TULARE CO. INCIDENTS

1/22/45 Orosi, near Fresno, Tulare County, Calif.: Group of Orosi ranchers and businessmen appeared and threatened evacuee owners of fruit and vegetable ranch with a set deadline for them to leave. Deadline has passed without untoward incident. Local offices and State Department of Justice watching the case

2/26/45, 2/27/45 Orosi, Tulare Co., Calif. Sam Uyeno's home was subjected to shooting on two successive nights at 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. No one was injured. Suspect two Orosi High School boys who quit school day evacuee Ben Shiba came back from Gila River Relocation Center and re-entered school. That same evening the first shooting occurred. Eleven evacuees are staying on Uyeno's ranch in Tulare County. Investigation continues.

Exonerate Suspect in Orosi Shooting

SACRAMENTO--George Griffin, acting chief special investigator of the Attorney General’s office, said on March 3 a ballistics check had shown that none of the bullets recovered in a shooting at the Sam Uyeno ranch near Orosi, Tulare County, last week came from any of the four guns owned by a high school boy questioned in the incident. Source: Pacific Citizen, Saturday, March 10, 1945, page 2

3/28/45 Tulare, Tulare County: Tulare Daily Times reported on 3/28/45 that late p.m. 3/26/45 a "self-confessed Jap" wielded a sharp knife and was routed after a short but bloody encounter with Henry Smith, owner of the Kern Street Market, 127 E. Kern St." The alleged encounter took place after Smith told the assailant he had no cigarettes and the "Jap" purportedly replied, "That's the trouble with you Americans, you won't sell anything to us "Japs." Paper's account makes it look like a "plant" or a phony.

April 3, 1945 Orosi, Tulare Co., Calif.

 Sign "No Japs Wanted" erected at entrance to town.  Reported to constable who said sign does not violate any local ordinance and that there was nothing he could do about it.  Dist. Atty. Walter C. Haigh said the sign did not violate any county ordinance but that he would try to have it removed.  Sign is posted on land owned by realtor, C.F.Schleicher.  He claims to know nothing about it and intends doing nothing about removing it. 

Source: “Special Field Reports of Allan Markley” to Dillon S. Meyer, Director WRA, Attn: M.M. Tozier, Chief of Reports, WRA

5/24/45 Orosi, Tulare County, Calif. At 10 p.m. two shots were fired from a moving automobile into the home of Kaudy Mimura, 58, a citizen, with him in the house were his wife, his son, 9, and three relatives. No one was injured, although the shots were shoulder high. One went into a bedroom and one into the front room, Mimura asked protection of Sheriff Sherman. (20^th shooting attempt), a brother of one of the three relatives present, Ray Kunitake, has a brother with the 442nd and another being inducted June 26.

5/25/45 Orosi, Tulare County, Calif. — At 10:00 p.m. May 24, two shots were fired shoulder high, into the house of Kaudy Mimura, 32, a citizen living at Route 8, Box 43, Orosi. One shot ripped into the bedroom and the other into the living room. Sheriff was notified immediately and made an investigation. He found one copper jacketed shell nearby. He declined to request special police protection, saying his office was shorthanded. He also indicated he felt he did not have enough evidence to go on.

Source: “Special Field Reports of Allan Markley” to Dillon S. Meyer, Director WRA, Attn: M.M. Tozier, Chief of Reports, WRA