As we approach December 7th, "a date which will live in infamy" that was the surprise bombings at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in 1941, history has covered this subject many times. So, your editor went looking for something a little different to write and here is what he found:
Hideki Tojo was born in 1884 and became a general of the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the Prime Minister of Japan during World War II, as well as serving as the Minister of War. In these positions, he was directly responsible for approving the attack on Pearl Harbor, which lead to the war with Japan and the United States. But here we pick up his life (and death) at the end of the war.
After Japan's unconditional surrender on September 2, 1945, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur issued orders for the arrest of the first forty alleged war criminals, including Tojo. Soon, Tojo's home in Setagaya, Japan, was besieged with newsmen and photographers as the Army approached. Inside the home, his doctor had marked Tojo's chest with charcoal to indicate the location of his heart. As the American military police surrounded the house on September 8th, they heard a muffled shot from inside. Major Paul Kraus, a group of military police, and a reporter from The New York Times burst in to find Tojo had shot himself in the chest with a pistol. But, despite shooting directly through the mark, the bullet missed his heart and penetrated his stomach.
Disarmed and with blood gushing out of his chest, Tojo began to talk. Two Japanese reporters recorded his words: "I am very sorry it is taking me so long to die... I wished to commit suicide but sometimes that fails." He was arrested and underwent surgery in a U.S. Army hospital. (A Yankee sergeant gave a blood transfusion so that Tojo could face justice in court). After recovering from his injuries, Tojo was moved to Sugamo Prison. While there, he received a new set of dentures made by an American dentist. Supposedly, a secret phrase "Remember Pearl Harbor" had been drilled into the teeth in Morse code.
Hideki Tojo was later tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for war crimes and found guilty of over 200 charges, including over 50 counts of ordering, authorizing, and permitting inhumane treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) and others. He was sentenced to death on November 12, 1948, and executed by hanging on December 23rd, along with six other convicted war criminals. In Tojo's final statements, he accepted full responsibility for his actions during the war and the atrocities committed by the Japanese military. (Many believe this was to diligently shield the Emperor from any intimation of guilt and allowed the Allies to not have to pursue Emperor Hirohito on war crimes). However, he also urged the American military to show compassion toward the Japanese population, who had suffered devastating air attacks and two atomic bombings.
Side Note: Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan, was originally built in 1920 for political prisoners. It was not damaged during the bombings of Tokyo during WWII and the Allied occupation forces took it over to house the suspected war criminals awaiting trial. After the conclusion of the trials, Sugamo Prison was used to incarcerate some of the convicted and was the site of the execution of seven of them, including Tojo, on December 23, 1948. After the end of the occupation of Japan, the prison passed to Japanese civilian government control and was finally closed in 1971 due to the age of the facility.
During the occupation, all the enlisted GI guards at Sugamo were young and none of them had seen combat against the Japanese military, thus had less ill-will against the former foes. This was a deliberate move by the U.S. High Command because they were guarding some of the highest ranking leaders of the Japanese war effort and Command did not want the prisoners abused while awaiting trial. The editor's deceased stepfather and previous Post member, Ray Pisel, was a guard at Sugamo for a period of time during occupation and actually spent time guarding Hideki Tojo. He said Tojo normally sat quietly when in his cell.
You may click on any photo here in any of the postings to view it in full size - use the Internet "back" arrow to return.
Hideki Tojo was born in 1884 and became a general of the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the Prime Minister of Japan during World War II, as well as serving as the Minister of War. In these positions, he was directly responsible for approving the attack on Pearl Harbor, which lead to the war with Japan and the United States. But here we pick up his life (and death) at the end of the war.After Japan's unconditional surrender on September 2, 1945, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur issued orders for the arrest of the first forty alleged war criminals, including Tojo. Soon, Tojo's home in Setagaya, Japan, was besieged with newsmen and photographers as the Army approached. Inside the home, his doctor had marked Tojo's chest with charcoal to indicate the location of his heart. As the American military police surrounded the house on September 8th, they heard a muffled shot from inside. Major Paul Kraus, a group of military police, and a reporter from The New York Times burst in to find Tojo had shot himself in the chest with a pistol. But, despite shooting directly through the mark, the bullet missed his heart and penetrated his stomach.
Disarmed and with blood gushing out of his chest, Tojo began to talk. Two Japanese reporters recorded his words: "I am very sorry it is taking me so long to die... I wished to commit suicide but sometimes that fails." He was arrested and underwent surgery in a U.S. Army hospital. (A Yankee sergeant gave a blood transfusion so that Tojo could face justice in court). After recovering from his injuries, Tojo was moved to Sugamo Prison. While there, he received a new set of dentures made by an American dentist. Supposedly, a secret phrase "Remember Pearl Harbor" had been drilled into the teeth in Morse code.
Hideki Tojo was later tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for war crimes and found guilty of over 200 charges, including over 50 counts of ordering, authorizing, and permitting inhumane treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) and others. He was sentenced to death on November 12, 1948, and executed by hanging on December 23rd, along with six other convicted war criminals. In Tojo's final statements, he accepted full responsibility for his actions during the war and the atrocities committed by the Japanese military. (Many believe this was to diligently shield the Emperor from any intimation of guilt and allowed the Allies to not have to pursue Emperor Hirohito on war crimes). However, he also urged the American military to show compassion toward the Japanese population, who had suffered devastating air attacks and two atomic bombings.
Side Note: Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan, was originally built in 1920 for political prisoners. It was not damaged during the bombings of Tokyo during WWII and the Allied occupation forces took it over to house the suspected war criminals awaiting trial. After the conclusion of the trials, Sugamo Prison was used to incarcerate some of the convicted and was the site of the execution of seven of them, including Tojo, on December 23, 1948. After the end of the occupation of Japan, the prison passed to Japanese civilian government control and was finally closed in 1971 due to the age of the facility.During the occupation, all the enlisted GI guards at Sugamo were young and none of them had seen combat against the Japanese military, thus had less ill-will against the former foes. This was a deliberate move by the U.S. High Command because they were guarding some of the highest ranking leaders of the Japanese war effort and Command did not want the prisoners abused while awaiting trial. The editor's deceased stepfather and previous Post member, Ray Pisel, was a guard at Sugamo for a period of time during occupation and actually spent time guarding Hideki Tojo. He said Tojo normally sat quietly when in his cell.
You may click on any photo here in any of the postings to view it in full size - use the Internet "back" arrow to return.
