On the morning of Dec. 8, 1941, Sergeant David Akui walked alongside Waimanalo Seashore and noticed what he thought was a sea turtle rising from the surf. Akui rapidly realized he had discovered one thing way more important—a Japanese naval officer from yesterday’s Pearl Harbor assault. Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki turned Prisoner of Struggle No. 1 for america, the primary of solely roughly 50,000 Japanese navy personnel who would give up to Western Allied forces throughout World Struggle II.
Sakamaki was the only survivor amongst 10 Japanese submariners who tried to penetrate Pearl Harbor in 5 two-man midget submarines. His survival marked him for shame in a navy tradition ruled by Bushido, the warrior code that demanded demise earlier than give up.
The Submarine Assault at Pearl Harbor
The Dec. 7, 1941, assault on Pearl Harbor concerned extra than simply carrier-based plane. 5 Ko-hyoteki class midget submarines launched from bigger mom ships positioned round 10 miles off Oahu. Every 78-foot submarine carried two torpedoes and a two-man crew. The submarines have been presupposed to enter the harbor earlier than daybreak, conceal on the ocean flooring, then floor in the course of the aerial assault to fireplace torpedoes on the American battleships.
The plan was can be the primary check of Japan’s secret midget submarines. Flight commander Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the aerial assault, opposed together with the submarines although. He frightened they’d compromise the operation’s secrecy if noticed making an attempt to enter the harbor earlier than the bombing. His issues proved legitimate when the USS Ward sank one of many submarines at 6:37 a.m.—greater than an hour earlier than the primary bombs fell. Nonetheless, American commanders dismissed the Ward’s report as a false alarm.
Sakamaki commanded HA-19, launched from submarine I-24 at 3:30 a.m. with Chief Warrant Officer Kiyoshi Inagaki as his crewmate. Their submarine’s gyrocompass failed instantly. Navigation turned guesswork. Sakamaki needed to expose the periscope incessantly, risking detection from a number of patrolling American ships. HA-19 struck coral reefs three separate instances making an attempt to succeed in the harbor entrance.
At 8:17 a.m., solely minutes after the bombing of Pearl Harbor started, the destroyer USS Helm noticed HA-19 caught on a reef and fired. The shells missed however the concussion knocked Sakamaki unconscious and freed the submarine from the rocks. The impacts had crushed the ahead torpedo tubes. Seawater leaked into the battery compartments, producing chlorine gasoline that repeatedly knocked each males unconscious as they drifted east across the island.
American destroyers dropped depth costs on the crippled submarine all through the day. By night, HA-19 had grounded close to Bellows Discipline. The boys awoke and set scuttling costs to destroy the submarine, then they each deserted ship. Nonetheless, the explosives failed, doubtless having been flooded by the seawater. Inagaki drowned preventing by the surf whereas Sakamaki washed ashore unconscious.
Bushido and the Disgrace of Seize
Bushido, the samurai code tailored for contemporary Japanese navy service, required warriors to die fairly than settle for the dishonor of give up. The 1941 Senjinkun navy code particularly prohibited Japanese troopers from being taken prisoner. Ritual suicide by seppuku provided the standard path to revive honor after failure or seize.
In actuality, this mindset was the Japanese navy’s try and masks their lack of contemporary tools and sources to wage battle, opting to sacrifice service members in final ditch makes an attempt to overwhelm superior enemies by banzai costs and suicidal assaults. These classes have been discovered the exhausting method after Japan’s humiliating skirmishes with Soviet forces in Manchuria.
This indoctrination, nevertheless, proved efficient. Regardless of roughly 50,000 Japanese navy personnel ultimately surrendering in the course of the battle, the overwhelming majority fought to the demise. Of the roughly 27,000 American POWs held by Japan, greater than 11,000 died in captivity—a demise fee exceeding 40 p.c. Japanese forces anticipated equal brutality from the Allies and most well-liked demise to potential torture.
After discovering Sakamaki on the seaside, Cpl. Akui and Lt. Paul. G. Plybon tied him up and positioned him at the back of a jeep.
When Sakamaki wakened in a hospital beneath guard, he instantly requested means to commit suicide. American authorities refused. Japanese excessive command struck his identify from official data and knowledgeable his household his standing was unknown, although they have been conscious he had been taken prisoner. The 9 different submarine crewmen obtained posthumous double promotions and have become nationwide heroes whereas Sakamaki was omitted of propaganda posters and memorials.
