2
Dickson Terry, “Operation Democracy,” The Everyday Magazine, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 18, 1950, Part 5, p. 1.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
This account of the beginning of Ben’s journalism career was drawn from several sources, starting with the Operation Democracy Edition of the York Republican, June 8, 1950. Also helpful was Cal Stewart’s booklet-length biography of Ben Kuroki, Ben Kuroki: The Most Honorable Son (Lincoln, Nebraska: Nebraska Printing Center, 2010), pp. 26–27; other information was brought to my attention through the knowledge and generosity of Cal Stewart’s son, Scott Stewart, beginning with a telephone conversation on July 24, 2023; finally, I found useful material in the article by Dickson Terry, “Operation Democracy,” The Everyday Magazine, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 18, 1950, Part 5, p. 1. Terry garbles details about Ben’s life before 1950, but his quotes from Ben and description of the events of Operation Democracy mesh with the accounts of Cal and Scott Stewart.
6
Associated Press dispatch published as “Floods Strike Southeast Nebr. After Heavy Rains,” Beatrice (Nebraska) Daily Sun, July 10, 1950, p. 1; “Helps at York Flood,” Nebraska Signal, Geneva, Nebraska, July 13, 1950, p. 1.
7
“Editors Again Go to Kuroki’s Aid,” Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star, July 14, 1950, p. 8.
8
Cal Stewart, Ben Kuroki: The Most Honorable Son, pp. 26–27.
9
“Ben Kuroki Sells York Republican,” Omaha Morning World-Herald, January 12, 1952, p. 6
10
“He Writes His Editorials as He Fought—With Gusto,” Detroit Free Press, May 6, 1960, p. 22.
11
“Williamston Editor Firm, Will Not Bow to Council,” Lansing State Journal, October 21, 1960, p. 7.
12
“Japanese to Honor Brother Who Shot Down Bigotry,” Detroit Free Press, June 29, 1964, p. 1.
13
Julie Kuroki, author interview, October 8, 2023. Based on her conversations with her mother, Julie had a different view of the financial success of her father’s Michigan venture. For the growth and well-being of his daughters, “he literally gave up a flourishing publishing business that he owned and he had built from the ground up,” Julie told me.
CHAPTER 54: HIDDEN HEROES
1
Julius Gius, “Editor’s Notebook: Sad Farewell to the Herald-Trib,” Ventura County (California) Star-Free Press, August 22, 1966, p. 22.
2
“They Made My Blood Boil,” Ventura County Star, February 24, 1967, p. 19; also “The Day an Enemy Sub Shelled State Coast,” Ventura County Star, February 24, 1967, p. 19.
3
Julie Kuroki, author interview, October 8, 2023.
4
Ibid.
5
“Congress Approves Payments to Japanese American Internees,” Ben Kuroki letter to the editor published in the Los Angeles Times, August 13, 1988.
6
Charles F. Brannan to Col. Ray Ward, President, Air Force Association, letter dated March 24, 1990. Ben Kuroki papers, Military History, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
7
Fred Thomas, “War Hero Says Bigotry Fight Not Yet Won,” Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald, December 7, 1991, p. 3; “War Hero’s Dogged Determination Pays Off,” Associated Press dispatch, Beatrice Daily Sun, Beatrice, Nebraska, December 7, 1991, p. 3.
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