Chester G. Hearn

The name Iwo Jima is familiar to most people with moderate knowledge of WWII in the Pacific as the site of a very fierce battle with many America Marine causalities. Much less know is an island in the same chain, Chichi Jima. This island was also heavily fortified by the Japanese and as a communications hub they expected American forces to try to storm this island as well. America decided to skip over the island as Iwo Jima had the space for Airfields they wanted and Chichi did not have the room.

This story is about how after the Japanese Emperor surrendered the island also surrendered. The Marine Colonel who accepted the surrender was suspicious of the response he got about what happened to American fliers the Japanese recovered who had been shot down in the area. He started an investigative board. What they found was shocking, the Japanese officers decided to mentally and morally toughen their men by executing American prisoners. And, then following Japanese superstition that believed you gained courage from eating the liver of your enemies they also engaged in cannibalism by eating parts of many of the aviators they killed.

The book is based on the notes of members of the investigative team on the island, the testimony given to the investigators, and records of the war crimes trials in Guam.

Of note, I was amused when the Japanese testified they could not tell the difference between two aviators they had captured because they were about the same build and had the same color of hair. White people all look alike don't you know? I suppose anyone who spends their life surrounded by a particular race might struggle at first to identify distinguishing characteristics of other races.

Japanese officers refer to the Bushido warrior code as what motivated them to murder unarmed prisoners and eat them. As has been recorded in other places (on actions in China) Japanese officers would sometimes select people to carry out the execution they felt were a little squeamish in an effort to toughen them up. So some of the testimony captured the horror felt by some of the people involved in killing the fliers. Also many Japanese did not approve of eating the fliers and some were given meat to eat and after they had swallowed a bite were told what it was and then they would try to make themselves throw it up much to the amusement of some of the higher ranking officers.

Several younger Japanese officers rather than face trial or examination on the role they played in killing American prisoners commited sucide.

In an effort to hide what they had done before they surrendered the island the Japanese dug up the bodies of all the Americans they killed and burned the bodies and tried to destroy all evidence they had been there. This resulted in remains being recovered by the Marines and buried as unknown with their familes never knowing their sons final resting place.

George H. W. Bush was shot down off the island of Chichi Jima. Two of his buddies covered him from the air and chased away Japanese efforts to pick him out of the water until a sub could pick him up. If not for this rescue he would have died on the island like the other American fliers did.… (més)