Fuchida later famous in his autobiography that “the Navy scrubbed the face of officer Sakamaki from a photograph taken with the 9 different crew members earlier than they have been despatched out.”
Sakamaki spent practically three months confined to a small cell on Sand Island in Honolulu Harbor. He thought-about suicide continually throughout these first weeks. Like different Japanese troopers captured in the course of the battle, the disgrace of seize was insufferable for him.
Life as a Prisoner in america
American authorities transferred Sakamaki to mainland POW camps. He frolicked at amenities in Wisconsin, Camp Livingston in Louisiana, and quite a few different areas. Navy intelligence interrogated him extensively. His submarine had been captured intact with paperwork and charts that exposed detailed planning of the Pearl Harbor assault.
Nonetheless, he was handled with equity and even kindness by his captors and was fed properly, the exact opposite of what he had anticipated. Confronted with indefinite imprisonment with this therapy, Sakamaki selected to proceed dwelling and gave up on his aim of committing suicide. He discovered English and ultimately turned a pacesetter amongst Japanese POWs, encouraging different captured servicemen to adapt fairly than try suicide. He ultimately devoted himself to pacifism.
“For what motive is it justifiable to say that Japanese navy personnel who have been taken as prisoners are unpatriotic and deserve demise?” Sakamaki later wrote in one in every of his memoirs.
Between 35,000 and 50,000 Japanese navy personnel can be held as POWs by Western Allies earlier than battle’s finish. Sakamaki’s position as the primary gave him a novel standing among the many different captives. He later expressed gratitude that he was capable of persuade many different prisoners to alter their mindset throughout this time.
In the meantime, his submarine served American propaganda functions. The Navy disassembled HA-19, put in viewing ports within the hull, and positioned mannequins in Japanese uniforms inside. The submarine toured by 2,000 cities and cities throughout 41 states between 1942 and 1945. People purchased battle bonds for the privilege of viewing it. The marketing campaign raised hundreds of thousands for the battle effort.
Put up-Struggle Return to Japan
Sakamaki returned to Japan in January 1946, discovering his homeland bombed, devastated, and occupied by American troops. The reception he obtained from his fellow countrymen was hostile. Strangers despatched him numerous letters demanding he carry out seppuku to atone for his disgrace. One letter acknowledged, “The souls of the courageous comrades who fought with you and died have to be crying now over what you’ve got finished.”
His household had been informed to maintain his potential survival secret in the course of the battle. When the reality emerged, Sakamaki confronted social ostracism, like numerous different survivors. On Aug. 15, 1946—the primary anniversary of Japan’s give up—he married a girl whose father and brother had died within the Hiroshima atomic bombing. Their shared losses could have created understanding of the battle’s prices.
Sakamaki later joined Toyota Motor Company, the place his English abilities proved useful in export gross sales. He rose to change into president of Toyota’s Brazilian subsidiary in 1969. His eldest son was named Kiyoshi, doubtless in reminiscence of his drowned crewmate. Nonetheless, Kiyoshi was additionally criticized by his friends for being the son of a “coward.”
Akui went on to battle within the Pacific Theater of WWII and even served with the well-known “Merrill’s Marauders.” He refused a number of possibilities to once more meet with Sakamaki throughout and after the battle. Lt. Plybon was killed in motion later within the battle.
For 45 years, Sakamaki refused to debate his wartime service publicly, although he privately revealed his memoirs. After studying the origin of his identify, Kiyoshi went on to lecture about his father’s experiences and urge understanding and forgiveness for males who had been by such excessive occasions.
In 1991, Sakamaki attended a historic convention on the Nationwide Museum of the Pacific Struggle in Fredericksburg, Texas. The museum had acquired HA-19 for everlasting show in its displays. When Sakamaki encountered his submarine for the primary time in 50 years, he broke down in tears.
He died in Japan on Nov. 29, 1999, at age 81. He had survived shame, imprisonment, and social condemnation to construct a profitable life as a pacifist and businessman. His submarine stays on the Texas museum, one in every of 5 midget submarines that participated in Pearl Harbor’s often-forgotten submarine assault.
