Sometime in the 1980s, I was inthe checkout line for the hardware store at Beltway Plaza in Greenbelt, Maryland. The two men in line direclty ahead of me started an amazing conversation. They were both World War II veterans: one Amercan, one Japanese. They compared notes and realized that they had once fought in the same battle, against one another. Forty years later they were neighbors, both buying hardware to do home repairs.
In World War 1 my great grand father was buried alive by artillery and was rescued by a German. When World War 2 came around he re-enlisted, but due to his age and lung damage from being gassed in the first war, he was stationed at a POW camp in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. While there a German recognized him - it was the German who saved him. They became friends and the German made those ships in a bottle. He gave four ships to my great grandpa - one for each of his children. Those are now the family heirlooms. After my first tour in Afghanistan I was a guest at a school and legion to for the Remembrance Day ceremonies. While at the legion afterwards I was talking to a WW2 vet. He told me about at story of a friend of his that had passed away. While working at the pulp mill in the town in the 1970s, there was a new person that was getting a tour. The two men recognized each other. The last time they saw each other was on the battlefield in France. The Canadian guy was firing his machinegun down a hedgerow cutting down Germans as they tried to cross. The machinegun jammed just as a German went to cross. The German and Canadian looked each other in the eye, then the German kept running. That German was the new guy at the mill.
@@keriddunk1520 My aunt made a really good write up of my great grandpa. A lot more to the story than what is written, but definitely a great read. He was shot, gassed, had shellshock but then declared fit for duty, went AWOL in Ireland to marry his friend's sister etc. Gave bushels of vegetables to the local orphanage during the great depression etc. Two of his brothers and some cousins had enlisted at the start of the war, and unfortunately one of his brothers had died of pneumonia in the fall of 1918. I did look up his war records and the official records say Oct of 1917 though.
My father piloted an LCT in Okinawa. He never volunteered stories, but I asked him one day if he ever saw any kamikaze’s. He hesitated a moment and all he said was “every day.” I sure miss him.
Some landing ships we're outfitted with radars and additional anti aircraft guns to act as picket ships. I sure wouldn't want to be on a LST doing ticket duties. My uncle was on a DE doing picket duty. Luckily they didn't get hit
I read about this when I visited the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor. The fact it was done while the battle was still going on says much about the character of the ship’s captain.
I did to while it was Hawaii did a tour on the MO given by an retired marine that served on the MO he told us the this story and got very emotional about which got me tearing up. Salute to All the brave young men that gave everything.
Visited the Missouri when it was in mothball reserve at Bremerton in 1966. The guide had us look over the starboard rail and see the "dent" in the hull from the impact. That was the first time I ever saw the photo. Nothing was said about a service for the pilot.
Wonder if they would do one for my grandfather. He was responsible for downing 8 German aircraft in WW2. It was said that he was the worst A&P mechanic in the entire Luftwaffe.
Admiral Daniel Callaghan, died in command of a task force that he was Ill prepared to command. He had no combat experience. The combat experience was in Admiral Scott who also died in the engagement. You can tell he had no grasp of the tools available to him by the order of the ships in the task group. He then muffed up the torpedo attack, by waiting too long to give the order to fire and by opening fire with the ships armament too soon. If he hadn't opened fire when he did they might have made some hits. Just before he died his last order to the task group was odd ships fire to Port, even ships fire to starboard. He had not told any of the ships whether they were an odd number or an even number. He and Admiral Scott died shortly after that. This left the task group largely decapitated.
@@snydedon9636 you don't understand the command. It was supposed to be every other ship fire either left or right. Hull numbers are assigned when the ship is being built. The ships in the column were not placed there based on their hull numbers. In fact the destroyer arrangement was very disorganized. The cruisers were light cruisers in front heavy cruisers in the middle and if there was another light cruiser at the end.
@@minot.8931 Ball of the Sun is the national flag, adopted February 1870. The Rising Sun was accepted into use May 1870 as the War flag by the IJA & IJN. At war's end the War flag was discontinued. Ball of the Sun has been in use since 1870.
This funeral wasn't about respect for those demons but rather respect of who we are as Americans and the honor with valor that comes with it. They knew that Japs including this pilot would have tied anchors around American prisoners before throwing them overboard but the captain chose to do this because he held the moral high ground.
"A true soldier fights not because they hate what is in front of them, but because they love what is behind them." Ishino proved this statement true, as did the Commanding officer. There was honor in both actions.
Honor in being manipulated or forced to carry out a suicide mission for a racist regime? No, I don't see any honor in that. He might not have been a bad person, but fighting in a military is not honorable just in itself. It only is if you are fighting for a honorable goal which he did not. At best, he was a victim of the society he lived in. As this society sent him to his death with out any regard for his life at a young age for nothing it is probably right to consider him a victim and not a perpetrator.
@@ThibaultsAbandonedChild Well, it has to be discussed war by war. In the war against Japan the US was attacked. But there are certainly wars by the US that are hard to justify morally. And I do not think it is honorable to have been fighting in these wars.
@Salia i agree with you that the regime he fought for was tyrannical and im aware of the war crimes commited by japan during ww2, but i do believe he was an honorable and good person. He fought for his family. The repercussions his family would have faced if he refused to serve as a kamikazi would have been severe. He was a victim yes, but was honorable aswell. It is truely tragic.
@@epsilondelta2967 where kamikazi forced to do what they did by threatening their families? Wikipedia says they were mostly volunteers, most of them unmarried but not all, average age 19. I'm no expert, but sounds to me they where basically teenagers to very young adults manipulated into giving their lives. And even if some were forced like that, the honor of their actions would not be a military one. I am just not a fan of depicting military service as honorable as such. That is something that goes back to 19th century militarism and is very dangerous. It is honorable to defend your freedom and the freedom of the society you live in. Sacrificing yourself to protect your family is honorable of course as well, but it would not be the military service that would be honorable. Sending people to their death like the Kamikaze is a dishonorable act anyway, even if they would have been truly volunteers fighting for some greater good. Disregarding the value of life like that is not honorable and militaries of modern democratic nations would never do such a thing. People would be send on very risky missions and people might sacrifice themselves in a hopeless situation. But a unit with the sole purpose of killing themselves, that does not fit to the value system of a society that values human life. Note, that I am not saying, they were bad people. For me, a 19 year old made to kill himself like that is just a victim, not a hero.
A similar honor was given to an American soldier who fought a battle against forces commanded by Erwin Rommel. The German commander actually commemorated this ‘brave soldier’s life’ by giving him an official and honorable burial. I found this action to be amazing, and within the context of war, a demonstration of genuine respect.
Look up the story of the HMS Glowworm. The captain of the Admiral Hipper, Hellmuth Heye, after sinking the HMS Glowworm wrote to the British government through the Red Cross to suggest that the captain of the Glowworm ought receive the Victoria Cross for his leadership in combat, as well as praising the entire crew for their bravery in the face of utterly impossible odds. Because the HMS Glowworm was a destroyer, while the Admiral Hipper was a *heavy cruiser.*
The Japanese buried an American pilot in the Aleutians. His grave did not differ from their own. Written above : here lies the body of s young American Air Hero who died bravely for his motherland.
“Maybe some of them like to fish or like to hunt… they were trying to do what they were supposed to do, and I was trying to do what I was supposed to do. Under different circumstances, we might have been good friends. ” - Shifty Powers, WWII veteran in his interview with TV series ‘Band of Brothers’
In Foy Belgium there is a corner of a building that has become known as 'Shifty's Spot'. It is were he fired at and killed the sniper depicted in Band of Brothers. I've seen a few videos posted by visitors looking from his spot to the window the sniper was firing from and the movie doesn't do it justice. It was a hell of a shot.
Other than Admiral Yamamoto, there were others who knew Japan would lose. According to the Total War Research Institute, after the start of the war, victory is expected in the first battle, but the subsequent transition will inevitably be a long-term battle, and Japan's national strength will not be a burden. With the Soviet Union entering the war at the end of the war, defeat was inevitable. Thus, he came to the conclusion of Japan's defeat that war was impossible.
In 2003 I was living in Sasebo Japan while stationed onboard the USS Essex (LHD-2). I made the acquaintance of a WWII era Soldier form Japan. We went bar hopping together and he was very friendly. He told me that he never hated Americans. He fought us because it was his honor and pride to fight for his country. I told him I respect his service to his country and that I'm happy that our countries are allies. Then we got drunk and barfed in the street. Good times.
I was home ported in Yokosuka in the 1960's. Whenever came back from Vietnam for repairs I'd visit Japanese pubs and mingle with the people. Much better than wasting time at what sailors referred to as "The Honch," Became friends with one bar owner, and one Christmas I was invited to celebrate with him, some of his Japanese patrons, and employees in Tokyo.
As a Japanese, I knew the photo but didn’t know its story. So I appreciate your sharing this incredible story. I want to mention that Captain William Callaghan and the crew members remind me of my American friends.
Im glad Japan is now an ally of the US and the protection of freedom and democracy can be maintained using both countries arsenals. Greetings from Central Europe!
To fully appreciate Captain Callaghan's respect for this Japanese pilot, you should know that only about 2 years earlier, his older brother Admiral Daniel Callaghan was killed in action by the Japanese Navy. It speaks to his character that his personal grief did not stand in the way of his sense of honor.
@@huemansyndrome879 Decent isn't the same as good. No one is good. One can be righteous, honourable and decent but never fully good. That's impossible for humans to achieve
An honourable act from the captain of the ship. No doubt it wouldn’t have been popular but it was the right thing to do. He lived the values he was fighting for.
I imagine it probably wasn't unpopular. Sailors know how to treat the enemy with dignity and honor. If I was on that ship, I wouldn't have it any other way.
My first thought was that no sailor must have died in the attack, that is probably why this was done I guess. If crew members had died, not only would it be unpopular but also very demoralizing for the crew.
@@masterm8 Even if there were other dead onboard, it would've been just out of courtesy to do such a burial for a soldier who sacrificed his life to protect his homeland.
One of my uncles served on the USS Missouri battleship. He made a bracelet from the Japanese aircraft metal and gave them t to his son when he came home after the war. His name was William Ludwigs who lived in Sioux City Iowa. He served with two brothers in WWII. Fred Ludwigs served on the USS Arkansas battleship and their younger brother, Arthur Ludwigs, served as a Naval CB on the Island of Iwo Jima. They all 3 came back home alive. We thank God for that. I am a nephew of these 3 uncles now at the age of 89 years old. My name is Dennis Kluver
Same with my grandpa. I laid eyes on it, but it was lost as I wasn't around when clearing the house. They mustve thought it was trash. I shouldve spoke up!
But would the Japanese show the same type of humanity for those Allies who fell under their captivity? A genuine question. Their track record in China and the Pacific certainly doesn't show a whole lot of honour and compassion for their enemies. How many Chinese soldiers did they bury with their country's flag? They buried them alright but alive. No doubt there are a few examples of Japanese soldiers showing compassion to their enemies in places like Singapore but unfortunately, compared to the Allied powers, this was very few and far between. Sadly the policy of the Japanese Imperial Government was one of brutality and extermination.
@@histman3133 Long answer short, no. The Japan did not show the same compassion. Soilders of Nazi Germany showed greater humanity then the Japanese. Leutnant Friedrich Lengfeld, commander of the 2nd Company of the divisional Fusililer battalion of the 275th infantry division during the fighting at the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, gave his life at the attempt of rescuing an injured American trapped in a mine feild. "No man hath greater love than he who layeth down his life for his enemy" is written on his monument built by the 22nd infantry regiment society. It is a shame that such great men were forced to kill eachother, maybe if there were no wars we could be friends.
@@histman3133 The Japanese showed nothing but contempt for captured allied personnel, seeing any man that surrendered rather than dying for their country as dishonourable dogs, not worthy of being kept alive. They even went as far as using captives for medical experiments, infecting them with deadly diseases and watching them waste away. If you want further information, try researching the "Bataan Death March" or "Unit 731".
@@HungryLoki Every wannabe super power never got to be a super power without bringing acts of death and destruction on others. The United States is responsible for many inhumane acts during it's history.. Just saying :)
@@histman3133 It was a case by case basis. Japanese were generally horrible to the enemy but there were instances of mercy and respect. Americans were generally kinder to prisoners but there were also plenty of cases of Americans being exceptionally cruel as well. It was even common for American troops to take japanese heads, ears, and/or noses as trophies.
