Myer Says Soldiers Will Accept Nisei

FRESNO (UP) - There will be no question about acceptance of Japanese-Americans by soldiers of either the European or Pacific areas, Dillon S. Myer, national director of the War Relocation authority, predicted here Friday.

Myer said most of the terrorist attacks on returned Japanese-Americans and their property can be blamed on economic considerations and "a loud and prolonged campaign of misinformation" up and down the Pacific coast.

But soldiers in the European theaters know the records of Japanese soldiers there, and scarcely a division in the Pacific is without a Japanese-American as an interpreter, Myer declared.

Most of the outbreaks have been in rural communities, 75 per cent of them in the Fresno region, he said. Farm lands left behind when the Japanese were evacuated to relocation centers have been "making money," Myer asserted, and temporary owners are reluctant to give them up.

Throughout the Pacific coast area the attitude toward the Japanese has been excellent, except for that of a small group of individuals, Myer said. These, however, are well-trained in their opposition, he added, because "they've been working at it for years."

The statement that "a Jap is a Jap" is typical of propaganda circulated throughout the west coast area, Myer said.

Opposition to the returning Japanese-Americans has ranged from terroristic attacks, attempted boycotts, and warning to Japanese to leave town, he said. He asserted that residents of Hood River, Ore., "tried all the tricks" until other citizens of the area came to the support of the returned evacuees."

Source: Watsonville Register-Pajaronian , page 1
Date: 1945-06-22
Type: NEWS; DOCUMENT
Coverage: 1940s
Rights: Copyrighted by the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. Reproduced by permission.
Identifier: LN-1945-06-22-1021

Collection

Citation

“Myer Says Soldiers Will Accept Nisei.” Watsonville Register-Pajaronian , page 1. 1945-06-22. SCPL Local History. https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/items/show/134712. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.