On July 27, 1942, a tragic incident occurred at the Lordsburg Internment Camp in New Mexico, resulting in the deaths of two elderly Japanese American men, Toshio Kobata and Hirota Isomura. The events unfolded during the early morning hours when a group of 147 Japanese men were being transported from the Bismarck Internment Camp in North Dakota to the Lordsburg Internment Camp.
Toshio Kobata, a 58-year-old man, and Hirota Isomura, a 59-year-old man, were among the internees who arrived at
the Lordsburg Railroad Station at around 1:45 AM. Both men were in poor health; Kobata had suffered from tuberculosis for 16 years, which significantly affected his breathing and required frequent rest, while Isomura had a spinal injury from a fall off a fishing boat, causing him to walk with a stoop and experience tremors when standing.
Due to their medical conditions, Kobata and Isomura were unable to keep up with the main group of internees during the two-mile march through the Chihuahuan Desert to the camp. They were allowed to walk behind the main column, accompanied by guards. Private First Class Clarence Burleson and Private Joseph F. Kelly were specifically detailed to escort these two men. The instructions given to the escorts were clear: if any alien tried to escape, they were to shout 'Halt' twice, and if the individual did not halt, they were to fire.
As the four men walked at a slow pace towards the camp, an incident occurred that would lead to the tragic outcome. According to the official report, Kobata and Isomura wandered off the road, possibly to relieve themselves after being denied permission to use a restroom earlier. Burleson saw them leave the road and shouted 'Halt!' twice before shooting both men with a 12-gauge shotgun at a distance of about 30 yards. The coroner's report later revealed that each man had nine pellets in the middle left portion of their backs, indicating the shooting occurred at close range. Hirota Isomura died instantly, while Toshio Kobata died a few hours later.
Clarence Burleson, the guard who fired the shots, was subsequently charged with manslaughter. A court-martial was conducted, during which Burleson testified that he had followed his standing instructions by shouting 'Halt' twice before firing. Despite the prosecution's efforts, Burleson was acquitted of both counts of manslaughter. The acquittal was based on the testimony that Burleson had acted in accordance with his military protocol.
The incident and its aftermath were marked by controversy and differing accounts. Some internees, such as Sematsu Ishizaki, suggested that the camp's commandant, Colonel Clyde Lundy, might have ordered the deaths as a way to suppress protests against the working conditions at the camp. However, these allegations were not proven, and the official investigation concluded that the guard had acted within his duties.
The deaths of Toshio Kobata and Hirota Isomura were part of a broader context of mistreatment and harsh conditions faced by Japanese American internees during World War II. The incident led to further investigations and eventually resulted in the removal of Colonel Lundy from command and the closure of the Lordsburg Internment Camp. The remains of Hirota Isomura and three other internees were later exhumed and reburied at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery in Texas, while Toshio Kobata's ashes were sent to friends interned at the Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona.