When I was on the Missouri, the guy told me an interesting fact about the dents on the ship, that when she was reactivated, the dock crews were attempting to fix the dents, and one of the sailors, told him to stop what he was doing in the dents were a part of the ship
This story means a lot to me. My father was on the invasion of Okinawa at age 17 and turned 18 during the invasion. He would tell me stories about how he witnessed some of the kamikazes. Any pointed out one because we actually saw a movie of it on TV one time The very event that my dad witnessed. A kamikaze flying straight into a gun placement on one of the ships and exploding and killing all the sailors on that gun placement. My dad had many stories I was time in world war II at meant a lot to him. After the war he went to Japan for the occupation. Made friends with some of the Japanese citizens and learned a lot and shared these stories with me and my family. My dad's been his career is a Los Angeles county firefighter from 1958 when I was born to 1981. He was quite a guy I was proud that he was my dad. His name was Petty officer first class Raymond G. Leach. He passed away January 5th 2016. He's buried in the military cemetery in Phoenix Arizona. Thanks for reading this. Love in Christ Jesus. Pastor Duane and Chico Pup.
My dad was a gunnery sergeant on a B-17. I know from a chest my mom kept that he flew 20 some missions over Germany, when he was discharged he got medals and his missions list, all in a nice small wallet sized case. My dad never breathed a word about his experiences, save that he missed his mom's home cooking. He never complained. He was a quiet man who drank more than he should have. He never told the war stories we all wanted to hear. But nothing. Whatever those stories were, he took them to his grave. I miss him.
I used to volunteer to clean the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor. The markings on the ship still remake from this crash and the story is told as part of the tour. To be clear, the pilots body was said to have been ripped in half and his upper body had landed on the main deck. The location of his legs were unknown. 🙏🏽 the captains told his men that even though he was an enemy, he was following orders for his country. That's honor. 💯
My father was there on that ship in WW2. He was witness to the surrender. Was among the many sailors seen on the superstructure during the surrender. I was able to bring him to Pearl to visit the ship before he passed. He had told me of that story for the pilot and many others.
Thanks for watching! Historical notes - First off, the ship shown in my visuals is not the USS Missouri. It is technically a heavy cruiser, but it is the closest that I could get with my simulator. Secondly, often times, Kamikaze mission information is extremely difficult to find (for obvious reasons). So while most agree that it was Setsuo Ishino piloting this Zero, at least one author mentions that it could have been Kenkichi Ishii as well. And finally, I am sure some of my pronunciations were not perfect, but I did my best. Thanks everyone!
TJ I told you in the recording session that is is *NOT* a Heavy cruiser, according to the US navy, the Alaska class were listed as "Large cruisers" while Gaijin in game listed them as "Battlecruisers", being armed with 12 inch guns instead of the 8 inch found on most of the others
What is the simulator that you use? It seems to be very accurate to all of the videos you do. All of the aircraft, ships, and tanks are all so well replicated!
He didn't do it out of respect. He did it because at the end of the day we are all only human and doing what other humans are telling is necessary to get what we want
Captain William C Callahan will always go down as one of the most honorable men to ever serve to me. To make such a call after being attacked speaks so highly of his character. Props to the men who not only went to his funeral but put in the effort to make a Japanese flag for the fallen soldier. Every soldier, regardless of who they serve, is a soul putting their life on the line.
I remember hearing this story, but watching this video gave it so much more depth My pops had his retirement ceremony from the army on the Missouri and I only just realized how significant that was after watching this They tell you the history of things during tours, but it's hard to understand the full picture without someone contextualizing everything the way this video does
It took great courage to sacrifice his life for his country, courage to fly against the barrage of gunfire. In the midst of such hell, we see those soldiers tell us of their greatness. Captain and crew of the Mighty Mo, are among such soldiers, along with their much respected enemy.
No, it wasn't about respect for those demons but rather respect of who we are as Americans and the honor with valor that comes with it. They knew that Japs including this pilot would have tied anchors around American prisoners before throwing them overboard but the captain chose to do this because he held the moral high ground.
As one of Japanese, I express my sincere appreciation for the kindness of the captain at that time. I am proud that Japan and the United States are now peaceful allies. I pray for all of the soldiers passed away in WWII.
I was stationed in Japan for 3 years in the USMC and the USA and Japan alliance is strong. We share bases in Japan with the Japanese military and do a lot of training exercises with them. As an American Marine I’ve saluted many Japanese officers and would not have no problem going to war alongside them. It’s funny how our biggest enemy’s always become our greatest allies. You gotta respect the kamikazes bruh instead of shooting a missile they become the missile and that takes balls of steel when you can easily just fly away and not do it.
That is an incredibly moving account. It's so easy to forget that these attackers were not only men, but brave men. The Kamikaze was such a waste but that there were these men that volunteered is beyond courageous. Thank you TJ. BTW, why the heck haven't you been picked up by the History channel... oh yeah; they're not history anymore. God bless you sir and please keep them coming.
Kamakazi fought for evil, the japanese were brutal invders, their mass murder of surrendered civilians and POWs made hitler blush. These were evil men, piss on their graves.
@@JoshuaC923 There was most certainly some of that, there's a Kamikaze that survived the war. Had he been a true volunteer, we wouldn't have heard his story. Then there was the "Cherry Blossom" where the pilot was bolted in the cockpit. However, these guys _DID_ volunteer and that's one reason they were so effective. A lot of useless waste but that was the fanatical Japanese empire of WWII. They'd have almost preferred a complete genocide to surrender.
Ishino really left a mark in history. If you look into it, you can see a deeper meaning. Ishino striking USS Missouri is like Japan's final desperate attempt to inflict as much damage as they can to the USS Missouri but in the end, all their efforts were futile and while all the loses they managed to inflict was something the Americans were able to take and replace easily, they still managed to leave a scar that could still be seen today.
Should make a movie about this exploring the propaganda feeding the masses and making young men into the kamikazi soldiers, the kamikaze part itself and then the reactions from the soldiers on the deck. Would be a good character/military study i'd think especially if it was used as a reference for what you mentioned.
@@Jim87_36 Nah, poofs / misguided western "nationalists" who live 80 years ago and not today, would just call it "whitewashing" and "revisionist". Like that German story-paper Der Landser, which got shut down because a paper of boys' own war adventures didn't constantly mention the holocaust.
Perhaps it wasn't the Kamakazi suicide bombers that were bakas, but the desperate Japanese that ordered them, throwing away real human lives. Imagine if this happened today tho, now a kamakazi strike would be more about having enough resources to burn rather than convincing a bunch of young men to die for their country.
Sadly many of these kamikaze are actually being forced into it, school children that are blackmailed into the war , given the choice you either die for the nation as a hero or something might happen to your family. Officially it is not done by the government, but the kempeitai yakuza at that time is doing the dirty job for the govt to ensure no one will say no. So those that joined were often portrayed as hero that willingly sacrifice for the nation.
I visited Yasukuni shrine in person a few weeks ago and wandered the museum, and its decisions both good and bad, afterward. The room dedicated to the Kamikaze pilots was rough. So many young dudes - all their faces covering the walls - every single one. So many of their final letters home too. Powerful stuff
I am a long retired U.S. Naval officer. Years ago while having lunch in a Navy exchange cafeteria on the West Coast I sat at a table with an elderly Japanese gentleman and we began a conversation. He told me how he had been a kamikaze pilot during the Okinawa battle. He said and his his plane was in a cave on one of the mountains there and that he was rolled out and set to takeoff when he was ordered back into the cave for some reason. It wasn't long after that that the war ended. One lucky guy!!
My dad was at the Battle of Leyte Gulf and received a leg full of shrapnel that kept coming out for many years. My dad was on a gun and shielded from the impact, however, the guys on both sides were either dead of severely wounded when the Kamikaze’s plane hit. He was lucky that day and one other day when he missed boarding a ship and was assigned to another that was ready to get underway. The ship he missed was hit and sank with most sailors killed. He would get very sad when telling the story because of his shipmates losing their lives.
My father as well on the cruiser USS Biloxi. They too were hit. My father was below decks as a chief machinist. When the fight was over, he went on the deck and saw the head of the kamikaze pilot. My father took a small piece of the red zero and it eventually made its way to the Smithsonian in 1973.
My grandfather was on Battleship Missouri during WWII. He brought home a little piece of metal that was from a kamikaze plane that crashed into the ship. He was seaman first class Samuel Thomas Lennox.
Thank you Captain William Callahan. You are not only great commanding officer but also the greatest American. All Japanese respect you right bottom of our heart. From Japan with appreciations.
Interesting fact about Captain William Callahan is that his elder brother, Rear Adm David J Callahan, was killed on his flagship, the USS San Francisco, during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor. Captain William Callahan had every right to despise the Japanese for the death of his brother but it seems that he did not. He let his humanity and military honor rule. That is the sign of a good person. Hopefully all three men drank a toast to peace in Valhalla.
Thank you for this story. My grandfather was a torpedo bomber pilot during the war and my family has no love for the Japanese, however this story brought a tear to my eye as I considered the pure respect displayed for a fellow soldier. It’s honor like this that I believe we have lost sight of in the present era. The fact that they took the time to present him with his own colors was a heartwarming touch. God bless our fighting men and women.
My dad was on a minesweeper who had a kamikaze barely miss them and crash into the water. They recovered the body and held a funeral for it. Took his wallet, pictures and personal effects to the flagship, so intelligence officers could figure out what air fields they were flying from, so Halsey Aircraft Carriers could bomb them. Not rare at all.
@@Briselance More than likely there was an effort after Japan Surrendered or maybe even during the war. Most officers and soldiers then and now understand these people are just people at the end of the day. And they would want the same for them as themselves if their body was recovered with private belongings that were just there to get them through the day.
The respect of the dead in this tradition was American Navy integrity and honor on full display. The Japanese would do no such thing if the shoe was on their foot. Those.. people, would bayonet dead Americans for fun and practice. No respect for humanity at all.
This made me cry. As a veteran myself, I've never heard this extraordinary story of respect and camaraderie! Captain Callahan was a real soldier! I've heard of stories but this one just choked me up a bit.
Touching account! Thank you for sharing it. I am a 66 year old vet. It made me proud of our country when I heard how they showed treated the body of this young boy. They didn't treat this young boy like a piece of garbage. The commander of the ship carged with the safety of all those men on board his ship, he still saw the value of this young mans soul as they commended his body to the deep.
When I was in 3rd grade we went on a field trip one time to a war memorial in a local cemetery. A WWII veteran met us there to tell us his story. I don't remember all the details of his story, but one in particular has stood out to me now for 20 years. He was in a Japanese POW camp, and he decided to escape one night. He was sneaking around, hidden behind a corner, and he saw one of the Japanese guards on patrol stop to read a letter he pulled out of his pocket. This vet thought that there might be some valuable intel in that letter, so he decided to kill the guard and take the letter off of him. He snuck up behind him and quietly slit his throat. He could read Japanese, so he read the letter... it was a letter from the guard's young son asking him to please come home soon. He said he balled his eyes out all the way back to the American camp. Couldn't blame him. Ever since then, I've had a really hard time when studying history as seeing the opposite side as "evil." But war itself? That seems pretty evil.
>Ever since then, I've had a really hard time when studying history as seeing the opposite side as "evil. This is such a Western privilege moment, holy shit. It's super easy to grandstand about how tyrannical regimes aren't that bad when there's no chance of them ever coming for you. Nazi Germany was evil. The Empire of Japan was evil. The Soviet Union was evil. Pol Pot's Cambodia was evil. North Vietnam was evil. Saddam Hussein's Iraq was evil. Milosevic's Serbia was evil. Communist China is evil. Putin's Russia is evil. North Korea is evil. Maduro's Venezuela is evil. Castroite Cuba is evil. The Islamic Republic of Iran is evil. Al-Qaeda is evil. The Taliban is evil. Assadist Syria is evil. A refusal to recognize the existence of evil in the world is a special kind of evil, in and of itself.
My step father was serving on the Missouri when that incident happened and told of the flag and funeral. Thanks for filling in the gaps on the actual attack. It’s always been an important lesson to me about basic human respect. Thanks.
As a lifelong student of history (particularly military history) I've often said that war brings out the absolute worst in people and the absolute best in people.
One of the guys in that photo is my exes grandfather. He retold the story and explained how it was a blink of an eye. Crazy to hear him tell it years ago
My grandfather was in a japanese military. He was captured by the Americans in 1945. He said that american soldiers gave him cigarette and chocolate and made him realize how they were different from what he was told by the japanese government. I think he appreciated the american soldiers for treating him nicely despite how japan treated US. I thank all the military members who are working hard to protect the country. My husband is in the US Airforce and i truly thank him for the immense love he gives me 🥰
@@MrBagpipesthat's because the Japanese soldiers did not recognize the rules of war, feigned surrender, so the Americans were less trustworthy to the Japanese when it comes to surrendering.
@@triadwarfare 'the bad man made me do it' has never been accepted as a defence for anything. The Japanese Imperial Army were most definitely a bad lot but America done very similar than them than when fighting in Vietnam, Korea and Phillipines in particular. The sooner Americans understand that they make their own choices and are responsible for their own actions the better it will be for everyone.
