Editing Manzanar (section)

== Life in camp ==
{{See also|Japanese American internment#Conditions in the camps|l1=Japanese American internment: Conditions in the camps|List of inmates of Manzanar}}
After being uprooted from their homes and communities, the incarcerated people had to endure primitive, sub-standard conditions<ref name="JAsAtManzanar" /> and lack of privacy. They had to wait in line for meals, at latrines, and at the laundry room.<ref name="Reflections7">Embrey (1998), p. 7.</ref> Each camp was intended to be self-sufficient, and Manzanar was no exception.<ref name="heitz 4"/> Cooperatives operated various services, such as the camp newspaper,<ref name="FreePress">{{cite web | work=Manzanar National Historic Site |title= Manzanar Free Press Index | publisher=National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior | url=http://www.nps.gov/manz/historyculture/mfpindex.htm | year=2004 | access-date=April 18, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109065356/http://www.nps.gov/manz/historyculture/mfpindex.htm | archive-date=November 9, 2007 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Newspapers-LATimes">{{cite news | last=Chawkins | first=Steve | title=Barbed Wire And Free Press | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-may-03-me-internment3-story.html | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=May 3, 2007 | access-date=June 28, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013063721/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/may/03/local/me-internment3 | archive-date=October 13, 2012 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="DenshoNewspapers">{{cite web | last=Takeya | first=Mizuno | title=Newspapers In Camp | publisher=Densho | url=http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Newspapers_in_camp | access-date=October 1, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002022644/http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Newspapers_in_camp/ | archive-date=October 2, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref> beauty salons and barber shops, shoe repair, libraries, and more.<ref name="Reflections7" /><ref name="loc hartsell 20180517"/> In addition, there were some who raised chickens, hogs, and vegetables, and cultivated the existing orchards for fruit.<ref name="Reflections7" /> During the time Manzanar was in operation, 188 weddings were held, 541 children were born in the camp, and between 135 and 146 individuals died.<ref name="mcstotts 2010"/><ref name="IReiTo5"/>

Life in the camp became more difficult as sickness spread throughout it. The housing sector of the camp was just 500 acres and held more than ten thousand prisoners at its peak. The compactness of the camp led many people to fall ill even though they were given vaccines upon arrival to the camp. The water at Manzanar was unclean, and caused many inmates to suffer from dysentery.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Some of those interned at the camp supported the policies implemented by the [[War Relocation Authority]], causing them to be targeted by others in the camp.<ref name="latimes obit togo tanaka 20090705"/> On December 6, 1942, a [[#Manzanar Riot|riot broke out]] and two internees were killed. [[Togo Tanaka]] was one of those targeted, but he escaped by disguising himself and mingling into the crowd that was searching for him.<ref name="latimes obit togo tanaka 20090705"/> Others were outraged that their patriotism was being questioned simply because of their ethnic heritage.<ref name="heitz 2019"/> Despite the hardships endured, the internees gradually "turned [the] concentration camp into a community" by "[spending] their days creating beautiful things".<ref name="heitz 3">Quote from H. Umemoto in a 2014 interview by Heitz, p. 3.</ref>

=== Food ===
[[File:Mess Hall Line.jpg|thumb|right|Waiting for lunch outside a mess hall at noon on July 7, 1942]]
The barracks at Manzanar had no cooking areas, and all meals were served at block mess halls.<ref name="nps manzanar daily life"/> The mess hall lines were long and stretched outside regardless of weather.<ref name="nps manzanar daily life"/><ref name="kikuchi memories 2007 npr"/> The cafeteria-style eating was named by the 1980s Congressional Committee on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) as a cause of the deterioration of the family due to children wanting to eat with their friends instead of their families, and families not always being able to eat together.<ref name="caam kim food 20170213"/><ref name="heitz 2019"/> There was a strict meal schedule, with one young detainee noting "We eat from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM o'clock in the morning 12:00 PM-1:00 PM in afternoon and 5:00 PM-6:00 in night and on Sunday we eat 8:00 AM-9:00."<ref>{{cite journal | title=Letter from Yoshi Sugiyama to Claire D. Sprauge, June 5, 1942 | url=https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/sprague/10/ | journal=Claire B. Sprague Collection | date=June 5, 1942 | access-date=February 19, 2021| last1=Sugiyama | first1=Yoshi }}</ref> Food at Manzanar was based on military requirements. Meals usually consisted of hot rice and vegetables, since meat was scarce due to [[rationing]].<ref name="Reflections7" />

