War Stories II

by Oliver L. North

  Meanwhile, throughout 7 and 8 August, the Americans continued to warn the Japanese of imminent destruction with leaflets and through radio broadcasts from Saipan. A second atomic bomb was coming.

  Another aircrew, commanded by Major Charles Sweeney, had the responsibility to ferry “Fat Man” to its intended target over the Kokura Arsenal. This time, the B-29 was named after the man who was originally supposed to fly the plane, Colonel Frederick Bock, who at the last minute didn’t make the flight. The crew nicknamed the B-29 “Bock’s Car.” Sweeney was the commanding officer and pilot for the mission. Others on the flight crew included Captain C. D. Albury, copilot; Second Lieutenant Fred Olivi, third pilot; Navy Commander Fred Ashworth, weapons officer; Master Sergeant John Kuharek, flight engineer; and Sergeant Ray Gallagher, assistant flight engineer.

  At 2200 hours on 8 August, “Fat Man” was loaded into Bock’s Car for the mission. The last briefing took place just after midnight, and at 0345 on 9 August, the pilots were rolling down the runway to lift off and head for Japan.

  Shortly after takeoff, Major Sweeney discovered that the 600-gallon reserve fuel tank switch was not working. After some failed attempts to fix it, they knew that they now had 600 fewer gallons of fuel for the mission. This would seriously limit their range and time over their target. Sweeney even thought that they might have to make an emergency landing at a recently captured Okinawa airfield.

  The flight seemed plagued by Murphy’s Law. In addition to the malfunctioning reserve fuel tank, their fighter escorts were late at the rendezvous point. The flight engineer also reported a number of shorts in the B-29’s electrical system. When the plane approached Kokura and the arsenal that was to be their target, the entire area was obscured by thick clouds and smog. The crew was unable to locate the necessary landmarks for targeting.

  Atomic-bomb cloud.

  Sweeney knew that they couldn’t wait for the clouds to clear. The navigator and flight engineer did the math: With their remaining fuel minus the 600 gallons in the reserve tank, and the time lost waiting for their escorts and looking for an opening in the clouds, they had fuel and time only for a single run on a secondary target. They picked Nagasaki, knowing that it would be risky for them to change course, find Nagasaki, drop the bomb, and then turn and make it to Okinawa for an emergency landing.

  When Bock’s Car approached Nagasaki, the crew saw that clouds obscured the city. However, as they approached, a break in the clouds appeared. It was almost eleven o’clock in the morning. The break in the clouds held, and the bomb bay doors were opened and “Fat Man” was dropped over Nagasaki. The Americans made a sixty-degree turn and headed south.

  Forty-five seconds after leaving the bomb bay, “Fat Man” exploded 2,000 feet above the city with a force of twenty-one kilotons of energy. The bomb detonated near the outer edge of Nagasaki, taking out the Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works. At the instant of the explosion, there was a glare brighter than the sun. Seconds later, Bock’s Car was shaken with terrible turbulence caused by the intense shock waves of the explosion.

  Fire and smoke enveloped the city and over 70,000 people—one-fourth of the population—were killed instantly. An equal number were injured in the blast and thousands of others would suffer radiation sicknesses over the next fifty years. The size and fury of the fiery blast widened out across the city and then began to rise above it. Lieutenant Olivi saw the column of flames and smoke rising and feared that it might envelop the plane, even at 30,000 feet.

  The crew managed to escape the mushroom cloud of fury and set a direct course to Okinawa. There they refueled and took off for their home base on Tinian, returning there about three in the afternoon, nearly twelve hours after the mission had begun.

  IMPERIAL PALACE

  TOKYO, JAPAN

  10 AUGUST 1945

  On 10 August, the Japanese government and military leaders met again to discuss their strategy and response to the surrender terms. The bylaws of the Japanese cabinet said that they had to have a unanimous decision on such matters, and members were at an impasse, with six favoring surrender, three willing to continue the war, and five neutral votes. Then the word came about the destruction of Nagasaki by another atomic bomb.

  The cabinet moved to the Imperial Palace to present the matter to the emperor and seek his counsel. Hirohito listened to all of the arguments and offered his conclusion that the time had come for the Japanese people to “bear the unbearable.”

  There were peace and war factions within the cabinet. As their country continued to lose battle after battle, leading politicians tried to inspire the people into supporting the country’s lost cause and national pride of not being defeated. To even discuss surrender, let alone consider accepting it, was difficult. The “war faction” believed that Japan could still win one final battle to prevent the invasion of their homeland.

  These militarists had created their own “super weapon”—not quite an atomic bomb, yet still a powerful weapon: the kamikaze. At first, aircraft were used as manned bombs. Later, various kinds of ships and submarines were sent on suicidal attacks. Next, the leaders tried to convince the Japanese people to consider the kamikaze of last resort—resisting the invasion themselves with spears, rocks, and whatever else they could find to kill Americans. They were told that if they didn’t kill an enemy soldier before they were killed, they would die in shame.

