Lordsburg killings
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (November 2018) |
Part of the Double-homicide by shooting | |
Motive | Disputed |
---|---|
Deaths | 2 |
Accused | Clarence Burleson |
Charges | Manslaughter |
Verdict | Not guilty |
The Lordsburg killings refers to the shooting of two elderly
Background
Camp Lordsburg was originally an
The incident on July 27 was not the first shooting to occur at Camp Lordsburg. Although the Department of Justice managed the camp, the
Killings
On the night of July 27, 1942, a group of 147 Japanese men were being transported to Camp Lordsburg from another camp at Fort Lincoln, North Dakota. After getting off the train at Ulmoris Siding, Toshio Kobata and Hirota Isomura were walking down the road together and behind all the others. Both were in their late fifties and could not keep up with the pace. Kobata had suffered from tuberculosis for 16 years according to his friend, Hiroshi Aisawa. Fukujiro Hoshiya, a good friend of Isomura, reported that "he hurt his spine... years ago, falling off a boat... At the Bismarck Camp [North Dakota], he walked with a very much stoop." It was also said that Hoshiya's "whole body would tremble" when he stood, and that he could not run.[1][2]
The shooting occurred sometime during the two-mile trek through the Chihuahuan Desert. Clarence Burleson saw the two internees wander off of the road. According to the official report, Burleson shouted "Halt!" twice before shooting both of the men with a shotgun at about 30 yards (27 m) away. The coroner later found nine pellets each in the middle left portion of their backs, and since the shot pattern was not very wide, it was an indication that the shooting occurred at close range. It was also revealed that the two men had asked the guards to use a restroom, but the guards denied them permission to do so. This suggested that the victims may have walked off the road to relieve themselves.[1][2]
A portion of the official government response follows:
After Hirota Isomura and Toshiro Kobata entered the reservation but before they were within the camp enclosure, they suddenly made a break and started running toward the boundary of the reservation. The guard shouted to them twice to halt and when his order was not obeyed he fired in accordance with his standing instructions. Hirota Isomura died instantly and Toshiro Kobata a few hours later. An inquiry into the circumstances was conducted at once. The court-martial of the guard was vigorously prosecuted and all the facts were developed. An acquittal of the guard resulted.[1]
Aftermath
At first, Burleson was treated as a hero for stopping an "escape attempt." An officer at the facility even collected the shotgun shells used in the killing as souvenirs and said that Burleson "deserved a medal." Army headquarters, on the other hand, did not take the incident so lightly and immediately launched an investigation of the affair. As a result, Burleson was eventually arrested, charged with "willfully and lawfully" committing murder, and then sent to the
The result of the court martial was not accepted by everyone. A memo from the Department of State says: "Examination of the Army's reports on the shootings gives the impression that the Army's shooting rule comes close to making death, rather than up to 30 days arrest as provided in Article 54 of the
A Japanese internee, Sematsu Ishizaki, claimed that the camp's commandant,
Presently, barracks, concrete, and foundations of some of the buildings at the camp can still be visited, in addition to a historical marker that is located near the site.[5]
The marker reads as follows:
Camp Lordsburg - Near this site the U.S. Army operated a camp during World War II. It opened as an internment camp for Japanese and Japanese-American civilians from 1942-43. It later reopened as the Lordsburg Prisoner of War Camp for Germans and Italians from 1943-45. This camp is one of the few sites in the U.S. to house Japanese, Germans and Italians during its operations.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Big American Night : The Lordsburg Killings". Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f "Many Mountains Surrounding .::. The Killings at Lordsburg .:. Lordsburg Internment camp". Retrieved December 5, 2012.
- ^ "New Mexico Office of the State Historian : Lordsburg Internment POW Camp". Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
- ISBN 9781134321834.
- ^ "Documentary focuses on WWII Japanese - American internment camps in New Mexico - War History Online". Archived from the original on November 23, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
- ^ "Camp Lordsburg, NM". Retrieved December 5, 2012.
External links
- "Confinement in the Land of Enchantment: Japanese Americans in New Mexico during World War II". Public Lands History Center. Retrieved 2019-11-17.