Most towns have some history that is forgotten in time and Lordsburg is no exception. During the WWII era Japanese-Americans were rounded up and sent to POW - internment camps. Such a camp was located near Lordsburg and is the site of a tragic killing. Internees were transported to Lordsburg on trains and marched the mile from the depot to the camp in the middle of the night so as to not disturb locals.
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| Lordsburg Internees |
Nothing remains of the camp, however in later years the government saw fit to place a historical maker near the site. It makes no mention of the killings. The property is owned privately and posted no trespassing. Any remnants of the camp have been destroyed by landowners.
Various sources provide the following narrative:
Hirota Isomura and Toshio Kobata
Two critically ill internees who were killed by sentry July 27, 1942, during transfer to Lordsburg Internment Camp. Isomura was a fisherman from San Pedro, California. Kobata was a farmer from Brawley, California. These two, along with almost 150 other prisoners being moved from the Fort Lincoln Internment Camp in Bismarck, arrived at the New Mexico train station.
While the other prisoners were forced to march the mile from the station to Lordsburg, Isomura and Kobata were too ill to walk. The two were driven to the front gate of the camp, arriving before the rest of the prisoners. At approximately 2:30 a.m., camp guard Private First Class Clarence A. Burleson suddenly opened fire on the two men.
When the other newly arrived prisoners asked the camp physician about the condition of the two men, they were told that Isomura and Kobata were receiving medical care at the camp hospital. When morning came and the question was asked again, the doctor claimed that the two were shot during an escape attempt while on their way to the camp. Their graves were dug by two other Japanese American inmates, who were told "these graves are for the Japanese who died; if you don't do your work quickly, I will make you dig two more graves."
When the prisoners demanded an investigation and autopsy, the military commander refused on the grounds that they were already buried. The results of the September 2 hearing on the incident were not made available to the prisoners, although they submitted a report and some were allowed to testify.
The National Archives in Washington contains the report of the Army's local board that reviewed the event. Headed by Captain Arber J. Warren, First Lieutenants Phillip Bond and Edward C. Strum were the other two members.
Appearing before them were PFC Clarence A. Burleson, ASN 38132019 who fired the shots, PFC Joseph F. Kelly, ASN 34078392, who was with Burleson at the time of the shooting, their First Sergeant John A. Beckman, 38038827, and First Lieutenant Harold Stull. The board found that Burleson was justified in killing the two because they were trying to escape. The record did not show that any of the men who knew that Isomura and Kobata were so ill that they were unable to keep up with the rest of the prisoners were allowed to testify.
What was particularly revealing was the picture taken of the corpses by the local coroner. The wounds were in the middle left portion of the men's backs. Since the weapon used was a shotgun, the wounds indicated that they were shot at close range. They were not at some distance when they were hit since the shot pattern would have been much wider than their wounds showed.
It is much easier for a country to remember and commemorate its victories than it is to acknowledge its tragic failings. I could find nothing to show that there was a commemoration in 2012 of the killings in 1942.
Just one day more...
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