-in-chief, were no longer free. You can see whose face is on their 10-peso bill (above), reminding them who holds the cards.

Losses at Wake Island. (National Archives)

The bombing of American airfields made us unable to defend these territories and by Christmas the U.S. abandoned Manila to the Japanese with the colony easily overrun. Within a couple days of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. forces in Guam and the Wake Islands had already surrendered after their planes were destroyed while still on the ground.

President Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech to the nation downplayed the losses of the Western Pacific, and up-played the significance of Hawaii. Even though the colony was 3/4s Asian and Pacific Islanders, FDR elevated the status of Hawaii by calling it an "American island." His intent was to end our nation's isolationist stance. He could now, with the support of the people, enter the war.

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Related Links
* Pearl Harbor Facts
The Infamy Speech by FDR
Some of the information in this blog post comes from the introduction to Daniel Immerwahr's How to Hide an Empire. 

Uprooted: A Story of Estonia (Part X)

Background: In 1944 the million man Red Army was finally on the move, pinching in from the East in order to drive a stake through the heart of Germany. The German army was about to begin a hasty retreat, but to stall the westward movement of Stalin's forces the Estonian National Guard was being instructed to hold the line. This was a virtual joke, however, as they were really being used as cannon fodder.


Ralph Kand heard the German Major instructing his officers and knew it was time to flee. He stole the major's motorcycle and headed home to get his mother in an attempt to flee the country. His mother cooperated reluctantly, allowing Ralph to load some of her belongings into a horse-drawn wagon to bring to the sea where they would hope to catch a boat and leave their homeland.

Flight

Ralph knew that riding the officer's motorbike on the open roads was unsafe, so as his mother clip-clopped on the gravel road toward Tallin he rode along paths through the woods that lined the way. After a couple miles, he saw that his mother had stopped the cart and was crying. He rode back, left his bike in the weeds and ran to her. She looked in his face with cheeks streaming. "I cannot go. This is not something I can do."

Ralph could see she had no heart for it. They clasped one another and he, too, cried. He knew he would never see her again. Ralph grapped a small pack of his most personal items, a handful of photos, some letters, a book, and placed them inside her shirt. He limped back to his motorbike and kicked it to life, riding back into the woods.

As he approached the city the trees thinned and he was forced to ride his motorbike on the road north toward the sea. The street merged with another and he paused to get his bearings. Far up ahead he could see a two-story concrete German checkpoint. Without warning the motorcycle stalled. He attempted to kickstart but failed. The street was now empty, a small hill behind him and the outpost a half mile ahead. He again tried to kickstart the bike. Nothing.

His heart began to beat fiercely. After all this, to be left behind terrified him. It was a longing for freedom that impelled him to flee. If the dark blanket of Stalin smothered Estonia again, to live like that would be impossible. This was his conviction.

He pushed the bike forward down the slight hill but again could get the bike to jump to life. He could feel the ground quaking from the rumble of approaching tanks. While sizing up his situation a man came over the rise on a bicycle. Without slowing the man shouted, "They are just over that hill."

The rush of despair was such that Ralph unholstered his pistol and lifted it to his temple. Before pulling the trigger he gave the bike one more kick. It sputtered, then jumped and he took off down the road.

As he sped toward the Nazi guard post his mind raced to guess what to do. He had already determined he could not turn around. He was in his National Guard uniform. The Soviets would fire their guns as soon as they saw him. But what would the Nazi soldiers do? He was riding the major's stolen motorcycle.

He sped forward. The wind rushed against his face. As he approached the two uniformed Germans stepped into the road with their guns raised. Ralph stopped the bike but did not turn off the motor. "The Russians. They are just over that hill. I could hear them. We have to go."

The soldiers were mere boys, fifteen or sixteen. But they were given orders. "Turn it off," the taller boy shouted.

Ralph obeyed.

The shorter boy soldier pushed Ralph to the side, away from the bike. He then walked it over and leaned it against the concrete wall.

"Don't you understand? The Red Army is just over that hill!" Ralph's eyes were wild.

