Prior to World
War II, the United States government had adhered to a policy of isolationism. In
the wake of the Pearl Harbor Attack, media-fueled hysteria built to a fever
pitch. Feeling the need to neutralize a perceived threat from within, the Roosevelt
administration unjustly labeled thousands of Italian, German, and Japanese
immigrants “enemy aliens.”
More
than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were uprooted from their homes and placed
in internment camps. Germans were not only subjected to relocation, but they
were also forbidden to own specific items (such as flashlights, cameras, and
radios) that might be used to communicate with Nazi sympathizers. More than
600,000 Italian-Americans were forced to deal with travel restrictions and
curfews. Joe DiMaggio’s parents were among the many innocent Sicilians who were
made to feel like criminals.
By the time the United States officially
entered the war, Giuseppe and Rosalie had been living in America for several decades.
Since they couldn’t read or write enough English to pass the naturalization
exam, neither of them had the proper documentation. Aware of their connection
to the famous Yankee icon, General John DeWitt of the Western Defense Command considered
arresting the couple to make an example of them. But in the end, he decided
that other restrictive measures would suffice. Giuseppe and Rosalie were
forbidden to visit DiMaggio’s Grotto on Fisherman’s Wharf. They were required
to carry I.D. papers on them at all times and, if they wished to travel further
than five miles from home, they had to request a permit. Giuseppe’s crab boat—a
16-footer named the Rosalie D.—was confiscated
along with the vessels of more than a thousand Italians operating on the
Pacific Coast.
The
mistreatment of “Enemy Aliens” continued until the end of the war and beyond.
Even after hostilities ceased overseas, it took several years to dismantle the
internment program. The punitive measures taken against Italian-Americans didn’t
sit well with Joltin’ Joe. According to Army officials, he exhibited a
“conscious attitude of hostility and resistance” toward his military duties.
The Yankee slugger felt that the Army was exploiting his All-Star status for
the purpose of public relations. He resented having to play in Army baseball
games. And though he was repeatedly hospitalized for chronic abdominal pain, no
evidence of an ulcer was detected by military doctors. Major William G. Barrett
believed that DiMaggio was fabricating the illness to earn a medical discharge.
His suspicions were included in an official report. Joe eventually got the release
he had been seeking in September of 1945.
Rosalie
DiMaggio became an official US citizen in 1944. Giuseppe became naturalized the
following year. In 2001, the US Department of Justice formally acknowledged the
mistreatment of Italian-Americans during the war. The California state
legislature waited nine more years to issue a formal apology (of sorts). A 2010
resolution sponsored by Democratic senator Joe Simitian officially expressed
“deepest regrets” over actions taken by government officials during the enemy alien
ordeal.