My father was injured on the USS Bunker Hill on May 11, 1945 by a two-Kamikaze attack. The actor Paul Newman was in his sister squadron, VT-84 while dad was in VB-84. Dad passed away on 04/04/04. Mom is still with us at age 96. Dad told her he was a Navy pilot while he was the tail gunner, flying backwards! All is fair in love and war.
Decades ago, early 70s the ship I was on tied up at North Island NAS in San Diego. There was an old carrier permanently moored there which I found out was the Bunker Hill. I had already read the history so was pretty impressed seeing it there.
Thanks so much for this story! In 1958, when I was 2 years old, my dad was appointed to run the Navy base in Sasebo. Circumstances resulted in my spending most of my waking hours in the care of wonderful housekeepers who didn't speak a single word of English. When we returned to D.C., I was more proficient in Japanese than English. Over the years, my Japanese dissipated and, but Japanese culture holds a precious space in my heart! ... A bizarrely fantastic twist to my story came to light when I ran my DNA. Although I'm a tall blue-eyed blonde-haired man, a tiny bit of my genetic makeup is Japanese! Who'd have thought??
Being currently Active Duty in the Navy, this makes me cry. How honorable to give your enemy a proper burial while in the midst if battle. An enemy that tried to kill as many of your brothers as possible. War is hell for both sides but even in the blood thirst you recognize that your enemy is still a fellow human. I’ve been in one burial sea, and it was very emotional.
And of course Missouri's mission was not that of Mother Thersea either - they too were there to kill as many Japanese as possible. So it was USS Missouri hundreds of bombardment kills to Japan's zero kills aboard. Setsuo did not ask for his mission, but it was better to die with honor than to live with no honor. Post Vietnam guerrilla warfare there is much hatred in battle and this type of chivalry doesn't happen anymore. WWI was even more filled with acts of chivalry.
I wonder how much time went buy until the first Japanese military person or civilian heard about what the captain did for their brave warrior? I'm sure it helped forged respect and friendship. We are thankful and blessed that the U.S.A and Japan are friends.
Decades I imagine. The CIA admitted, that anti-USA resentment was seething even as late as the 1960s and had anticipated that the Americans would soon be booted out of Japan. What they did not expect was that a Japanese would pick up where Douglas MacArthur started with socialist policies in the economy. His name? Ikeda Hayato.
@@meilinchan7314 -- By the time I visited Japan the first time in 1968, that attitude was nowhere for me to see, and I spent all my time among Japanese on that trip. I am now a long-term expat living in Japan. There are still pockets of that sort of resentment, but they're small, very rare and mostly mute, especially now in the face of the PRC's increasing aggressiveness.
@@rickhayhoeironic enough Vietnam has the same mindset as japan in where they don’t have resentment of Americans despite ww2 and Vietnam and in fact if FDR didn’t die then the plan was Ho chi minn and FDR we’re gonna work a agreement to get the French out of Vietnam and this would’ve meant you wouldn’t have had to fight a Vietnam war @rickhayhoe. But instead FDR died and a OSS agent was accidentally was killed that caused distrust that led to the Vietnam war decades later. It’s crazy how the butterfly effect works 🦋
Another ship that did this was USS Enterprise (CV-6). After Lt (Jg) Shunsuke Tomiyasu had ploughed his Zero into her flight deck and blew off the Forward Elevator. Her crew was able to find his body and what was left of his Zero in the elevator well and was able to find him. His body was sutured up and was enshrouded in a mattress like the rest of her fallen crew before being buried at sea. A mistranslation of his name (at the time, he was identified as Tomi Zai), meant that his belongings and pieces of his Zero weren't returned to his family until 2003.
Although I remember very well this famous photo that incredibly caused no death to the crews of the USS Missouri causing some slight damage. The crew found the body of the young kamikaze and some days later the captain and the crew did a proper funeral with a hand made Japanese flag. A beautiful and moving respect by the enemy towards this young 18 years old pilot. Thanks for sharing this story that I never heard about it 👍👍👍
My dad served on the Mighty Mo during the gulf war and he’s told me this story many times. He has a book detailing her wars and various battles. There’s an entire chapter dedicated to this specific moment.
Similar story of Lieutenant Commander Shunsaku Kudo , Imperial Japanese Navy; Kudo rescued entire floating 400 British sailors double the number of his crew by Destroyer Ikazuchi in the combat zone at the coast of Malaya.His order “ Rescue the enemy!”.
History is not always black and white and there are plenty of examples of good people on the the wrong side of history being forgotten or brushed aside due to bad things their fellow countrymen did like that Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jews by writing fake passports for them. But thanks to the internet all of those stories of people on whatever side they fought who were forgotten or the good things they did got overshadowed by history are now just a click away ready to be remembered and passed on to others.
I love how exactly you got the story my great-grandfather on my mother's side served on the Missouri during the battle of Okinawa he was part of the damage control teams that put out the fires that resulted from Setsuo's plane crashing into the ship he used to tell this story every year at our family reunion sadly he's been gone for about 16 years now but the war stories he used to tell us are buried deep in my memory. He was also present during the funeral and while he didn't exactly agree with burying an enemy soldier he recognized the courage and valor it must've taken to fly that mission knowing he wouldn't come back supposedly after the war President Truman wrote to the emperor commending Setuo's actions.
Remembering the north Vietnamese soldier on the deck of the USS Tripoli with his lower jaw shot away! Captured and brought aboard to be treated. Very proud of my Marine Corps!
wasn't "special weapon" also the military term for the atomic bomb in 1945 ?!.. (i remember reading something like this.. or maybe they just refer it as "the bomb".. but it scared me the didn't dare to even use the word)
I always love these sorts of stories. These men will fight each other to the death if needed, but at the end of the day realize they're all just soldiers. The story of the only stealth fighter ever shot down, and its pilot meeting the guy that figured out how, is heart-warming. No animosity between them at all. Thanks for sharing!
it is heartwarming, kind of like the Stenlger-Brown B-17 incident - honor shown between sides. I think these kinds of stories were more prevalent towards the end of the war, when the outcome was apparent. I don't think the Navy crew would have been so kind a yr or two earlier.
Back in the mid-90s, my dad was a diplomat in London. I remember he often had coffee in Harrods with this other diplomat who had been his enemy during a well-known conflict. They were both high-ranking officers on opposite sides. In fact, this other person had ambushed my dad once in some remote area. This was one of the stories they used to share. Now, they were both in the final years of their careers and working as military attaches. Now, they were friends talking about old memories and life. They had been enemies but didn’t have any hatred towards each other.
I am Japanese. Thank you for making this episode a clip and publishing it. Sadly, many modern Japanese people have forgotten about the "Kamikaze Special Attack Corps". However, there are some Japanese people like me who keep their memories in their hearts and are always grateful. I have visited the Kanoya Air Base museum. At the end of the museum's exhibits, there are photographs of the "Ombashira (God)," who served as an honorable warrior as a "Kamikaze Special Attack Corps," on both sides of the aisle. All I could do was close my eyes for 10 minutes in the middle of this aisle and think of words of gratitude. I hope that this clip will help many people to learn about the ultimate Japanese act of "protecting Japan for the sake of their loved ones."
Kamikaze were no honorable warriors. Japanese leadership know they lost the war and only wanted to kill as many US military men to get better surrender terms. They were used and thrown away as expendables.
@@JohnSmith-hq3qv You don't seem to know the true heart of the kamikaze pilots. It would be a good idea to visit the "Chiran Special Attack Peace Memorial Hall" in Kagoshima, Japan, or the "Yasukuni Shrine Yushukan" in Tokyo. I want you to take a look at the suicide note they wrote before they left for the final battle. I assure you that any patriot at heart of any country will never be able to call them "expendables" or "abandoned soldiers". "Yasukuni Shrine Yushukan" is located in a very easy-to-reach place in central Tokyo. Also, please search UA-cam with the keyword "letter from the kamikaze corps（神風特攻隊の手紙）". It's a Japanese clip, but please translate it into English with stream automatic translation and watch it. I would like you to reconsider my comment on that.
Thank you for posting. I visited the Yasukuni Shrine and adjacent Yushukan Museum in October of 2022. The Yushukan has room after room of portraits with accompanying last letters, personal affects and biographies of most of the Kamikaze pilots. There are thousands. It is a staggering, humbling experience to view, unlike any another museum I've ever been to.
I find it truly touching that can still be honor among enemies. Humanity is still there, though buried deep within the hatred, anger and sorrow of war, it sometimes, ever so rarely shines through to remind us that we are all human beings that share this place.
I am a former sailor and wish I had heard this story decades ago. Respect to the captain for his humanity under the worst possible situation. I hope the family got to see the flag, if not take it home. We need more people with level or respect. we need people to treat their own society with this level of respect.
@SalemSavage That would not make him 90. If his uncle was 30 when he was born he would be merely 66, if his father was a late comer and his uncle was 40 or above he could be younger than 56.... Nothing crazy about that.
No they are not!!!!!! I was in the Navy for 4 years enlisted. I left the Navy and became an Air Force Intelligence Officer. The NAVY is full of worthless immoral scum who are only living for themselves. They have no honor. I was tried and convicted of being a member of the KKK. The only evidence was that I had graduated from High School in Mississippi.
I learned this story when I took the tour of the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor. I think it’s honorable that the ship’s crew made him a Japanese flag and gave him a proper military sea burial. It shows a moment of humaneness to someone who just happened to be an enemy pilot.
There is a fellow modeler from a club in nearby St. Louis who did a diorama of this event several years ago, utilizing the 1/200 scale Missouri kit from Trumpeter. It included a full complement of 1/200 scale sailors, and showed the scene just prior to the "commitment" to the deep of the body of the pilot. Was amazingly well done.
Half japanese here, my great grandad was a IJA officer but did not fought after 1939. War is surreal, the worst event humanity can see, and the wounds it causes to everyone and everything are extensive, but despite that, some actions are memorable and carry a lot of honour, even in a moment those things are not a thing. My deep respect to the commander of USS Missouri, he showed the true spirit of chivalrous soldier, and may his memory and actions be honored and remembered !
Honor among warriors! It's so easy to lose one's humanity in the heat of battle. It's touching to see stories like this one that shows humanity and honor between opposing sides.
@@Emanresuadeen when I encounter humanitarian histories like this one I take comfort in the that old saying: We are all Zebras....We are all nail polish removing fluid.
I've been to Pearl Harbor and toured the Missouri. Just going there is a moving experience. So many stories like this that played out during the war. We need to remember what happened because I believe it defines who we are as a nation. Thanks for sharing.
I was lucky enough to be on the Missouri very early in the morning, one of the first to board for the day. I headed straight to the bridge to take pictures. Looking towards the Arizona, the mighty Mo is positioned in such a way as to have the Arizona straight ahead off her bow. When you look down her main guns, the Arizona memorial is right between them, as if she still stands guard over the srtiken ship. It literally brought tears to my eyes.
This story is so moving. I am proud of being an American, for such an act of respect was demonstrated to this young man during such a contentious period of time. Regardless of his country of origin, he was still given dignity after his death.
Kamikaze pilots were the smartest students volunteered from the best military schools and universities at that time. One of my uncles was such pilots, died in a mission which details are unknown. My father always had been missing his charm. This content is well articulated, especially the Japanese-ish English narration in the letter section.
I'm sorry that your uncle had to end his life in such a senseless fashion. He must have been a brave and honourable man. Many of our men were prisoners under the Japanese, who were unspeakably cruel to them. Many died of starvation and disease but, good men from both sides also die in war and it was a long time ago. Let's hope we all have better tomorrows than their yesterdays were. Love from Aotearoa/ New Zealand.
yeah i find it kinda funny that command thought to use their best ace pilots in the first few waves... like alright.. and use their best zeros at that rather then a lesser plane.
The Missouri is my most favorite battleship of WW2 because of the extensive research and advanced technologies it had at the time. Did you know that the Missouri and it's sister ships were designed to go fast so that it is able to keep up with the fleet in order to protect the aircraft carrier ?
While visiting Japan I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman whose uncle had the unique distinction of being an American Kamikaze pilot. The gentleman had told me his parents had moved from Japan to Oregon to be salmon fishers, while in America they had three children this man's mother and two sons. As the tensions between the two nations worsened, his grandparents made the fateful decision to return to Japan for their children to finish school; both sons would not survive the war, the youngest becoming a kamikaze pilot.
@@jommydavi2197 the Americans also interned loyal nonwhite and ethnicities of interest during world war II, neither side is truly spotless but japan truly should bear the shame for it's past government's crimes.