"Go inside," the boy soldier said. Both had their rifles lifted.

Ralph was relieved that they did not notice he was riding an officer's motorbike.

Inside the outpost there were three more Nazi soldiers, one seated behind a small desk, the other two standing, sharing a cigaret. Two of these were youth and the third perhaps in his mid-thirties with an officer stripe.The taller soldier from outside conferred quietly with the officer.

"You have to stay and fight," the officer then said to Ralph curtly. Ralph understood the German, but not enough to explain why it was useless for them to try to stop the entire Russian army.

"This is insane." He worked his jaw and tried to maintain his composure.

"Take him upstairs," the officer instructed. 

Ralph scanned the room, noticed the stairs to his left and turned to face them. A rifle stock hit him sideways, and he limped to the first step. The officer saw the elevated heel on his left shoe then.

"Up!" he shouted at Ralph, standing as he did so. Then turning to the others he laughed, "These Estonian have no heart for fighting."

There were two rooms upstairs and he was ushered into the first where he encountered a barren room occupied by a chair and a small cot.  There were stains on the wall. But there was a window and it was unbarred.

Ralph leaned over the window ledge and looked down. Without hesitation he rolled his feet out and lowered his body, hanging for an instant before letting go. He rolled as he hit the ground, quickly leaping to his feet to grab the motorcycle and take off. If it didn't start he would be a dead man, but then when the tanks got here in a few minutes he would also be dead along with these stubborn Germans.

The motorbike started on the first kick and he slammed it into gear. Without looking back he hunched forward over the handlebars. He could not hear the shouting but he did hear the shot that was fired. It was but one and he was suddenly over the next rise, Tallin and the sea unfolding before him.

CONTINUED
To the best of my ability I will be writing Uprooted each Saturday morning till it is finished.

Uprooted: A Story of Estonia (Part VIII)

This story is based on a true account of events that occurred in Eastern Europe from 1939 to 1944. For narrative purposes the time frame of these events has been condensed without — this writer believes — violating the spirit of that time.

Arrival of the Nazis

The tension was continuous those two years of hell during the Soviet occupation. Though the Western powers never recognized Soviet authority over the Baltic states, the peoples themselves were powerless to do anything about it; so, too, the rest of Europe. While the German Reich flexed its muscles, the United States remained neutral, and watched from an idle distance.

In the summer of 1941 Hitler made Stalin his target and sent the German army marching East. Once again the people of the Baltics were subjugated by a new regime, a new landlord with new rules. The initial response by many was jubilation. The Nazis were liberators. The dark cloud of Soviet oppression had been lifted. But this sentiment was not shared by all.

In June, when the Soviet army retreated, so too did many of Estonia's Jewish families. Ralph might not have noticed except that a co-worker named Leo failed to show up for his shift at the brewery. The following day his absence began to cause a stir. When Ralph sought details he obtained the curt reply, "He's Jewish"

No question things had changed. There was no more fear of midnight raids to fill the plundered ranks of Red Army. There were no more visits by secret police whisking away agitators or accused enemies of the state. At least not initially. Eventually the Germans began pillaging goods for the war effort, but it was not very long before the rumors of executions were being circulated.

One weekend in early Ralph had gone to his Uncle Andre's to see family and to get away. While returning to the train station late Sunday evening he was startled by gunfire just beyond a small stretch of trees near the river. He feared missing the train but as the trains were often late he went to explore, creeping up to an embankment covered with brush. Below he saw German soldiers hastily shoveling dirt onto a line of bodies in shallow graves. An officer watched and Ralph slipped back and away, his heart sick with fear and confusion.

The next day, when he told his mother what he had seen, she replied, "They were Jews." Ralph then understood why Leo's family had fled.

As he listened for news from the BBC, a pinpoint of illumination began to pierce him in a strange new way. Despite his homeland's respite from the horrors of Stalinist oppression, these liberators were not heroes. This world as he understood it was very broken. And the freedom he had known only a few short years previous now seemed a lifetime ago.

