美津雄 淵田 (1902 - 1976)

Born 3 Dec 1902 in 日本奈良県葛城市

Died 30 May 1976 at age 73 in 日本大阪府柏原市

Biography

美津雄 淵田 served in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II
Service started: 24 Jul 1924
Unit(s):
Service ended: Nov 1945

美津雄 淵田 is Notable.

Fuchida Mitsuo was the lead pilot of the first Japanese air wave attack on Pearl Harbor.

He was born on 3 December 1902 in Katsuragi, Nara Prefecture to Fuchida Yazo and Shika. He had a military education and learned to love flying. He gained the position of commander.

On Sunday, 7 December 1941, he led the successful attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet. This was followed by other successful attacks in the Pacific. On 4 June 1942, he was aboard the Akagi in the surgery recovering from an appendectomy. Barely able to walk, he nonetheless made it through several bolted hatches up to the deck and then up the bridge to observe the Battle of Midway. When the ship was hit, he slid down a rope through flames evacuating the bridge. An explosion knocked him to the deck, breaking both ankles. He spent several months recuperating from this, then was promoted to staff officer.^[1]

He was in Hiroshima the day before the atomic bomb was dropped, but was called back to Tokyo. The day after the bombing he was sent back to Hiroshima with several other men to investigate. All of the rest eventually died of radiation, but he never experienced symptoms.

After the war, he was called to testify in the trials against the Japanese for war crimes. He believed all prisoners were treated the way the Japanese had treated the Americans. Then he met some returning Japanese prisoners who told him they had not been tortured or abused. They told of a woman, Peggy Covell^[2], who had served them while they were imprisoned but whose missionary parents had been killed by the Japanese on the island of Panay in the Philippines.

Serving the enemy was incomprehensible to Mitsuo, who had been raised by the Bushido code in which revenge was a responsibility.

In 1948, Mitsuo was near the statue of Hachikō when he was handed a pamphlet about Jacob De Shazer, "I Was a Prisoner of Japan." Captured by the Japanese after his bomber ran out of fuel and went down in China, his subsequent imprisonment and torture led to his awakening interest in God. This pamphlet led Mitsuo to read the Bible for himself. When he became a Christian he started the 'Captain Fuchida Evangelistical Association' and spent several years touring the United States giving talks entitled "From Pearl Harbour to Cavalry." During this time he also authored the books:

"From Pearl Harbor to Golgotha"

"Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story"

"Shinjuwan Kogeki no Sotaicho no Kaiso"

He died on 30 May 1976 in Kashiwara city, Osaka Prefecture.

Sources

1. ↑ Prange, Gordon W, Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon. 'God's Samurai:Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor'. Brassey's Ink, Washington, D. C., 1990.
2. ↑ Set Apart Girl

• "California, San Francisco Passenger Lists, 1893-1953," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXHJ-1LY : 2 April 2015), Mitsuo Fuchida, 1952; citing San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1410 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 2,381,215.
• "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V3V8-VNG : 20 May 2014), Mitsuo Fuchida, May 1976; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

See also:

• WikiTree: Battle of Northern Australia; accessed 21 Jun 2024.
• Wikipedia: Mitsuo Fuchida
• Wikidata: Item Q116351, en:Wikipedia
• Find A Grave: Memorial #75968358