@@jommydavi2197 Not really what you are getting at, noone gleefully looks at the past where a family member dies. I sincerely doubt anyone in that family wanted to fight in that war, they bore no major allegiance to the Emperor, but they like so many before them did what they were told, I find ironic how many Americans feel that all Confederate Soldiers can't be blamed for the Civil War but all Japanese and German soldiers can be blamed for WW2. There are no statues in Germany or Japan to honor their dead nor should there be, the horrors of China and the Holocaust are far too great to ignore, but not every soldier shared the ideology of their country many simply went to war because they were ordered to do so. We think of the Kamikaze as volunteers but they basically were told die with some perks, or just die, you make the call.
@@jommydavi2197 that's what people don't understand about Imperial Japan. During the war, every healthy male from 17-40, and for a while I think they were taking teenagers, was conscripted into the military. They also don't take into account that it's not America. There was no free speech or protest, you either went along with it without batting an eye, or you were killed or put in prison, which might as well have been a death sentence anyways. Japanese people DO bear the shame, whether the government reflects it or not. Every year on the anniversary of any significant date during WW2 involving Japan since we learned in history class, I get told " Happy Pearl Harbor Day" or "Happy A-Bomb Day" and if I don't laugh it off, I'm just told about how much of a piece of shit my family and countrymen are, and I'm almost 30 years old. We lost countless men, women and children in a war that almost nobody wanted, just like everybody else, and when I say we, I mean the PEOPLE, not our piece of shit government. I'm not going to apologize because my great grandfathers who were good people were forced to fight, I'm going to go on with my life just like all other Japanese, Germans, Italians and Americans.
I salute the commanding officer for having a good heart. In God, we are all his children. Love reigns in heart of Americans, to Japanese soldier was given a hero burial. God bless America! Watching from Philippines.
So sad that these men gave their lives like that. I honestly doubt I could ever do a job like that. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of emotions those guys felt as they took their seat in the plane. Gotta admit, those guys were incredibly brave. I'm just thankful we are friends with Japan. I still can't understand how or why, especially with what happened. I wish we had never had to go to war with each other. I have such a love for the Japanese. My dream, taking my son to Japan to visit.
At the time of WW2, the Japanese believed that their Emperor was a god, not an ordinary human. So their fervent allegiance was to that deity. That maybe explains their willing sacrifice.
@@peterblake3062 How about the actions leading up to the war, and not the war itself. Oil embargo, steel embargo, etc etc and finally while diplomatic missions were ignored by FDR & Cordell Hull and Stimson, the fact that the US seized Japan's bank accounts. Decades earlier the US seized Japanese real estate in the US and discriminated against Japan at the naval conferences of Washington and London. This all after Japan was on the US side in World War One. I pray history does not repeat itself, but I am afraid I am wrong.
It is called “brain washing,”especially at that time in history. And (specifically) in the Asian Culture, Duty, Honor & Loyalty for country (1st), then family. And if you didn’t do it, your family would ultimately pay the consequences and be shunned by their neighbors, society and even other family members.
Massive respect for the captain, at the end of the day they’re all human, they were all fighting for the same cause.. only difference was customs of both sides. Rest in paradise to all the brave men and women that lost their lives in the pacific. True heroes, every single one of them! ❤
You're definitely wrong. The men responsible for Unit 731, Nanking, the death marches, the torture, slave labour, starvation, summary executions, beatings to death of POW's.... I could go on and on... were not heroes in any way. They were criminals and mass murderers. But, go ahead and be all touchy feely sentimental. They Japanese Empire during at that point in time needed to be crushed.
Excellent post. Deeds of military chivalry represent the best of humanity, like the Christmas truce of 1914 and other great examples. As a Christian, here is my favorite: Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, led the first air wave attacks on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Fuchida was responsible for the coordination of the entire aerial attack. After the war he saw how American Christians treated the Japanese with deeds of compassion and helping to rebuild Japan. In September 1949, after reading the Bible for himself, Mitsuo became a Christian.
@@pcka12I don’t know about Nagasaki but Japan itself was/had a lot of Christians/ Christian missions from around the 1600’s to 1800’s, there was actually more Christian’s in Japan pre-emperor then in China
@@pcka12 Nagasaki was the port city the Portuguese, and later the Dutch, engaged in trade with Japan starting in the later part of the 16th century. It's how Christian (Mostly Catholic) missionaries were able to enter Japan prior to Christianity being banned after the Shimabara Rebellion.
You admire the wrong hero, in fact, the person turned out to be morally broken by the enemy, who used nuclear weapons on his country and went to serve the enemy. Here is the true son of Japan, Hiroo Onoda, who fought alone with the enemies on the island until 1974.
Mitsuo Fuchida is in good company. Prince Asaka, who was in the IJA and who is widely considered responsible for the Rape of Nanking, also converted to Christianity after the war. He, along with other members of the Japanese royal family, was never prosecuted for war crimes. All was forgiven and he lived out his days playing golf.
It would be nice if you did a video of the five Sullivan Brothers who were all on the same ship, the USS Juneau and perished when it went down in the South Pacific. I think too many people have forgotten about that great loss. Time to bring it back to life.
My grandfather who served in the Navy during the Korean War took me when I was a kid in either the late eighties early nineties I just remember going to a naval museum and the USS Missouri was there and I got to see where the treaty was signed I had no idea about this story though. It was amazing walking the deck of the Missouri.
Likely not. In burials at sea, the same flag is normally used over and over again. After a major battle a ship may have a dozen or more killed and buried that way. A ship simply does not have that many flags on hand to set aside and hold them for later.
I salute the gallantry of this young Japanese pilot and the Ship's Captain and his crew truthful of being an officer and gentlemen. Their sacrifices to achieve peace will never be forgotten.
@@olafs7022 It was, like most of Japan's arsenal, an all or nothing weapon. Remember that they are a tiny island nation with almost no resources. They pushed the absolute limit to invent a plane like the Zero, something that vastly eclipsed rival planes at the beginning of the war. They didn't have the resources to improve upon its airframe like the U.S. did with the Hellcats or Corsairs. You see this same philosophy in Japan's ships, many of which were prone to fire due to the heavy use of wood in lieu of scarce steel. You can even see it in Japan's war strategy, relying on decisiveness rather than American endurance. The Zero continued to be effective with the implementation of Kamikaze tactics, making up for the lacking pilots (as most died) and giving the Zero a secondary purpose after its initial ambush (since it couldn't face American fighters in conventional dogfights).
A month ago, my wife and I were in Honolulu for a holiday. We spent an afternoon touring Pearl Harbor and were on the USS Missouri, it was amazing to stand right where Setsuo's plane hit the side of the ship. I was impressed to see the memorial they had below deck for him and his fellow pilots.
The irony of all this is that the exceptional bravery of those pilots played a significant role in the decision to use the atomic bomb. A substantial number of command staff felt that unless it could be made absolutely crystal clear that there was NO chance of victory. Only something dramatic and absolutely unequivocal would bring the point home or lives of many more brave and absolutely committed men would be thrown away.
In the book The Blong Knight of Germany which chronicles the story of Erich Hartmann, he mentions a German pilot that would often fly alongside a burning Soviet aircraft and such was his humanity he would try to get the Soviet pilot to bail out. Might be something for you to research.
And just as moving, I'm sure, is the story of the German pilot of a BF-109 who escorted a badly damaged plane and injured crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress over to the English channel after a bombing raid, realizing that he could have easily finished off the bomber but instead took compassion over the helpless crew to escape what surely would have been a fatal end to the American flyers. I believe a book was also written about that incident, as well as a documentary film.
These pilots almost ended the HMAS Australia at the battle of Lingayen Gulf where she took four direct hits. With all the senior officers killed, or incapacitated in the kamikaze strike, the actions of a 19 year old lieutenant saved the ship on that day...his name was David Hamer. He was awarded the DSC.
Great story!! I remember many years ago I was watching a TV show about a Kamikaze that was send 2-3 times to his death mission but he was returning alive. His plane was having mechanical problems and could not follow the mission. And every time he had to take the whole ritual from the start before the mission. That was pretty unusual for a Kamikaze.
@@doommmmmmm I also heard and this case I believe but it wasn't a mechanical failure the pilot simply pulled that excuse off his ass when what obviously happens it's that he didn't want to do the kamikaze shit for obvious reasons, I think he was executed after his command caught onto what was happening.
Being an American combat Veteran (US Army 505th PIR 82nd Airborne Division...Phu Bai, Vietnam), I was always very proud that both my Dad, and my Uncle Bob, we're both WW2 combat Vets. My Dad was US Army Infantry, and my Uncle Bob was, US Navy. My dear Uncle Bob was manning one of USS Missouri's Anti-Aircraft Guns during the Kamikaze attacks You relate in your very well made video. My Uncle was also present at the official ceremonies of Japan's surrender aboard the, "Mighty Mo". I well remember my Uncle telling me about the Japanese Pilots Military funeral and honors provided by Capt. Callahan and the US Navy. My Uncle always told me how the crew of the USS Missouri totally admired and respected Capt. Callahan. And, my Uncle told me that even though the Japanese were the enemy, most of the "Mighty Mo" crew did admire the courage and discipline of the young Japanese Kamikaze fighter pilots. My Uncle always said that there is a code of Honor among Honorable Warriors that has them respect one another no matter what uniform they wear. He also stressed that Troops that commit atrocities, and Commanders that slow this do not fall into the category of, Honorable Warriors, but are rather criminals. Despite the fact of some terrible deeds commited by our WW2 enemies, there were instances of honor on their side toward American such as the young German Wehrmacht lieutenant and a German Medic team rescuing a wounded American soldier. In the process, the young German Officer lost his life. Today, a Bronze Plaque marks the area in which the German Officer saved the wounded American. And, the Plaque was placed there by the American Soldiers Regiment. These types of noble events took place on All sides throughout the War. Anyway, my heartfelt Thanks to You who have produced this Outstanding video. God's Speed to You and Yours.
Respect yeah but we beat them because we hated them Japs. The brought us into the war by bombing Pearl on a Sunday morning killing fathers, sons ,mothers and family of all types. Mostly American family, i think generation X was the last one to get really passed off about some such shit. I hope I'm wrong. But these Tide pod eating, Trans excepting, Biden voting generation with fucking "PRONOUNS" that's got to be the gayest shit going has some shit to prove yet.
I lived in Japan for one year and worked for a Japanese company. In the evenings I would watch TV and news. They reported that during WWII. Most of the kamikaze were 17 to 19 year old kids. And the night before their mission, they cried and were very sad. Their pillow sheets were soaking with their tears. The cleaning ladies who did their laundries were interviewed by the news agencies, described these kids were all crying before going to their last night on earth....It really had me thinking that the leaders who sent these kids to battle and die, really needs to be ashamed of themselves. That is too much to bear for teenage kids....The captain of the Missouri is correct. He showed compassion for the enemy. He is a great man indeed!!
This photograph had a very strong meaning for me, I highly value any form of respect and honor, even coming from an enemy or an ally, it proves that we can still coexist peacefully and in mutual respect among all peoples.
I went to the Missouri 6 years ago at Pearl Harbour, it is truly a sight and would have been such hell on the ship at these moments. Can't be more grateful for all sacrifices on all sides.
I toured the USS Missouri and heard the guide tell this story almost exactly as you state here. If anyone reading this goes to Pearl Harbor and visits the USS Arizona, you can’t help but feel the sadness there. Conversely, visiting the USS Missouri tells the ending of WW II as well as stories of valor such as this one. And gives a sense of hope seeing the plaque with General MacArthur’s words: "It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past - a world founded upon faith and understanding - a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish - for freedom, tolerance and justice."
My father was on the Missouri in the Korean War, so I have known about the kamikaze strike and the subsequent burial at sea. But this is much more detail then I have heard before. Decades after Korea my father was a highly placed project manager for the refitting and recommissioning of the 'Mighty Mo' at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, during the Reagan naval build up. Sadly the Iowa class ships were only in service for 5-6 years before the end of the Cold War and budget realities made them redundant. Still magnificent ships, and both BB63 and the Wisconsin saw action during the Gulf War.
If you guys enjoyed this video, please consider supporting me on Patreon: Patreon.com/TJ3History
GAJIN ADD THE MIGHTY MO NOT ALASKA
tj its me blakeosaurus
Do a video on the USS Laffey DD-724.
Did the body have ID papers or some kind of dogtag when recovered?
Hey could you do a video on the Destroyer USS Laffy which faced off against 50 Kamikaze's during the Battle of Okinawa?
Sometime in the 1980s, I was inthe checkout line for the hardware store at Beltway Plaza in Greenbelt, Maryland. The two men in line direclty ahead of me started an amazing conversation. They were both World War II veterans: one Amercan, one Japanese. They compared notes and realized that they had once fought in the same battle, against one another. Forty years later they were neighbors, both buying hardware to do home repairs.
That would make a great movie
wow thats pretty awesome
In World War 1 my great grand father was buried alive by artillery and was rescued by a German. When World War 2 came around he re-enlisted, but due to his age and lung damage from being gassed in the first war, he was stationed at a POW camp in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. While there a German recognized him - it was the German who saved him. They became friends and the German made those ships in a bottle. He gave four ships to my great grandpa - one for each of his children. Those are now the family heirlooms.