  The “peace faction” simply reminded the militarists that even if the citizen kamikazes repulsed an invasion, the Americans and Allies would simply launch a second invasion when the kamikazes were all dead, and then they would succeed. Those who sought a peaceful end to the war reminded the others what might happen if the U.S. decided not to invade but instead used more of the terrible bombs. They pointed out to the war faction what a tremendous waste of lives such actions would spawn. They urged their comrades that despite surrender, the country could at last have peace and save countless lives in the process.

  Emperor Hirohito and Prime Minister Suzuki were in favor of accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, even though they believed it would be a national humiliation to do so. Yet the idea that the emperor would support the idea of surrender was unimaginable to most of the Japanese military leaders.

  The war faction stuck to their position. The three military leaders of the cabinet were adamant. One urged the cabinet to implement the kamikaze plan and commit twenty million Japanese lives in an effort to achieve victory. To offer to sacrifice one-fifth of Japan’s population to such a lost cause must have sounded ridiculous and insane.

  It was obvious: The time to surrender had now come, even though many in the military still wanted to fight to the end. In a sobering break with Japanese tradition, Hirohito intervened and told the cabinet that he could no longer bear to see his people suffer in war. Following another leaflet bombing of Tokyo with papers outlining surrender terms, Hirohito decided to issue an Imperial Edict accepting the unconditional surrender.

  Prime Minister Suzuki quietly warned the emperor that if the militarists thought there was any hesitation or weakness in the Japanese government, he might be assassinated and replaced in a takeover coup.

  As the Japanese leaders debated, Emperor Hirohito secretly recorded a radio broadcast accepting the terms of the surrender and announcing it to the Japanese people. When one of the opposition generals got word of the secret recording (to be broadcast on 14 August), he attempted a coup. His men assassinated the commander of the palace guards, put Emperor Hirohito under virtual house arrest, and sent troops to search all of the palace and government offices for the recording. The guards turned over nearly every room and office in the palace and government office building but couldn’t find the recording.

  The attempted coup unraveled by morning, however, and the general who started the coup shot himself and the Japanese war minister committed ritual suicide. The cabinet then voted unanimously to accept the terms of the surrender.

  The recording of the emperor’s address to the Japanese peo
ple was broadcast at noon, announcing acceptance of the unconditional surrender and the end of the war. This was followed by a news release from a Japanese news agency confirming that the unconditional surrender had been accepted.

  That message was released at mid-afternoon Tokyo time, but it was just 0149 in Washington when American leaders were awakened to receive the news that Japan had accepted the terms and provisions of the Potsdam Declaration.

  The American government responded with a release announcing V-J Day and that General Douglas MacArthur had been appointed by President Truman and the Joint Chiefs to be the supreme commander for the Allied powers for the occupation of Japan. This was followed by exuberant celebrations across the world, with automobile horns, church bells, factory whistles, and every other kind of noisemaking marking the occasion in every American and Allied city.

  On 16 August, Lt. General Jonathan Wainwright, who had been taken prisoner at the surrender of Corregidor and held in Manchuria as a POW for the duration of the war, was released. Two weeks later, the British returned to occupy Hong Kong, and American troops aboard Navy ships were anchored in Tokyo Bay to begin the occupation of Japan.

  ABOARD USS MISSOURI

  TOKYO BAY, JAPAN

  2 SEPTEMBER 1945

  On the morning of 2 September 1945, Japan formally surrendered. The thirty-minute ceremony took place on board the battleship USS Missouri, at the time the flagship of Admiral Halsey. The Missouri was anchored with other U.S. and Allied ships in Tokyo Bay, and over a thousand carrier-based American planes flew overhead. The Stars and Stripes fluttering on the Missouri was the same flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.

  The deck was crowded with dignitaries, sailors, officers, and correspondents from around the world. Japanese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, accompanied by General Yoshijiro Umezu, represented the Japanese. They had been chosen by the Japanese Supreme War Council and Emperor Hirohito to sign the documents on behalf of the nation. With great flourish and dignity, Shigemitsu and Umezu each signed the surrender documents—one set in Japanese and another in English. Then General Wainwright signed the documents along with Lt. General Sir Arthur Percival. Also signing were Admiral Nimitz and other Allied forces delegates.

  The far-reaching surrender document was clear and to the point:We, acting by command of and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan, the Japanese Government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, hereby accept the provisions set forth in the Declaration issued by the heads of the Governments of the United States, China, and Great Britain on 26 July 1945 at Potsdam, and subsequently adhered to by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which four powers are hereafter referred to as the Allied Powers.

  We hereby proclaim the unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and of all Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under the Japanese control wherever situated.

  We hereby command all Japanese forces wherever situated and the Japanese people to cease hostilities forthwith, to preserve and save from damage all ships, aircraft, and military and civil property and to comply with all requirements which may be imposed by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers or by agencies of the Japanese Government at his direction.

  We hereby command the Japanese Imperial Headquarters to issue at once orders to the Commanders of all Japanese forces and all forces under Japanese control wherever situated to surrender unconditionally themselves and all forces under their control.