In 1944, a chicken ranch and a hog farm began operation, providing the camp with meat.<ref name="CAE171"/> As many of the internees were farmers, they used their knowledge of fertilizers, irrigation, land reclamation, and cultivation to successfully grow productive gardens.<ref name="heitz 3"/> They made their own [[soy sauce]] and [[tofu]].<ref name="Reflections7" /> Many families had small gardens outside their barracks.<ref name="heitz 4">Heitz, p. 4.</ref>

The food varied in quality, but was mostly substandard compared to the food the internees ate prior to incarceration.<ref name="caam kim food 20170213">{{cite web |url=https://caamedia.org/offthemenu/2017/02/13/victory-gardens-behind-barbed-wire-japanese-americans-recall-eating-in-camp/ |title=Victory Gardens Behind Barbed Wire: Japanese Americans Recall Eating In Camp |first=Heidi |last=Kim |date=February 13, 2017 |publisher=Center for Asian American Media |access-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-date=March 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316205447/https://caamedia.org/offthemenu/2017/02/13/victory-gardens-behind-barbed-wire-japanese-americans-recall-eating-in-camp/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Togo Tanaka]] described how people "got sick from eating ill-prepared food."<ref name="latimes obit togo tanaka 20090705"/> Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga described trying to take care of her newborn daughter, saying that the child was so sick that, while "[m]ost infants double their weight, birth weight, at six months", her daughter "had not doubled her weight in a year".<ref name="caam kim food 20170213"/>

The food in Manzanar was heavily [[Starch#Food|starchy]] and low quality, including [[Vienna sausage#North America|Vienna sausages]], canned [[Green bean|string beans]], [[Hot dog#In the United States|hot dogs]], and [[apple sauce]].<ref name="caam kim food 20170213"/> Outside of the sausages and hot dogs, meat was rare, usually consisting of chicken or mutton that was heavily breaded and fried.<ref name="kikuchi memories 2007 npr">{{cite AV media |first=Frank |last=Kikuchi |year=2007 |title=Frank Kikuchi Describes the Food at the Manzanar Camp in California |url=https://www.npr.org/player/embed/17335538/17358613 |access-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605232228/https://www.npr.org/player/embed/17335538/17358613 |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |format=audio |time=0:18–0:59 |publisher=[[NPR]] }}</ref> Frank Kikuchi, an internee at Manzanar, stated that some of the newspapers lied to the American public by telling them that the "Japs [in the camps] are getting steaks, chops, eggs, or eating high off the hog."<ref name="kikuchi memories 2007 npr"/> Camp, school, and individual gardens eventually helped supplement the menu in the mess halls.<ref name="caam kim food 20170213"/> Internees also snuck out of the camp to go fishing, often bringing back their catches to the camp.<ref name="caam kim food 20170213"/>

[[Harry Ueno]] accused camp administrators and leaders in the [[Japanese American Citizens League]] (JACL) of stealing food meant for the internees and then selling it on the [[black market]].<ref name="caam kim food 20170213"/> During the [[#Manzanar Riot|December 1942 camp riot]], Ueno was arrested for allegedly beating another internee who was a member of the JACL.

=== Employment ===
[[File:Ansel Adams - Farm workers and Mt. Williamson.jpg|thumb|right|Farm workers at Manzanar, 1943 by [[Ansel Adams]]]]
Most of the adults were employed at Manzanar to keep the camp running.<ref name="nps manzanar daily life"/> In order for the camps to be self-sufficient, the adults were employed in a variety of jobs to supply the camp and the military.<ref name="nps manzanar work">{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/manz/work.html |title=Work |work=Manzanar National Historic Site |publisher= National Park Service |access-date=June 2, 2020 |archive-date=March 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311095646/https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/manz/work.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Jobs included clothing and furniture manufacturing, farming and tending orchards, military manufacturing such as camouflage netting and experimental rubber, teaching, civil service jobs such as police, fire fighters, and nursing, and general service jobs operating stores, beauty parlors, and a bank.<ref name="nps manzanar work"/>