After my first tour in Afghanistan I was a guest at a school and legion to for the Remembrance Day ceremonies. While at the legion afterwards I was talking to a WW2 vet. He told me about at story of a friend of his that had passed away. While working at the pulp mill in the town in the 1970s, there was a new person that was getting a tour. The two men recognized each other. The last time they saw each other was on the battlefield in France. The Canadian guy was firing his machinegun down a hedgerow cutting down Germans as they tried to cross. The machinegun jammed just as a German went to cross. The German and Canadian looked each other in the eye, then the German kept running. That German was the new guy at the mill.
@@aaronp3109 you need to write a blog. These are histories which need to be remembered
@@keriddunk1520 My aunt made a really good write up of my great grandpa. A lot more to the story than what is written, but definitely a great read. He was shot, gassed, had shellshock but then declared fit for duty, went AWOL in Ireland to marry his friend's sister etc. Gave bushels of vegetables to the local orphanage during the great depression etc. Two of his brothers and some cousins had enlisted at the start of the war, and unfortunately one of his brothers had died of pneumonia in the fall of 1918. I did look up his war records and the official records say Oct of 1917 though.
My father piloted an LCT in Okinawa. He never volunteered stories, but I asked him one day if he ever saw any kamikaze’s. He hesitated a moment and all he said was “every day.” I sure miss him.
Sad thing that his stories were not recorded. :-(
@@Briselance yes, I’ve thought about that many times since he passed. Thank you.
Like my father and uncles, I thank your father for being part of the greatest generation.
Some landing ships we're outfitted with radars and additional anti aircraft guns to act as picket ships. I sure wouldn't want to be on a LST doing ticket duties. My uncle was on a DE doing picket duty. Luckily they didn't get hit
Wow!
I read about this when I visited the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor. The fact it was done while the battle was still going on says much about the character of the ship’s captain.
I did to while it was Hawaii did a tour on the MO given by an retired marine that served on the MO he told us the this story and got very emotional about which got me tearing up. Salute to All the brave young men that gave everything.
@@ajdogcurr1 .
Visited the Missouri when it was in mothball reserve at Bremerton in 1966. The guide had us look over the starboard rail and see the "dent" in the hull from the impact. That was the first time I ever saw the photo. Nothing was said about a service for the pilot.
Did it say what they did with the flag? Just wondering
@@MadmanLink yes, in the video it says they committed his body and "the canvas"...(the flag) to the deep.
The men stitched the flag of their enemy so he could be buried with respect. And it looks like they did a beautiful job with it. True honor.
True American
@@andyc9902yup, because honour is an exclusively American trait😂
An even bet that the flag is aboard Missouri now. I don't know.
@JewlenskyBotYour disrespect is noted. FOAD!
@JewlenskyBotLike the soldiers had a say in whether they invaded.
That photo of the plane about to hit the ship, the funeral preparations, the family reunion...wow. Excellent production.
Wonder if they would do one for my grandfather. He was responsible for downing 8 German aircraft in WW2. It was said that he was the worst A&P mechanic in the entire Luftwaffe.
William Callaghan's brother Admiral Daniel Callaghan was killed in the waters off Guadalcanal in November 1942. That makes it even more remarkable.
Wow! I didn't know that
Admiral Daniel Callaghan, died in command of a task force that he was Ill prepared to command. He had no combat experience. The combat experience was in Admiral Scott who also died in the engagement. You can tell he had no grasp of the tools available to him by the order of the ships in the task group. He then muffed up the torpedo attack, by waiting too long to give the order to fire and by opening fire with the ships armament too soon. If he hadn't opened fire when he did they might have made some hits. Just before he died his last order to the task group was odd ships fire to Port, even ships fire to starboard. He had not told any of the ships whether they were an odd number or an even number. He and Admiral Scott died shortly after that. This left the task group largely decapitated.
@@JohnRodriguesPhotographerI would think their identification number on the hull would have made it apparent which way to fire. Just my guess.
@@snydedon9636 you don't understand the command. It was supposed to be every other ship fire either left or right. Hull numbers are assigned when the ship is being built. The ships in the column were not placed there based on their hull numbers. In fact the destroyer arrangement was very disorganized. The cruisers were light cruisers in front heavy cruisers in the middle and if there was another light cruiser at the end.
@@JohnRodriguesPhotographer ok thanks. Like I said just my guess not me not understanding.
Wow! Not only did the crew gave him a proper funeral but even went above and beyond and made a Japanese flag for him!
Then you realize what the Japanese flag looks like and it must have taken them five minutes to whip it up lol
The photo shows the battle flag of the Japanese Empire, The Rising Sun. The simple red circle was around but it’s more a post war thing.
@@minot.8931 Ball of the Sun is the national flag, adopted February 1870. The Rising Sun was accepted into use May 1870 as the War flag by the IJA & IJN.
At war's end the War flag was discontinued. Ball of the Sun has been in use since 1870.
should have rolled the body over board
@@vitsirosh3722 they should have rolled the body over board with the rest of the wrckcage
The Captain truly was a man of honour and integrity (as was the pilot, knowing without doubt he would die).
This funeral wasn't about respect for those demons but rather respect of who we are as Americans and the honor with valor that comes with it. They knew that Japs including this pilot would have tied anchors around American prisoners before throwing them overboard but the captain chose to do this because he held the moral high ground.
A
"A true soldier fights not because they hate what is in front of them, but because they love what is behind them." Ishino proved this statement true, as did the Commanding officer. There was honor in both actions.
Honor in being manipulated or forced to carry out a suicide mission for a racist regime? No, I don't see any honor in that. He might not have been a bad person, but fighting in a military is not honorable just in itself. It only is if you are fighting for a honorable goal which he did not. At best, he was a victim of the society he lived in. As this society sent him to his death with out any regard for his life at a young age for nothing it is probably right to consider him a victim and not a perpetrator.
@@salia2897 The same thing can be said of American soldiers.
@@ThibaultsAbandonedChild Well, it has to be discussed war by war. In the war against Japan the US was attacked. But there are certainly wars by the US that are hard to justify morally. And I do not think it is honorable to have been fighting in these wars.
@Salia i agree with you that the regime he fought for was tyrannical and im aware of the war crimes commited by japan during ww2, but i do believe he was an honorable and good person. He fought for his family. The repercussions his family would have faced if he refused to serve as a kamikazi would have been severe. He was a victim yes, but was honorable aswell. It is truely tragic.
@@epsilondelta2967 where kamikazi forced to do what they did by threatening their families? Wikipedia says they were mostly volunteers, most of them unmarried but not all, average age 19. I'm no expert, but sounds to me they where basically teenagers to very young adults manipulated into giving their lives.
And even if some were forced like that, the honor of their actions would not be a military one. I am just not a fan of depicting military service as honorable as such. That is something that goes back to 19th century militarism and is very dangerous. It is honorable to defend your freedom and the freedom of the society you live in. Sacrificing yourself to protect your family is honorable of course as well, but it would not be the military service that would be honorable.
Sending people to their death like the Kamikaze is a dishonorable act anyway, even if they would have been truly volunteers fighting for some greater good. Disregarding the value of life like that is not honorable and militaries of modern democratic nations would never do such a thing. People would be send on very risky missions and people might sacrifice themselves in a hopeless situation. But a unit with the sole purpose of killing themselves, that does not fit to the value system of a society that values human life.
Note, that I am not saying, they were bad people. For me, a 19 year old made to kill himself like that is just a victim, not a hero.
A similar honor was given to an American soldier who fought a battle against forces commanded by Erwin Rommel. The German commander actually commemorated this ‘brave soldier’s life’ by giving him an official and honorable burial. I found this action to be amazing, and within the context of war, a demonstration of genuine respect.
Look up the story of the HMS Glowworm. The captain of the Admiral Hipper, Hellmuth Heye, after sinking the HMS Glowworm wrote to the British government through the Red Cross to suggest that the captain of the Glowworm ought receive the Victoria Cross for his leadership in combat, as well as praising the entire crew for their bravery in the face of utterly impossible odds. Because the HMS Glowworm was a destroyer, while the Admiral Hipper was a *heavy cruiser.*
@@RaptorJesus I will look this up. Thankyou.
I have a book about Rommel that I have yet to read. Wonder if that story is in the book.
erwin rommel was a nazi
The Japanese buried an American pilot in the Aleutians. His grave did not differ from their own. Written above : here lies the body of s young American Air Hero who died bravely for his motherland.
“Maybe some of them like to fish or like to hunt… they were trying to do what they were supposed to do, and I was trying to do what I was supposed to do. Under different circumstances, we might have been good friends. ” - Shifty Powers, WWII veteran in his interview with TV series ‘Band of Brothers’
In Foy Belgium there is a corner of a building that has become known as 'Shifty's Spot'. It is were he fired at and killed the sniper depicted in Band of Brothers. I've seen a few videos posted by visitors looking from his spot to the window the sniper was firing from and the movie doesn't do it justice. It was a hell of a shot.
General Yamamoto knew it would be a losing war
@@yamatokurusaki5790
Wasn't he an admiral?
@@Briselance -Yes. Admiral Yamamoto. (Admiral is Navy. General is Army.)
Other than Admiral Yamamoto, there were others who knew Japan would lose. According to the Total War Research Institute, after the start of the war, victory is expected in the first battle, but the subsequent transition will inevitably be a long-term battle, and Japan's national strength will not be a burden. With the Soviet Union entering the war at the end of the war, defeat was inevitable. Thus, he came to the conclusion of Japan's defeat that war was impossible.
In 2003 I was living in Sasebo Japan while stationed onboard the USS Essex (LHD-2). I made the acquaintance of a WWII era Soldier form Japan. We went bar hopping together and he was very friendly. He told me that he never hated Americans. He fought us because it was his honor and pride to fight for his country. I told him I respect his service to his country and that I'm happy that our countries are allies. Then we got drunk and barfed in the street. Good times.
Thanks for your service man! “No probl-🤮🤮🤮”
SA SE BO not SA E BO.
I was home ported in Yokosuka in the 1960's. Whenever came back from Vietnam for repairs I'd visit Japanese pubs and mingle with the people. Much better than wasting time at what sailors referred to as "The Honch," Became friends with one bar owner, and one Christmas I was invited to celebrate with him, some of his Japanese patrons, and employees in Tokyo.
@@dareisnogod5711 yes
The American way
As a Japanese, I knew the photo but didn’t know its story. So I appreciate your sharing this incredible story. I want to mention that Captain William Callaghan and the crew members remind me of my American friends.
Im glad Japan is now an ally of the US and the protection of freedom and democracy can be maintained using both countries arsenals. Greetings from Central Europe!
Thanks for all the Godzilla movies ‼️
@@thecringeinspector5636 Central Europe is Germany 🇩🇪
@@treystephens6166 Germany is not the only country in Central Europe.
@@thecringeinspector5636 Austria 🇦🇹
To fully appreciate Captain Callaghan's respect for this Japanese pilot, you should know that only about 2 years earlier, his older brother Admiral Daniel Callaghan was killed in action by the Japanese Navy. It speaks to his character that his personal grief did not stand in the way of his sense of honor.
Cap. Any good human would show this kind of compassion. It’s called being human, showing love and not hate.
@@avacadomangobanana2588Hell nah it takes a REALLY good human to do that not just any good human I wouldn’t and I’d still be considered a good human
@@avacadomangobanana2588War takes away your humanity. Anyone who shows this decorum in war had much more compassion than average.
The realest incarnation of don't hate the player, hate the game.
@@huemansyndrome879 Decent isn't the same as good. No one is good. One can be righteous, honourable and decent but never fully good. That's impossible for humans to achieve
An honourable act from the captain of the ship. No doubt it wouldn’t have been popular but it was the right thing to do. He lived the values he was fighting for.
he sure did
I imagine it probably wasn't unpopular. Sailors know how to treat the enemy with dignity and honor. If I was on that ship, I wouldn't have it any other way.
My first thought was that no sailor must have died in the attack, that is probably why this was done I guess. If crew members had died, not only would it be unpopular but also very demoralizing for the crew.
Acts of compassion led to many Japanese soldiers surrendering. This goes to show how successful being kind to the other side can be
@@masterm8 Even if there were other dead onboard, it would've been just out of courtesy to do such a burial for a soldier who sacrificed his life to protect his homeland.
One of my uncles served on the USS Missouri battleship. He made a bracelet from the Japanese aircraft metal and gave them t to his son when he came home after the war. His name was William Ludwigs who lived in Sioux City Iowa.