  We hereby command all civil, military and naval officials to obey and enforce all proclamations, and orders and directives deemed by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers to be proper to effectuate this surrender and issued by him or under his authority and we direct all such officials to remain at their posts and to continue to perform their noncombatant duties unless specifically relieved by him or under his authority.

  We hereby undertake for the Emperor, the Japanese Government and their successors to carry out the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration in good faith, and to issue whatever orders and take whatever actions may be required by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers or by any other designated representative of the Allied Powers for the purpose of giving effect to that Declaration.

  We hereby command the Japanese Imperial Government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters at once to liberate all Allied prisoners of war and civilian internees now under Japanese control and to provide for their protection, care, maintenance and immediate transportation to places as directed.

  The authority of the Emperor and the Japanese Government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers who will take such steps as he deems proper to effectuate these terms of surrender.

  Signed at TOKYO BAY, JAPAN at 0904 I on the SECOND day of SEPTEMBER, 1945:

  MAMORU SHIGEMITSU

  YOSHIJIRO UMEZU

  By Command and in behalf of the Emperor

  By Command and in behalf of the Nation of Japan and the Japanese Government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters

  Colonel Frank Sackton was in the 33rd Infantry Division, part of the army accepting the surrender of the Japanese troops on Luzon. He expected to be transferred back to the States following many long months of combat. Instead, he was told to report to Tokyo along with his commanding officer. The two of them would be on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur.

  COLONEL FRANK SACKTON, US ARMY

  Office of the Supreme Commander

  of the Allied Powers

  Tokyo, Japan

  22 September 1945

  We were going to Japan, not to attack it but to occupy it. I got in there in early September 1945. The first occupation duty was disarming the troops. But they were following the emperor’s direction pretty carefully, laying down their arms so there was no hostility.

  I was transferred to Tokyo because my division commander had become chief of staff to General MacArthur and he took me with him. That turned out to be a good career move for me, because I became a staff secretary to General MacArthur, a key spot in the occupation.

  The Allies established MacArthur’s authority as being absolute—as sort of a dictator. The Joint Chiefs sent a short message to General MacArthur saying, “Your authority is absolute, so do not entertain any questions about the scope of your authority.” Still, he preferred working through the Japanese bureaucracy, although there was never any doubt about his authority.

  There was an international tribunal in Washington that gave broad guidance to the general. It favored the democratization of Japan and bringing it into the fold of the Western nations as a friendly country. In Japan, there was the Allied Council, an international group that advised the general. The general never paid any attention to the Allied Council. On that body was a lieutenant general of the Soviet Union who was always against everything. As a matter of fact he even tried to introduce Communism to the country. So things were left pretty much up to the general, and he operated without their guidance, developing his own program.

  For example, the question came up about reparations. The Soviet Union said, “We defeated this country, now they must give us reparations.” But the Joint Chiefs dealing with the Allied Council said, “No, we’re not going to do that.” So even with this amalgamation of the international commands, General MacArthur’s authority was supreme.

  And by and large, when I look at the thing from a global point of view, the whole thing ran extremely well. The people were happy, the bureaucracy was happy, and the emperor was happy. That became the “bottom line” for the occupation.

  When the war was over, the Allies developed a list of criminals, people to be tried in a court tribunal in Tokyo. At the top of the list was the emperor, considered responsible for what Japan did or failed to do during the war.

  MacArthur thought about it. He had no problem with the generals and admirals on the list. But he did have a problem with the emperor being on it, bec
ause he understood the Japanese customs and mores. The emperor was the spiritual leader of the people, and MacArthur was sensitive to that.

  The staff told MacArthur that the problem of the emperor for the occupation was a question in the minds of the Japanese people: Who is the authority here? They told MacArthur, “You should abolish the office of emperor and make it clear to the people that you’re in charge.”

  Well, the general demurred and said, “Leave it alone for a while.”

  The general was right. In late September, MacArthur indicated that he wanted a visit with the emperor to take place in his home. And the general said, “Have the emperor select an interpreter, and he’ll be the only one present besides me.”

  The general’s staff researched all about the emperor, his likes and his dislikes. We found that he was a marine biologist and had written things about sea life. We got his published articles and translated them for the general. He wanted to know all about this person before he met him. When we found that the emperor liked cigarettes, the general said, “Get me a cigarette case with some cigarettes.” Now, the general didn’t smoke but he wanted to accommodate the emperor.

  When the emperor came in, things were a little stiff. (General MacArthur later told us what had occurred.) After the cordial hellos, General MacArthur offered the emperor a cigarette, and he took it. The general lit a cigarette for the emperor and one for himself. After that, the emperor spoke first. He said, “General, I want you to know, that I, as emperor, am responsible for everything that occurred in the war. And you must do what you feel you must do.”

  This impressed General MacArthur, because surely the emperor knew that he was on the war criminal list, and maybe the general expected a plea for mercy. But the emperor accepted complete responsibility.