A farm and orchards provided vegetables and fruits for use by the camp,<ref name="nps japanese americans manzanar"/> and people of all ages worked to maintain them.<ref name="nps manzanar work"/> By the summer of 1943, camp gardens and farms were producing potatoes, onions, cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, watermelon, eggplant, tomatoes, aster, red radishes, and peppers.<ref name="heitz 4"/> Eventually, there were more than 400 acres of farms producing more than 80 percent of the produce used by the camp.<ref name="heitz 4"/> In early 1944, a chicken ranch began operation, and in late April of the same year, the camp opened a hog farm. Both operations provided welcome meat supplements to the diet.<ref name="CAE171">Burton ''et al.'' (1999), p. 171.</ref>

Shortly after being interned, [[Togo Tanaka]] and Joe Masaoka were hired by anthropologist [[Robert Redfield]] as documentary historians for the camp.<ref name="latimes obit togo tanaka 20090705"/><ref name="1973 interview calstate fullerton">{{cite web |url=http://www.oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=ft0p30026h&brand=calisphere&doc.view=entire_text
|title=An Interview with Togo W. Tanaka |author1-first=Betty E. |author1-last=Mitson |author2-first=David A. |author2-last=Hacker |editor-first=Arthur A. |editor-last=Hansen |date=May 19, 1973 |publisher=[[California State University, Fullerton]] |page=125 |access-date=June 3, 2020 |archive-date=June 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603023355/http://www.oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=ft0p30026h&brand=calisphere&doc.view=entire_text |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Niiya">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Niiya |first=Brian |url=http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Togo%20Tanaka/ |title=Togo Tanaka |encyclopedia=Densho Encyclopedia |access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref> In addition to his work at the ''[[#Manzanar Free Press|Manzanar Free Press]]'', he filed hundreds of reports to the WRA that often criticized those in charge at the camp and the living conditions in the camp.<ref name="latimes obit togo tanaka 20090705"/>

Unskilled workers earned [[United States dollar|US$]]8 per month (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|8|1942|r=1}}}} per month as of {{CURRENTYEAR}}), semi-skilled workers earned $12 per month (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|12|1942|r=0}}}} per month as of {{CURRENTYEAR}}), skilled workers made $16 per month (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|16|1942|r=0}}}} per month as of {{CURRENTYEAR}}), and professionals earned $19 per month (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|19|1942|r=0}}}} per month as of {{CURRENTYEAR}}).<ref name="nps japanese americans manzanar"/> In addition, everybody received $3.60 per month (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|3.6|1942|r=0}}}} per month as of {{CURRENTYEAR}}) as a clothing allowance.<ref name="Reflections7" />

=== ''Manzanar Free Press'' ===
[[File:Manzanar Free Press (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Roy Takeno reading a copy of the ''Manzanar Free Press'' in front of the newspaper's office in the camp]]
The ''Manzanar Free Press'' was first published April 11, 1942, and was published through the October 19, 1945, issue.<ref name="loc ca manzanar free press about">{{cite web|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84025948/ |title=About Manzanar free press. [volume] (Manzanar, Calif.) 1942–1945 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=June 2, 2020}}</ref> It was published with both Japanese and English sections, with the Japanese section added on July 14, 1942.<ref name="loc ca manzanar free press about"/><ref name="densho manzanar free press"/> Between the first issue and the May 31, 1942, issue, it was published at the Manzanar Assembly Center, which was operated by the [[Wartime Civil Control Administration]]. After that, it was published at the Manzanar Relocation Center until it ceased publication.<ref name="loc manzanar free press archive">{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84025948/?st=calendar |title=Manzanar Free Press (Manzanar, Calif.) 1942–1945 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=June 2, 2020}}</ref>

The paper was originally published as four pages biweekly which were hand-typed and [[mimeograph]]ed.<ref name="densho manzanar free press"/> The circulation increased as the number of people in the camp grew, the release increased to three issues weekly, and a printing press was acquired, allowing the paper to be typeset beginning on July 22, 1942.<ref name="densho manzanar free press"/> The page count also increased to six.<ref name="densho manzanar free press"/>