He served with two brothers in WWII. Fred Ludwigs served on the USS Arkansas battleship and their younger brother, Arthur Ludwigs, served as a Naval CB on the Island of Iwo Jima. They all 3 came back home alive. We thank God for that. I am a nephew of these 3 uncles now at the age of 89 years old. My name is Dennis Kluver
Very cool Dennis. Thank you for sharing your story.
God bless your life and family
Same with my grandpa. I laid eyes on it, but it was lost as I wasn't around when clearing the house. They mustve thought it was trash. I shouldve spoke up!
Wow. Thanks for the story, Dennis.
Awesome man!
No man carries greater love then the one who has it for his enemy. These men showed real humanity.
But would the Japanese show the same type of humanity for those Allies who fell under their captivity? A genuine question. Their track record in China and the Pacific certainly doesn't show a whole lot of honour and compassion for their enemies. How many Chinese soldiers did they bury with their country's flag? They buried them alright but alive. No doubt there are a few examples of Japanese soldiers showing compassion to their enemies in places like Singapore but unfortunately, compared to the Allied powers, this was very few and far between. Sadly the policy of the Japanese Imperial Government was one of brutality and extermination.
@@histman3133 Long answer short, no. The Japan did not show the same compassion. Soilders of Nazi Germany showed greater humanity then the Japanese.
Leutnant Friedrich Lengfeld, commander of the 2nd Company of the divisional Fusililer battalion of the 275th infantry division during the fighting at the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, gave his life at the attempt of rescuing an injured American trapped in a mine feild. "No man hath greater love than he who layeth down his life for his enemy" is written on his monument built by the 22nd infantry regiment society.
It is a shame that such great men were forced to kill eachother, maybe if there were no wars we could be friends.
@@histman3133 The Japanese showed nothing but contempt for captured allied personnel, seeing any man that surrendered rather than dying for their country as dishonourable dogs, not worthy of being kept alive.
They even went as far as using captives for medical experiments, infecting them with deadly diseases and watching them waste away.
If you want further information, try researching the "Bataan Death March" or "Unit 731".
@@HungryLoki Every wannabe super power never got to be a super power without bringing acts of death and destruction on others. The United States is responsible for many inhumane acts during it's history.. Just saying :)
@@histman3133 It was a case by case basis. Japanese were generally horrible to the enemy but there were instances of mercy and respect. Americans were generally kinder to prisoners but there were also plenty of cases of Americans being exceptionally cruel as well. It was even common for American troops to take japanese heads, ears, and/or noses as trophies.
When I was on the Missouri, the guy told me an interesting fact about the dents on the ship, that when she was reactivated, the dock crews were attempting to fix the dents, and one of the sailors, told him to stop what he was doing in the dents were a part of the ship
This story means a lot to me. My father was on the invasion of Okinawa at age 17 and turned 18 during the invasion. He would tell me stories about how he witnessed some of the kamikazes. Any pointed out one because we actually saw a movie of it on TV one time The very event that my dad witnessed. A kamikaze flying straight into a gun placement on one of the ships and exploding and killing all the sailors on that gun placement. My dad had many stories I was time in world war II at meant a lot to him. After the war he went to Japan for the occupation. Made friends with some of the Japanese citizens and learned a lot and shared these stories with me and my family. My dad's been his career is a Los Angeles county firefighter from 1958 when I was born to 1981. He was quite a guy I was proud that he was my dad. His name was Petty officer first class Raymond G. Leach. He passed away January 5th 2016. He's buried in the military cemetery in Phoenix Arizona. Thanks for reading this. Love in Christ Jesus. Pastor Duane and Chico Pup.
God bless you.
Respect for your father
Amazing!
My dad was a gunnery sergeant on a B-17. I know from a chest my mom kept that he flew 20 some missions over Germany, when he was discharged he got medals and his missions list, all in a nice small wallet sized case. My dad never breathed a word about his experiences, save that he missed his mom's home cooking. He never complained. He was a quiet man who drank more than he should have. He never told the war stories we all wanted to hear. But nothing. Whatever those stories were, he took them to his grave. I miss him.
Thank you for sharing this.
I used to volunteer to clean the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor. The markings on the ship still remake from this crash and the story is told as part of the tour. To be clear, the pilots body was said to have been ripped in half and his upper body had landed on the main deck. The location of his legs were unknown. 🙏🏽 the captains told his men that even though he was an enemy, he was following orders for his country.
That's honor. 💯
My father was there on that ship in WW2. He was witness to the surrender. Was among the many sailors seen on the superstructure during the surrender. I was able to bring him to Pearl to visit the ship before he passed. He had told me of that story for the pilot and many others.
Respect to your father
Salute you father
Thanks for watching! Historical notes - First off, the ship shown in my visuals is not the USS Missouri. It is technically a heavy cruiser, but it is the closest that I could get with my simulator. Secondly, often times, Kamikaze mission information is extremely difficult to find (for obvious reasons). So while most agree that it was Setsuo Ishino piloting this Zero, at least one author mentions that it could have been Kenkichi Ishii as well. And finally, I am sure some of my pronunciations were not perfect, but I did my best. Thanks everyone!
It’s still great, missing information or not.
TJ I told you in the recording session that is is *NOT* a Heavy cruiser, according to the US navy, the Alaska class were listed as "Large cruisers" while Gaijin in game listed them as "Battlecruisers", being armed with 12 inch guns instead of the 8 inch found on most of the others
And it was a really good episode man! Probably by favorite thus far. Thank you!
What is the simulator that you use? It seems to be very accurate to all of the videos you do. All of the aircraft, ships, and tanks are all so well replicated!
@@joebatson9597 thanks! I use both War Thunder and IL-2
To honor your enemy in battle is a great sign of respect and understanding that the enemy also fights with passion for what they believe in.
He didn't do it out of respect. He did it because at the end of the day we are all only human and doing what other humans are telling is necessary to get what we want
Captain William C Callahan will always go down as one of the most honorable men to ever serve to me. To make such a call after being attacked speaks so highly of his character. Props to the men who not only went to his funeral but put in the effort to make a Japanese flag for the fallen soldier.
Every soldier, regardless of who they serve, is a soul putting their life on the line.
I remember hearing this story, but watching this video gave it so much more depth
My pops had his retirement ceremony from the army on the Missouri and I only just realized how significant that was after watching this
They tell you the history of things during tours, but it's hard to understand the full picture without someone contextualizing everything the way this video does
It took great courage to sacrifice his life for his country, courage to fly against the barrage of gunfire. In the midst of such hell, we see those soldiers tell us of their greatness. Captain and crew of the Mighty Mo, are among such soldiers, along with their much respected enemy.
too bad they got reprimanded for it
@thezyreick4289 when did he get reprimanded?
No, it wasn't about respect for those demons but rather respect of who we are as Americans and the honor with valor that comes with it. They knew that Japs including this pilot would have tied anchors around American prisoners before throwing them overboard but the captain chose to do this because he held the moral high ground.
As one of Japanese, I express my sincere appreciation for the kindness of the captain at that time. I am proud that Japan and the United States are now peaceful allies. I pray for all of the soldiers passed away in WWII.
My best friend is Japanese. I appreciate the connection we have now and I adore Japan. Many of those pilots weren’t even 18! I cannot imagine.
Amen to that. 🪷 🇯🇵🦅🇺🇲
@@elissitdesign Japan's is a beautiful and intriguing culture.
I was stationed in Japan for 3 years in the USMC and the USA and Japan alliance is strong. We share bases in Japan with the Japanese military and do a lot of training exercises with them. As an American Marine I’ve saluted many Japanese officers and would not have no problem going to war alongside them. It’s funny how our biggest enemy’s always become our greatest allies. You gotta respect the kamikazes bruh instead of shooting a missile they become the missile and that takes balls of steel when you can easily just fly away and not do it.
They did this while knowing Japan would never reciprocate honorable and humane treatment to their enemy.
That is an incredibly moving account. It's so easy to forget that these attackers were not only men, but brave men. The Kamikaze was such a waste but that there were these men that volunteered is beyond courageous. Thank you TJ.
BTW, why the heck haven't you been picked up by the History channel... oh yeah; they're not history anymore. God bless you sir and please keep them coming.
Thanks as always Kyle!
From what I've heard, most of them were 'volunteered' against their will. The Japanese officers were quite brutal to their own kin
Kamakazi fought for evil, the japanese were brutal invders, their mass murder of surrendered civilians and POWs made hitler blush.
These were evil men, piss on their graves.
@@JoshuaC923 There was most certainly some of that, there's a Kamikaze that survived the war. Had he been a true volunteer, we wouldn't have heard his story. Then there was the "Cherry Blossom" where the pilot was bolted in the cockpit.
However, these guys _DID_ volunteer and that's one reason they were so effective. A lot of useless waste but that was the fanatical Japanese empire of WWII. They'd have almost preferred a complete genocide to surrender.
@@KyleCowden agreed, they were really fanatical
Ishino really left a mark in history. If you look into it, you can see a deeper meaning. Ishino striking USS Missouri is like Japan's final desperate attempt to inflict as much damage as they can to the USS Missouri but in the end, all their efforts were futile and while all the loses they managed to inflict was something the Americans were able to take and replace easily, they still managed to leave a scar that could still be seen today.
Should make a movie about this exploring the propaganda feeding the masses and making young men into the kamikazi soldiers, the kamikaze part itself and then the reactions from the soldiers on the deck. Would be a good character/military study i'd think especially if it was used as a reference for what you mentioned.
@@Jim87_36 Nah, poofs / misguided western "nationalists" who live 80 years ago and not today, would just call it "whitewashing" and "revisionist". Like that German story-paper Der Landser, which got shut down because a paper of boys' own war adventures didn't constantly mention the holocaust.
Perhaps it wasn't the Kamakazi suicide bombers that were bakas, but the desperate Japanese that ordered them, throwing away real human lives. Imagine if this happened today tho, now a kamakazi strike would be more about having enough resources to burn rather than convincing a bunch of young men to die for their country.
Sadly many of these kamikaze are actually being forced into it, school children that are blackmailed into the war , given the choice you either die for the nation as a hero or something might happen to your family. Officially it is not done by the government, but the kempeitai yakuza at that time is doing the dirty job for the govt to ensure no one will say no. So those that joined were often portrayed as hero that willingly sacrifice for the nation.
@@ciswatanabe5145 sad
I visited Yasukuni shrine in person a few weeks ago and wandered the museum, and its decisions both good and bad, afterward.
The room dedicated to the Kamikaze pilots was rough. So many young dudes - all their faces covering the walls - every single one. So many of their final letters home too.
Powerful stuff
Dang, I wished I visited on my 3-week trip last month! Next time. Truly heart wrenching letters
The captain was so honorable and incredible. Salute and respect!
Shame they were not a respectable back!! 😡
@@sutty8526
Yeah the IJA as a whole was pretty much the devil.
But individually I believe there are good ones among them.
I am a long retired U.S. Naval officer. Years ago while having lunch in a Navy exchange cafeteria on the West Coast I sat at a table with an elderly Japanese gentleman and we began a conversation. He told me how he had been a kamikaze pilot during the Okinawa battle. He said and his his plane was in a cave on one of the mountains there and that he was rolled out and set to takeoff when he was ordered back into the cave for some reason. It wasn't long after that that the war ended. One lucky guy!!
My dad was at the Battle of Leyte Gulf and received a leg full of shrapnel that kept coming out for many years. My dad was on a gun and shielded from the impact, however, the guys on both sides were either dead of severely wounded when the Kamikaze’s plane hit. He was lucky that day and one other day when he missed boarding a ship and was assigned to another that was ready to get underway. The ship he missed was hit and sank with most sailors killed. He would get very sad when telling the story because of his shipmates losing their lives.
I live and youtube leyte, Philippines
Man your grandad a real veteran when he cries telling stories.
This one hit me hard. I feel for his loss and emotional trauma. May God bless him and your family .
My father as well on the cruiser USS Biloxi. They too were hit. My father was below decks as a chief machinist. When the fight was over, he went on the deck and saw the head of the kamikaze pilot. My father took a small piece of the red zero and it eventually made its way to the Smithsonian in 1973.
And if he didn't make it ,YOU would not be here to tell us the story
My grandfather was on Battleship Missouri during WWII. He brought home a little piece of metal that was from a kamikaze plane that crashed into the ship. He was seaman first class Samuel Thomas Lennox.
Thank you Captain William Callahan. You are not only great commanding officer but also the greatest American. All Japanese respect you right bottom of our heart. From Japan with appreciations.
As an American I am humbled by your response. We accept your compliments graciously.
Interesting fact about Captain William Callahan is that his elder brother, Rear Adm David J Callahan, was killed on his flagship, the USS San Francisco, during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor. Captain William Callahan had every right to despise the Japanese for the death of his brother but it seems that he did not. He let his humanity and military honor rule. That is the sign of a good person. Hopefully all three men drank a toast to peace in Valhalla.
Respect for an honorable adversary.
