On July 27, 1942, Hirota Isomura, a 59-year-old Issei internee, was fatally shot at the Lordsburg Internment Camp in Lordsburg, New Mexico. Isomura, along with another internee, Toshio Kobata, had been transported to the camp as part of a group of 147 prisoners arriving that night. Both Isomura and Kobata were in poor health, with Isomura suffering from unspecified medical conditions and Kobata from the aftereffects of tuberculosis, which made it difficult for them to walk.
Upon their
arrival, the main group of internees was marched towards the camp under the supervision of army guards. Due to their health issues, Isomura and Kobata were separated from the main group and escorted by two privates, Clarence A. Burleson and Joseph F. Kelly. The instructions given to the escorts were clear: if any alien attempted to escape, they were to shout 'Halt' twice, and if the individual did not comply, they were to fire on them. The internees were also instructed to stay on the pavement and not leave the hard surface at any time.
As the four men walked towards the camp at a slow pace, Private Kelly temporarily left the road to get some water. During this brief absence, Private Burleson claimed that Isomura and Kobata started talking to each other and then began to run. Burleson testified that he called out 'Halt' twice, but the men did not stop, prompting him to fire his 12-gauge shotgun at them. Kelly, upon hearing the shots, rushed back to find both Isomura and Kobata lying on the ground off the road.
Toshio Kobata was shot and killed at the scene, while Hirota Isomura died by daybreak the following morning. The incident led to a court-martial hearing, where Private Clarence A. Burleson was charged with manslaughter for the deaths of both Kobata and Isomura. During the trial, Burleson was the sole defense witness and maintained that the two men had attempted to escape. However, the military witnesses provided conflicting accounts regarding the distances between the internees, Burleson, and the fence. Despite the discrepancies and the autopsy report that contradicted Burleson's testimony, he was acquitted of the manslaughter charges. Instead, he was hailed as a hero by the local community.
The shooting of Isomura and Kobata was part of a broader context of tensions and violations of the Geneva Convention at the Lordsburg Internment Camp. The camp, operated by the U.S. Army under Colonel Clyde Lundy, was notorious for its harsh conditions and mistreatment of internees. The incident highlighted the severe and often lethal consequences faced by Japanese Americans interned during World War II, and it remains a poignant example of the trauma and injustice endured by those held in these camps.