Journalists who reported for the newspaper include [[Togo Tanaka]], who was the English section editor of the ''[[Rafu Shimpo]]'' before being incarcerated.<ref name="densho manzanar free press"/> Tanaka also delivered the ''Free Press'' before working as a journalist for them.<ref name="1973 interview calstate fullerton"/> While working as a reporter for the ''Free Press'', Tanaka wrote hundreds of articles documenting the everyday life in the camp.<ref name="latimes obit togo tanaka 20090705">{{cite web|last=Woo |first=Elaine |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-togo-tanaka5-2009jul05,0,7479353.story |title=Togo W. Tanaka dies at 93; journalist documented life at Manzanar internment camp |date=July 5, 2009 |work= [[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=June 2, 2020}}</ref> Beginning on July 22, 1942, [[Chiye Mori]], poet and journalist, was listed as an editor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chiye Mori {{!}} Densho Encyclopedia |url=https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Chiye%20Mori |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=encyclopedia.densho.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=Jul 30, 1942 |title=Japanese evacuees publish own paper: contingent at Manzanar, Calif., conduct new enterprise |pages=10 |work=[[New York Times]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/106266237|id={{ProQuest|106266237}} }}</ref>

Despite the name of the newspaper, the [[War Relocation Authority]] (WRA) controlled the content of the paper and used it to publish announcements from the camp administration, news from other camps, orders, rules and guidelines from the WRA, and upcoming camp events, in addition to the regular content.<ref name="densho manzanar free press">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Manzanar_Free_Press_(newspaper)/ |title=Manzanar Free Press (newspaper) |last=Wakida |first=Patricia |encyclopedia=[[Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project|Densho Encyclopedia]] |date=January 16, 2018 |access-date=June 2, 2020}}</ref> Some content{{which|date=January 2024}} was not allowed to be published.<ref name="bahr unquiet nisei 2007">Bahr (2007).</ref> The standard content included articles about life in the camps, sports scores and coverage, coverage of the war, and so on.<ref name="loc hartsell 20180517"/><ref name="densho manzanar free press"/>

=== Recreation ===
[[File:Ansel Adams, Baseball game at Manzanar, 1943.jpg|thumb|right|A [[baseball]] game at Manzanar, 1943]]
People made life at Manzanar more tolerable through recreation. They participated in sports, including [[baseball]], [[American football|football]], [[basketball]], [[Association football|soccer]], [[volleyball]], [[softball]], and [[martial arts]].<ref name="Reflections8" /><ref name="colborn-roxworthy 2007"/><ref name="loc hartsell 20180517"/> A nine-hole golf course was built at the camp.<ref name="Reflections7" /><ref name="CAE168">Burton ''et al.'' (1999), p. 168.</ref> [[Lou Frizzell]] served as the musical director, and under his mentorship [[Mary Nomura]] became known as the "songbird of Manzanar" for her performances at dances and other camp events.<ref>{{citation|url=http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Mary_Nomura/|title=Mary Nomura|encyclopedia=Densho Encyclopedia|publisher=[[Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project]]|access-date=March 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310135957/http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Mary_Nomura/|archive-date=March 10, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Theatre performances—for internees, camp administration and WRA staff, and even for some members of the surrounding communities—included original productions by internees as well as traditional Japanese works of [[kabuki]] and [[noh]].<ref name="colborn-roxworthy 2007"/>

Internees, many of whom were relocated from their landscaping businesses in the Los Angeles area,<ref name="heitz 3"/> personalized and beautified their barren surroundings by building elaborate [[Japanese garden|gardens]] and parks, which often included pools, waterfalls, and rock ornaments.<ref name="nps japanese americans manzanar"/><ref name="colborn-roxworthy 2007"/> Competitions were often held between landscapers as they created gardens in the public spaces of the camp (such as between barracks).<ref name="heitz 4"/> The camp administration even allowed some gardens to be created outside the camp.<ref name="heitz 4"/> These helped create a sense of community and gave the internees a place to heal.<ref name="heitz 3"/> Remnants of some of the gardens, pools, and rock ornaments are still present at Manzanar, and there are plans to restore at least some of them.<ref name="mcstotts 2010"/><!--any updates since 2010?-->