@@mickywanderer8276 Did you say Valhalla?
Lol Grant go Brrr
Thank you for this story. My grandfather was a torpedo bomber pilot during the war and my family has no love for the Japanese, however this story brought a tear to my eye as I considered the pure respect displayed for a fellow soldier. It’s honor like this that I believe we have lost sight of in the present era. The fact that they took the time to present him with his own colors was a heartwarming touch. God bless our fighting men and women.
I bet you have a Sony TV and a Honda civic
@@qouavang3646 Is it Non Sequitur Day again and I forgot to mark my calendar?
@@qouavang3646 I bet you have a grade school education.
My dad was on a minesweeper who had a kamikaze barely miss them and crash into the water. They recovered the body and held a funeral for it. Took his wallet, pictures and personal effects to the flagship, so intelligence officers could figure out what air fields they were flying from, so Halsey Aircraft Carriers could bomb them. Not rare at all.
I somehow wish the papers and recovered personal belongings ended up being returned to his family.
@@Briselance More than likely there was an effort after Japan Surrendered or maybe even during the war.
Most officers and soldiers then and now understand these people are just people at the end of the day. And they would want the same for them as themselves if their body was recovered with private belongings that were just there to get them through the day.
The respect of the dead in this tradition was American Navy integrity and honor on full display. The Japanese would do no such thing if the shoe was on their foot. Those.. people, would bayonet dead Americans for fun and practice. No respect for humanity at all.
@@YouvBeenThumped
You could hardly still classify Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan as “just people” after the Holocaust and Nanjing Massacre.
It was most likely attempted after the war.
This made me cry. As a veteran myself, I've never heard this extraordinary story of respect and camaraderie! Captain Callahan was a real soldier! I've heard of stories but this one just choked me up a bit.
He was a Sailor, not a soldier…
A most unusual act of respect and compassion in the middle of a war. Kudos to the captain of the Missouri.
Touching account! Thank you for sharing it. I am a 66 year old vet. It made me proud of our country when I heard how they showed treated the body of this young boy. They didn't treat this young boy like a piece of garbage. The commander of the ship carged with the safety of all those men on board his ship, he still saw the value of this young mans soul as they commended his body to the deep.
soul?? lol
When I was in 3rd grade we went on a field trip one time to a war memorial in a local cemetery. A WWII veteran met us there to tell us his story. I don't remember all the details of his story, but one in particular has stood out to me now for 20 years. He was in a Japanese POW camp, and he decided to escape one night. He was sneaking around, hidden behind a corner, and he saw one of the Japanese guards on patrol stop to read a letter he pulled out of his pocket. This vet thought that there might be some valuable intel in that letter, so he decided to kill the guard and take the letter off of him. He snuck up behind him and quietly slit his throat. He could read Japanese, so he read the letter... it was a letter from the guard's young son asking him to please come home soon. He said he balled his eyes out all the way back to the American camp. Couldn't blame him. Ever since then, I've had a really hard time when studying history as seeing the opposite side as "evil." But war itself? That seems pretty evil.
That’s horrible… can’t t imagine the PTSD he must have gone through after thR
😢
man that's unbelievably harsh
>Ever since then, I've had a really hard time when studying history as seeing the opposite side as "evil.
This is such a Western privilege moment, holy shit. It's super easy to grandstand about how tyrannical regimes aren't that bad when there's no chance of them ever coming for you.
Nazi Germany was evil.
The Empire of Japan was evil.
The Soviet Union was evil.
Pol Pot's Cambodia was evil.
North Vietnam was evil.
Saddam Hussein's Iraq was evil.
Milosevic's Serbia was evil.
Communist China is evil.
Putin's Russia is evil.
North Korea is evil.
Maduro's Venezuela is evil.
Castroite Cuba is evil.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is evil.
Al-Qaeda is evil.
The Taliban is evil.
Assadist Syria is evil.
A refusal to recognize the existence of evil in the world is a special kind of evil, in and of itself.
Dang... that's tough.
My step father was serving on the Missouri when that incident happened and told of the flag and funeral. Thanks for filling in the gaps on the actual attack. It’s always been an important lesson to me about basic human respect. Thanks.
Cool story
As a lifelong student of history (particularly military history) I've often said that war brings out the absolute worst in people and the absolute best in people.
One of the guys in that photo is my exes grandfather. He retold the story and explained how it was a blink of an eye. Crazy to hear him tell it years ago
My grandfather was in a japanese military. He was captured by the Americans in 1945. He said that american soldiers gave him cigarette and chocolate and made him realize how they were different from what he was told by the japanese government. I think he appreciated the american soldiers for treating him nicely despite how japan treated US. I thank all the military members who are working hard to protect the country. My husband is in the US Airforce and i truly thank him for the immense love he gives me 🥰
Your grandfather was very lucky. Americans often executed Japanese they took prisoner during WW2.
@Constitution Cowboy there were numerous reasons the Japanese were frightened of being captured, some real and some imagined.
@@americaisbeautiful259sounds BS
@@MrBagpipesthat's because the Japanese soldiers did not recognize the rules of war, feigned surrender, so the Americans were less trustworthy to the Japanese when it comes to surrendering.
@@triadwarfare 'the bad man made me do it' has never been accepted as a defence for anything.
The Japanese Imperial Army were most definitely a bad lot but America done very similar than them than when fighting in Vietnam, Korea and Phillipines in particular.
The sooner Americans understand that they make their own choices and are responsible for their own actions the better it will be for everyone.
My father was injured on the USS Bunker Hill on May 11, 1945 by a two-Kamikaze attack. The actor Paul Newman was in his sister squadron, VT-84 while dad was in VB-84. Dad passed away on 04/04/04. Mom is still with us at age 96. Dad told her he was a Navy pilot while he was the tail gunner, flying backwards! All is fair in love and war.
Decades ago, early 70s the ship I was on tied up at North Island NAS in San Diego. There was an old carrier permanently moored there which I found out was the Bunker Hill. I had already read the history so was pretty impressed seeing it there.
I wish more stories like this were told around America
Thanks so much for this story! In 1958, when I was 2 years old, my dad was appointed to run the Navy base in Sasebo. Circumstances resulted in my spending most of my waking hours in the care of wonderful housekeepers who didn't speak a single word of English. When we returned to D.C., I was more proficient in Japanese than English. Over the years, my Japanese dissipated and, but Japanese culture holds a precious space in my heart! ... A bizarrely fantastic twist to my story came to light when I ran my DNA. Although I'm a tall blue-eyed blonde-haired man, a tiny bit of my genetic makeup is Japanese! Who'd have thought??
Being currently Active Duty in the Navy, this makes me cry. How honorable to give your enemy a proper burial while in the midst if battle. An enemy that tried to kill as many of your brothers as possible. War is hell for both sides but even in the blood thirst you recognize that your enemy is still a fellow human. I’ve been in one burial sea, and it was very emotional.
And of course Missouri's mission was not that of Mother Thersea either - they too were there to kill as many Japanese as possible. So it was USS Missouri hundreds of bombardment kills to Japan's zero kills aboard. Setsuo did not ask for his mission, but it was better to die with honor than to live with no honor. Post Vietnam guerrilla warfare there is much hatred in battle and this type of chivalry doesn't happen anymore. WWI was even more filled with acts of chivalry.
Ty for your Service Sir 🫡🫡🙏
I wonder how much time went buy until the first Japanese military person or civilian heard about what the captain did for their brave warrior? I'm sure it helped forged respect and friendship. We are thankful and blessed that the U.S.A and Japan are friends.
Decades I imagine.
The CIA admitted, that anti-USA resentment was seething even as late as the 1960s and had anticipated that the Americans would soon be booted out of Japan.
What they did not expect was that a Japanese would pick up where Douglas MacArthur started with socialist policies in the economy.
His name?
Ikeda Hayato.
@@meilinchan7314 -- By the time I visited Japan the first time in 1968, that attitude was nowhere for me to see, and I spent all my time among Japanese on that trip. I am now a long-term expat living in Japan. There are still pockets of that sort of resentment, but they're small, very rare and mostly mute, especially now in the face of the PRC's increasing aggressiveness.
@@rickhayhoe 1968? How old are you, if I may ask? ._.
@@DeNihility Old enough that I was in Japan in '68 on R&R from Viet Nam.
@@rickhayhoeironic enough Vietnam has the same mindset as japan in where they don’t have resentment of Americans despite ww2 and Vietnam and in fact if FDR didn’t die then the plan was Ho chi minn and FDR we’re gonna work a agreement to get the French out of Vietnam and this would’ve meant you wouldn’t have had to fight a Vietnam war @rickhayhoe. But instead FDR died and a OSS agent was accidentally was killed that caused distrust that led to the Vietnam war decades later. It’s crazy how the butterfly effect works 🦋
Another ship that did this was USS Enterprise (CV-6). After Lt (Jg) Shunsuke Tomiyasu had ploughed his Zero into her flight deck and blew off the Forward Elevator. Her crew was able to find his body and what was left of his Zero in the elevator well and was able to find him. His body was sutured up and was enshrouded in a mattress like the rest of her fallen crew before being buried at sea. A mistranslation of his name (at the time, he was identified as Tomi Zai), meant that his belongings and pieces of his Zero weren't returned to his family until 2003.
Although I remember very well this famous photo that incredibly caused no death to the crews of the USS Missouri causing some slight damage. The crew found the body of the young kamikaze and some days later the captain and the crew did a proper funeral with a hand made Japanese flag. A beautiful and moving respect by the enemy towards this young 18 years old pilot. Thanks for sharing this story that I never heard about it 👍👍👍
My dad served on the Mighty Mo during the gulf war and he’s told me this story many times. He has a book detailing her wars and various battles. There’s an entire chapter dedicated to this specific moment.
It’s ridiculous that the Mighty Mo depends on private funding for its preservation. The government should be ensuring its upkeep.
Similar story of Lieutenant Commander Shunsaku Kudo , Imperial Japanese Navy; Kudo rescued entire floating 400 British sailors double the number of his crew by Destroyer Ikazuchi in the combat zone at the coast of Malaya.His order “ Rescue the enemy!”.
I don't understand but I'm trying to understand what you're saying.
@@sarahmeadows5432 You can Google “Shunsaku Kudo , Empire of Japan “ .
The Japanese saved the British as well. Samurai humanity.
ua-cam.com/video/LzSXE7U1RQw/v-deo.html
History is not always black and white and there are plenty of examples of good people on the the wrong side of history being forgotten or brushed aside due to bad things their fellow countrymen did like that Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jews by writing fake passports for them. But thanks to the internet all of those stories of people on whatever side they fought who were forgotten or the good things they did got overshadowed by history are now just a click away ready to be remembered and passed on to others.
How about every other instance where they machine gunned the survivors in the boats.
I love how exactly you got the story my great-grandfather on my mother's side served on the Missouri during the battle of Okinawa he was part of the damage control teams that put out the fires that resulted from Setsuo's plane crashing into the ship he used to tell this story every year at our family reunion sadly he's been gone for about 16 years now but the war stories he used to tell us are buried deep in my memory. He was also present during the funeral and while he didn't exactly agree with burying an enemy soldier he recognized the courage and valor it must've taken to fly that mission knowing he wouldn't come back supposedly after the war President Truman wrote to the emperor commending Setuo's actions.
Remembering the north Vietnamese soldier on the deck of the USS Tripoli with his lower jaw shot away! Captured and brought aboard to be treated. Very proud of my Marine Corps!
Interesting fact . Kamikaze was a term used by the Japanese public. The military simply referred to it as " special weapon"
The Japanese Military called it the "Special Attack Units"
i started to think the word "special" in military terms just translates you'll be dead soon
wasn't "special weapon" also the military term for the atomic bomb in 1945 ?!.. (i remember reading something like this.. or maybe they just refer it as "the bomb".. but it scared me the didn't dare to even use the word)
Kamikaze means “Divine Wind” or “Wind of the Gods”
@@kyleJohn1997 Vergeltungswaffen or vengeance weapons.
I always love these sorts of stories. These men will fight each other to the death if needed, but at the end of the day realize they're all just soldiers. The story of the only stealth fighter ever shot down, and its pilot meeting the guy that figured out how, is heart-warming. No animosity between them at all. Thanks for sharing!
Very good comment.
it is heartwarming, kind of like the Stenlger-Brown B-17 incident - honor shown between sides. I think these kinds of stories were more prevalent towards the end of the war, when the outcome was apparent. I don't think the Navy crew would have been so kind a yr or two earlier.
Back in the mid-90s, my dad was a diplomat in London. I remember he often had coffee in Harrods with this other diplomat who had been his enemy during a well-known conflict. They were both high-ranking officers on opposite sides. In fact, this other person had ambushed my dad once in some remote area. This was one of the stories they used to share. Now, they were both in the final years of their careers and working as military attaches. Now, they were friends talking about old memories and life. They had been enemies but didn’t have any hatred towards each other.