CONTINUED

Honor Flight Lifts Off From Duluth

This morning I woke at four a.m. to bring my father-in-law to the airport. When I got to his apartment he was sleeping in the car, ready to go. He'd been there since midnight.

On the way to the airport he told me he remembered how he used to sleep in his jeep with his shoes on. If it wasn't raining the top would be down, but if raining the top would be up. There were no windows on the sides. He'd bunch up his blanket between the seats and it could be pretty comfortable, he said. But someone always came along and said, "Wags, time to get over to headquarters to get new orders."

These memories, more than sixty years old were fresh in the mind of this WWII veteran because today is the first lift off of Honor Flight. More than 100 World War Two veterans are flying to Washington, D.C. to see the WWII Memorial built in their honor for sacrifices and service rendered to their country.

Today's Honor Flight has been months in the making. The veterans and an entourage of paramedics, guardians, doctors, videographer and photographer left Duluth International Airport at 6:30 a.m. and will be arriving shortly at Reagan National Airport in D.C. where they will be greeted by an Honor Flight ground crew. In addition to the World War Two Memorial, the schedule includes visits to other memorials including Viet Nam Veterans, Korean War Veterans, Women in Military Service for America among others.

My father-in-law, Wilmer A. "Bud" Wagner, was the second man drafted for service from Northern Minnesota in April 1941 and crossed the Atlantic on the first ship convoy to Europe. As a member of the Field Artillery, attached to the 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division, saw fighting and more in North Africa and Italy, with many a friend left behind. Today he will be part of the Blue Platoon as they visit the various sites and memorials.

Today's Honor Flight is expected to return to Duluth a little after 10:00 p.m. tonight whereupon the veterans will be met by the Duluth Combined Honor Guard, a drum and bugle corps, and (hopefully) a large crowd of appreciative people.

Bud has requested that when I arrive to pick him up tonight that I bring copies of the memoir/diary he published about his experiences titled And There Shall Be Wars. If you're interested, it's worth reading. You can find more information about this book and the price of our freedom here.

A Day in the Life: Bud Wagner

Tuesday, December 9, 1941

Another alert at 12:30 a.m. Hard to get up, but off-duty cooks always have to help load. Most of our personal things go along as well, except for our foot lockers.

Had a bad headache. My things are in a mess. We left at 1:30. Got somewhere around Leesville to the firing range at 4:00.

Tarman and I put up our tent together. The situation is non-tactical, so we built a big bon-fire tonight.

As we gathered together around our fire, and after, we had an arousing talk by Captain Genung. Some of the things he said were, "This is it, men. We go for the duration. You will learn to bayonet the Japs and Germans as they sleep in their tents. It's all-out war now. Be prepared to go and do what you are told."

After that, we wondered if the Germans could see our big fire, and maybe come and bayonet us.

The United States and Great Britain had both declared war on Japan. In his address to Congress, President Roosevelt described the events at Pearl Harbor as the forming part of a "date that will live in infamy." Roosevelt did not ask Congress to declare war on Germany or Italy.

Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, The Free French, Yugoslavia, and several South American countries all declared war on Japan. Also, China declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Some sobering facts had come in since Sunday's attack on Pearl Harbor. At 07:55 local time, Japanese carrier aircraft attacked the main base of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. There was complete tactical and strategic surprise.

Six Jap carriers were sent with a total of 423 planes. Two waves of attacks were sent in. All eight U.S. battleships in port were damaged, five of them were sunk. Also, three cruisers and three destroyers were sunk. We lost 188 aircraft to the Japs' 29.

Words and accusations were flying. The Admiral in charge of the Pacific Fleet would be dismissed because of having all Anti-Aircraft (A.A.) guns locked in peace-time. Then it was Sunday, and many officers and crews from ships were ashore.

We had a lot to talk about, and wondered at how many more mistakes we would be going through for the "duration?" There were some. And those who made the mistakes were sure to try to cover them.

All in all we were able to say, as we could many times in the future, that "Error is Error, and Truth is Truth."