One of the most popular pastimes for those incarcerated at Manzanar was baseball. The men there formed almost 100 baseball teams, and the women formed 14.<ref name="nytimes baseball 20140620">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/21/upshot/for-incarcerated-japanese-americans-baseball-was-wearing-the-american-flag.html |title=For Incarcerated Japanese-Americans, Baseball Was 'Wearing the American Flag' | first=Michael |last=Beschloss |date=June 20, 2014 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506113358/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/21/upshot/for-incarcerated-japanese-americans-baseball-was-wearing-the-american-flag.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Regular seasons were established, teams were divided into leagues, and championship games were held.<ref name="loc hartsell 20180517">{{cite web |url=https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2018/05/baseball-americana-playing-behind-barbed-wire/ |title=Baseball Americana: Playing Behind Barbed Wire |first=Mark |last=Hartsell |date=May 17, 2018 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=May 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503094834/https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2018/05/baseball-americana-playing-behind-barbed-wire/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The teams included both professional and amateur players.<ref name="american history byrd 20150318"/> Some of the players viewed playing baseball as a way to prove their loyalty to America, treating it like wearing an American flag.<ref name="nytimes baseball 20140620"/><ref name="american history byrd 20150318"/> Photographer [[Ansel Adams]] took his photo (right) as part of his effort to show how those incarcerated at Manzanar "overcome [their] sense of defeat and despair."<ref name="loc hartsell 20180517"/><ref name="nytimes baseball 20140620"/><ref name="american history byrd 20150318"/>

Many Japanese cultural celebrations were continued, though the official photos allowed out by the WRA rarely showed them.<ref name="heitz 2019"/> The New Year tradition of [[Mochi#Traditional preparation|''mochitsuki'']]—pounding glutinous rice into mochi—was regularly covered by the [[#Manzanar Free Press|camp newspaper]].<ref name="heitz 2019"/> Craftsman in the camp carved [[Geta (footwear)|''geta'']] for many of the residents, though the official photography only pointed out that they were useful for keeping above the dusty ground.<ref name="heitz 2019"/>

=== Manzanar Riot ===
Although most quietly accepted their fate during World War II, there was some resistance in the camps. [[Poston War Relocation Center|Poston]], [[Heart Mountain War Relocation Center|Heart Mountain]], [[Topaz War Relocation Center|Topaz]], and [[Tule Lake War Relocation Center|Tule Lake]] each had civil disturbances about wage differences, [[black market]]ing of sugar, food shortages, intergenerational friction, rumors of "informers" reporting to the camp administration or the FBI, and other issues.<ref name="Reflections8" /><ref name="colborn-roxworthy 2007"/><ref name="hansen 52-72">Hansen, pp. 52–72.</ref> The most serious incident occurred at Manzanar on December 5–6, 1942 (with some of the actions on both sides carrying over into the following days),<ref name="hansen 34-36"/> and became known as the "Manzanar Revolt" or "Manzanar Riot".<ref name="mcstotts 2010"/><ref name="CAE172">Burton ''et al.'' (1999), p. 172.</ref><ref name="hansen 43">Hansen, p. 43.</ref>

Some of the tension that precipitated the riot was related to work availability and the pay of those jobs, with ''[[Nisei]]'' and members of the [[Japanese American Citizens League]] (JACL) getting preferential treatment.<ref name="mcstotts 2010"/><ref name="hansen 52"/><ref name="hansen 40">Hansen, p. 40.</ref> After several months of tension between those who supported the JACL and a group of ''[[Kibei]]'' (Japanese Americans educated in Japan), rumors spread that sugar and meat shortages were the result of black marketing by camp administrators.<ref name="Reflections8" /><ref name="hansen 33">Hansen, p. 33.</ref> To make matters worse, JACL leader Fred Tayama was beaten by six masked men on the evening of December 5. Harry Ueno, the leader of the Kitchen Workers Union, and two others suspected of involvement, were arrested. The other two suspects were questioned and released, but Ueno was removed from Manzanar.<ref name="CAE172" /><ref name="hansen 33"/>

About 200 internees met on the morning of December 6 in the gardens at the Block&nbsp;22 mess hall to discuss what they should do, and another meeting was scheduled for a few hours later.<ref name="hansen 33"/><ref name="heitz 3-4">Heitz, pp. 3–4</ref> Between two and four thousand people gathered at the meeting where they listened to speeches and chose five people to present their grievances to the camp director.<ref name="hansen 34-36">Hansen, pp. 34–36.</ref> The crowd decided to follow the five representatives, which caused the camp director to tell the military police to muster in order to be available to control the crowd. The five representatives demanded that Ueno be released, but the camp director did not immediately agree.<ref name="hansen 34-36"/>

