Summary
Highlights
In WWII America, young Japanese American men at concentration camps like Hart Mountain refused the draft. This initial refusal led to their internment in camps devoid of their rights. After Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans, including two-thirds who were U.S. citizens, were forcibly removed from their homes on the West Coast due to racial fear and prejudice, losing billions in property and income. These 'concentration camps' were harsh, characterized by barbed wire, guard towers, and extreme weather, stripping individuals of basic constitutional rights like voting, education, and employment.
The leadership void left by the arrest of older Issei leaders was filled by the JACL, which advocated for complete compliance with the government. Led by Mike Masaoka, the JACL pushed for drafting Nisei men from the camps, believing it would prove their loyalty. The government then introduced a 'loyalty oath' with questions 27 and 28, which were deeply problematic for Japanese Americans, essentially asking if they would fight for a country that had imprisoned them and forswear allegiance to an emperor they had never pledged to. Failure to answer 'yes' to these questions resulted in being branded 'disloyal' and transferred to a segregation center like Tule Lake.
Growing frustration over the draft and continued incarceration led to organized resistance, particularly at Hart Mountain. Frank Emi, influenced by Koshi Okamoto's legal arguments, formed the Fair Play Committee advocating for a conditional acceptance of the draft, contingent on the restoration of their rights. Journalist James Omura supported their cause through his newspaper, criticizing JACL's collaborationist stance. As draft orders arrived, numbers of young men refused induction, asserting their constitutional rights, despite fierce opposition and vilification from the JACL and camp authorities.
As the resistance grew, the FBI began arresting draft resistors, distributing them to county jails across Wyoming. The JACL, including figures like Mike Masaoka and Minoru Yasui, pressured these men to abandon their defiance. Meanwhile, war hero Ben Kuroki was sent to camps to boost morale and recruitment, inadvertently criticizing the resistors. In June 1944, 63 resistors from Hart Mountain stood trial in Cheyenne, Wyoming, arguing for their constitutional rights. Despite their strong case, they were found guilty and sentenced to federal penitentiary terms.
The Fair Play Committee leaders faced further trials for conspiracy, with James Omura being acquitted due to First Amendment protections for his journalism. The resistors served their sentences, facing ostracism and hardship upon their release. In 1945, an appeals court overturned the Fair Play Committee leaders' convictions, and President Truman pardoned all resistors in 1947. However, the Japanese American community largely favored the narrative of the loyal Nisei soldiers. The JACL apologized in 1999 for its wartime actions, a significant step in acknowledging the resistors' struggle for civil rights, whose legacy is now being recognized as crucial to American history.