Licensing

Loyalty Questions and Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee

Fall, 1943- All people in camps were asked to fill out a loyalty questionnaire and based on responses to the loyalty questions, the "loyal" and "disloyal" were segregated. The "disloyal" from the various camps were sent to Tule Lake, which became a segregation center, while the "loyal" from Tule Lake were sent to other camps. The two most controversial questions listed on the loyalty questionnaire were questions 27 and 28 which asked, “Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?” and “Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any and all attack by foreign or domestic forces and foreswear any form of allegiance to the Japanese Emperor, or any other foreign government, power, or organization?”
January 26th 1944- Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee, destined to become the only organized resistance to the military draft, was formed at a rally. Made up of "loyal" Nisei headed by Frank Emi, the Fair Play Committee members refused to report for draft physicals unless they and their families were granted their civil rights. In result of the Fair Play Committee’s resistance movement, seven members were convicted of conspiracy against the Selective Service Act, and 85 were imprisoned for draft law violations.

This image comes from the National Archive, please refer to this website for more information:
http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/