After the crowd began getting more unruly, the director finally agreed to release Ueno if the crowd agreed he should still stand trial, no one attempted to break him out of the camp jail, the five representatives would discuss any further wants with the director, the protesting crowds would disperse and not reassemble, and the five would work to dispel and quiet the protesters. Ueno was then returned to the camp jail in the early evening.<ref name="hansen 34-36"/><ref name="CAE172" />

When the five representatives went to verify that Ueno was in the jail, the crowd again returned to protest. Instead of dispersing as asked, they broke into groups to try to find Tayama and kill him. When they were unable to find him in the hospital, they began searching all through the camp for Tayama as well as Tokie Slocum and Togo Tanaka, two other suspected collaborators. When they were unable to find any of them, the searchers began returning toward the jail.<ref name="hansen 34-36"/>

While the smaller search parties were searching the camp, the camp director had been trying to negotiate with the five representatives. This appeared to work initially, but the crowd gradually became more angry and started throwing bottles and rocks at the soldiers. The military police responded with [[tear gas]] to disperse them.<ref name="hansen 34-36"/> As people ran to avoid the tear gas, some in the crowd pushed a driverless truck toward the jail.<ref name="CAE173">Burton ''et al.'' (1999), p. 173.</ref> At that moment, the military police fired into the crowd, killing a 17-year-old boy instantly.<ref name="caam kim food 20170213"/><ref name="hansen 34-36"/> A 21-year-old man who was shot in the abdomen died a few days later.<ref name="hansen 34-36"/> At least nine to ten other prisoners were wounded, and a military police corporal was wounded by a ricocheting bullet.<ref name="mcstotts 2010"/><ref name="Reflections8" /><ref name="colborn-roxworthy 2007"/>

That night, some inmates continued attacking suspected collaborators and meeting in small groups while avoiding military police patrols.<ref name="hansen 34-36"/> Over the next several days, internees marked as suspected collaborators were quietly removed from the camp with their families in order to protect them from being beaten or killed by the protesters.<ref name="hansen 34-36"/>

=== 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team ===
{{Main|100th Infantry Battalion|442nd Infantry Regiment (United States)}}
The vanguard of Japanese American (JA) combat units was the legendary 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) made up of soldiers in the Hawaii National Guard that was formed in June 1942.<ref>https://encyclopedia.densho.org/100th%20Infantry%20Battalion {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref> The training record of the 100th Battalion at Camp McCoy WI from June to December 1942 convinced the War Department to authorize the formation of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) on February 1, 1943.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://encyclopedia.densho.org/442nd%20Regimental%20Combat%20Team | title=442nd Regimental Combat Team &#124; Densho Encyclopedia }}</ref> On August 21, 1943, the 100th Battalion was deployed to Oran in North Africa. This unit became the War Department's test on whether JA soldiers could be trusted in combat when it landed in Italy in September 1943 as part of the 34th Infantry Division. The unparalleled bravery of the 100th Battalion in the first weeks of combat forever answered this question of trust, paving the way for the 442nd RCT to join them in June 1944.

Because of the 100th Battalion's sterling training record and the Varsity Victory Volunteers,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Varsity%20Victory%20Volunteers | title=Varsity Victory Volunteers &#124; Densho Encyclopedia }}</ref> a group of University of Hawaii ROTC students who received positive publicity for their volunteer civilian labor for the U.S. Army, along with many organizations and leaders in Hawaii and on the mainland lobbying the government to allow Japanese Americans to serve in the armed forces, President Roosevelt authorized the formation of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) on February 1, 1943. When the announcement about the new unit was made, 10,000 young men in Hawaii signed up from which 2,686 were selected, and along with 1,182 from the mainland, they were sent to Camp Shelby in Mississippi for basic training in April 1943. Along with the cadre of those already in the Army, roughly 2/3 of the 442nd RCT were from Hawaii and 1/3 from the mainland.

Of the nearly 160,000 people of Japanese descent living in Hawaii in 1940, fewer than 2,000 were incarcerated compared to the mass incarceration of those on the West Coast; thus, less than 2% of the soldiers from the islands had families in the camps.