I am Japanese. Thank you for making this episode a clip and publishing it. Sadly, many modern Japanese people have forgotten about the "Kamikaze Special Attack Corps". However, there are some Japanese people like me who keep their memories in their hearts and are always grateful. I have visited the Kanoya Air Base museum. At the end of the museum's exhibits, there are photographs of the "Ombashira (God)," who served as an honorable warrior as a "Kamikaze Special Attack Corps," on both sides of the aisle. All I could do was close my eyes for 10 minutes in the middle of this aisle and think of words of gratitude. I hope that this clip will help many people to learn about the ultimate Japanese act of "protecting Japan for the sake of their loved ones."
Kamikaze were no honorable warriors. Japanese leadership know they lost the war and only wanted to kill as many US military men to get better surrender terms. They were used and thrown away as expendables.
@@JohnSmith-hq3qv You don't seem to know the true heart of the kamikaze pilots. It would be a good idea to visit the "Chiran Special Attack Peace Memorial Hall" in Kagoshima, Japan, or the "Yasukuni Shrine Yushukan" in Tokyo. I want you to take a look at the suicide note they wrote before they left for the final battle. I assure you that any patriot at heart of any country will never be able to call them "expendables" or "abandoned soldiers". "Yasukuni Shrine Yushukan" is located in a very easy-to-reach place in central Tokyo. Also, please search UA-cam with the keyword "letter from the kamikaze corps（神風特攻隊の手紙）". It's a Japanese clip, but please translate it into English with stream automatic translation and watch it. I would like you to reconsider my comment on that.
Thank you for posting. I visited the Yasukuni Shrine and adjacent Yushukan Museum in October of 2022. The Yushukan has room after room of portraits with accompanying last letters, personal affects and biographies of most of the Kamikaze pilots. There are thousands. It is a staggering, humbling experience to view, unlike any another museum I've ever been to.
@@henniebester9437 Thank you very much for visiting Yushukan from overseas.
I find it truly touching that can still be honor among enemies. Humanity is still there, though buried deep within the hatred, anger and sorrow of war, it sometimes, ever so rarely shines through to remind us that we are all human beings that share this place.
I am a former sailor and wish I had heard this story decades ago. Respect to the captain for his humanity under the worst possible situation. I hope the family got to see the flag, if not take it home. We need more people with level or respect. we need people to treat their own society with this level of respect.
@SalemSavage That would not make him 90. If his uncle was 30 when he was born he would be merely 66, if his father was a late comer and his uncle was 40 or above he could be younger than 56.... Nothing crazy about that.
Navy Officers are always gentlemen. Our family’s sponsor was a USN Officer and was an amazing example of this.
No they are not!!!!!! I was in the Navy for 4 years enlisted. I left the Navy and became an Air Force Intelligence Officer. The NAVY is full of worthless immoral scum who are only living for themselves. They have no honor. I was tried and convicted of being a member of the KKK. The only evidence was that I had graduated from High School in Mississippi.
I learned this story when I took the tour of the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor. I think it’s honorable that the ship’s crew made him a Japanese flag and gave him a proper military sea burial. It shows a moment of humaneness to someone who just happened to be an enemy pilot.
There is a fellow modeler from a club in nearby St. Louis who did a diorama of this event several years ago, utilizing the 1/200 scale Missouri kit from Trumpeter. It included a full complement of 1/200 scale sailors, and showed the scene just prior to the "commitment" to the deep of the body of the pilot. Was amazingly well done.
I would of loved to see that diorama.
@@JoeXTheXJuggalo1 I have some fair pictures...shame UA-cam doesn't let you post pict's in comment threads
@@kentbarnes1955 you could always post it on imgur and send us the link! I'm sure there's a lot of people who would love to see it!
@@Lewd-Tenant_Isan Let me see what I can do. No promises though
Half japanese here, my great grandad was a IJA officer but did not fought after 1939. War is surreal, the worst event humanity can see, and the wounds it causes to everyone and everything are extensive, but despite that, some actions are memorable and carry a lot of honour, even in a moment those things are not a thing. My deep respect to the commander of USS Missouri, he showed the true spirit of chivalrous soldier, and may his memory and actions be honored and remembered !
Honor among warriors! It's so easy to lose one's humanity in the heat of battle. It's touching to see stories like this one that shows humanity and honor between opposing sides.
The Japanese threw captured US airmen overboard. So much for your “honor among warriors”. It was one sided, ah.
@@Emanresuadeen when I encounter humanitarian histories like this one I take comfort in the that old saying: We are all Zebras....We are all nail polish removing fluid.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I learned about something today I've never heard about.
Once again, TJ never fails to show us a great masterpiece.
I've been to Pearl Harbor and toured the Missouri. Just going there is a moving experience. So many stories like this that played out during the war. We need to remember what happened because I believe it defines who we are as a nation.
Thanks for sharing.
I was lucky enough to be on the Missouri very early in the morning, one of the first to board for the day. I headed straight to the bridge to take pictures. Looking towards the Arizona, the mighty Mo is positioned in such a way as to have the Arizona straight ahead off her bow. When you look down her main guns, the Arizona memorial is right between them, as if she still stands guard over the srtiken ship. It literally brought tears to my eyes.
This story is so moving. I am proud of being an American, for such an act of respect was demonstrated to this young man during such a contentious period of time. Regardless of his country of origin, he was still given dignity after his death.
I am 63 years old, I have been reading this stuff I was a nipper.
This is the first time that I heard this.
Well done.
this is fake news
Kamikaze pilots were the smartest students volunteered from the best military schools and universities at that time. One of my uncles was such pilots, died in a mission which details are unknown. My father always had been missing his charm. This content is well articulated, especially the Japanese-ish English narration in the letter section.
What is smart about killing oneself for blind nationalism?
I'm sorry that your uncle had to end his life in such a senseless fashion. He must have been a brave and honourable man. Many of our men were prisoners under the Japanese, who were unspeakably cruel to them. Many died of starvation and disease but, good men from both sides also die in war and it was a long time ago. Let's hope we all have better tomorrows than their yesterdays were. Love from Aotearoa/ New Zealand.
Kind of true but they were not good pilots. By the time this tactic was used almost all the good Japanese pilots had been killed.
No wonder they lost, sending their best to die like that
yeah i find it kinda funny that command thought to use their best ace pilots in the first few waves...
like alright.. and use their best zeros at that rather then a lesser plane.
It was an honor to help out on this one. Can't wait for the next one! TJ, you ROCK!
The Missouri is my most favorite battleship of WW2 because of the extensive research and advanced technologies it had at the time. Did you know that the Missouri and it's sister ships were designed to go fast so that it is able to keep up with the fleet in order to protect the aircraft carrier ?
that photo of the plane a second before impact is incredible
While visiting Japan I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman whose uncle had the unique distinction of being an American Kamikaze pilot. The gentleman had told me his parents had moved from Japan to Oregon to be salmon fishers, while in America they had three children this man's mother and two sons. As the tensions between the two nations worsened, his grandparents made the fateful decision to return to Japan for their children to finish school; both sons would not survive the war, the youngest becoming a kamikaze pilot.
A story that should be told with great shame. Japan needs to bear its cross just as Germany had done.
@@jommydavi2197 the Americans also interned loyal nonwhite and ethnicities of interest during world war II, neither side is truly spotless but japan truly should bear the shame for it's past government's crimes.
@@jommydavi2197 Not really what you are getting at, noone gleefully looks at the past where a family member dies. I sincerely doubt anyone in that family wanted to fight in that war, they bore no major allegiance to the Emperor, but they like so many before them did what they were told, I find ironic how many Americans feel that all Confederate Soldiers can't be blamed for the Civil War but all Japanese and German soldiers can be blamed for WW2. There are no statues in Germany or Japan to honor their dead nor should there be, the horrors of China and the Holocaust are far too great to ignore, but not every soldier shared the ideology of their country many simply went to war because they were ordered to do so. We think of the Kamikaze as volunteers but they basically were told die with some perks, or just die, you make the call.
@@jommydavi2197 that's what people don't understand about Imperial Japan. During the war, every healthy male from 17-40, and for a while I think they were taking teenagers, was conscripted into the military. They also don't take into account that it's not America. There was no free speech or protest, you either went along with it without batting an eye, or you were killed or put in prison, which might as well have been a death sentence anyways. Japanese people DO bear the shame, whether the government reflects it or not. Every year on the anniversary of any significant date during WW2 involving Japan since we learned in history class, I get told " Happy Pearl Harbor Day" or "Happy A-Bomb Day" and if I don't laugh it off, I'm just told about how much of a piece of shit my family and countrymen are, and I'm almost 30 years old. We lost countless men, women and children in a war that almost nobody wanted, just like everybody else, and when I say we, I mean the PEOPLE, not our piece of shit government. I'm not going to apologize because my great grandfathers who were good people were forced to fight, I'm going to go on with my life just like all other Japanese, Germans, Italians and Americans.
@@jsmith3772 well said, thank you
I salute the commanding officer for having a good heart. In God, we are all his children. Love reigns in heart of Americans, to Japanese soldier was given a hero burial.
God bless America!
Watching from Philippines.
So sad that these men gave their lives like that. I honestly doubt I could ever do a job like that. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of emotions those guys felt as they took their seat in the plane. Gotta admit, those guys were incredibly brave.
I'm just thankful we are friends with Japan. I still can't understand how or why, especially with what happened. I wish we had never had to go to war with each other. I have such a love for the Japanese. My dream, taking my son to Japan to visit.
You will have doubt to risking your life when life on peace. But, in the war everything will different.
At the time of WW2, the Japanese believed that their Emperor was a god, not an ordinary human. So their fervent allegiance was to that deity. That maybe explains their willing sacrifice.
@@peterblake3062 How about the actions leading up to the war, and not the war itself. Oil embargo, steel embargo, etc etc and finally while diplomatic missions were ignored by FDR & Cordell Hull and Stimson, the fact that the US seized Japan's bank accounts. Decades earlier the US seized Japanese real estate in the US and discriminated against Japan at the naval conferences of Washington and London. This all after Japan was on the US side in World War One. I pray history does not repeat itself, but I am afraid I am wrong.
It is called “brain washing,”especially at that time in history.
And (specifically) in the Asian Culture, Duty, Honor & Loyalty for country (1st), then family.
And if you didn’t do it,
your family would ultimately pay the consequences and be shunned by their neighbors, society and even other family members.
Thank for honoring soldiers, not the dishonorable wars and battle. We lost many good people, but we’re here because of those sacrifices.
Massive respect for the captain, at the end of the day they’re all human, they were all fighting for the same cause.. only difference was customs of both sides. Rest in paradise to all the brave men and women that lost their lives in the pacific. True heroes, every single one of them! ❤
You're definitely wrong. The men responsible for Unit 731, Nanking, the death marches, the torture, slave labour, starvation, summary executions, beatings to death of POW's.... I could go on and on... were not heroes in any way. They were criminals and mass murderers.
But, go ahead and be all touchy feely sentimental. They Japanese Empire during at that point in time needed to be crushed.
Fighting for the same cause?
You might be on some crack
@@MattKearneyFan1 A brain on drugs. 🤣🤣
Excellent post. Deeds of military chivalry represent the best of humanity, like the Christmas truce of 1914 and other great examples. As a Christian, here is my favorite:
Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, led the first air wave attacks on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Fuchida was responsible for the coordination of the entire aerial attack. After the war he saw how American Christians treated the Japanese with deeds of compassion and helping to rebuild Japan. In September 1949, after reading the Bible for himself, Mitsuo became a Christian.
Is it true that Nagasaki was a centre of Christianity in Japan long before the events of WW2?
@@pcka12I don’t know about Nagasaki but Japan itself was/had a lot of Christians/ Christian missions from around the 1600’s to 1800’s, there was actually more Christian’s in Japan pre-emperor then in China
@@pcka12 Nagasaki was the port city the Portuguese, and later the Dutch, engaged in trade with Japan starting in the later part of the 16th century. It's how Christian (Mostly Catholic) missionaries were able to enter Japan prior to Christianity being banned after the Shimabara Rebellion.
You admire the wrong hero, in fact, the person turned out to be morally broken by the enemy, who used nuclear weapons on his country and went to serve the enemy. Here is the true son of Japan, Hiroo Onoda, who fought alone with the enemies on the island until 1974.
Mitsuo Fuchida is in good company. Prince Asaka, who was in the IJA and who is widely considered responsible for the Rape of Nanking, also converted to Christianity after the war. He, along with other members of the Japanese royal family, was never prosecuted for war crimes. All was forgiven and he lived out his days playing golf.
It would be nice if you did a video of the five Sullivan Brothers who were all on the same ship, the USS Juneau and perished when it went down in the South Pacific. I think too many people have forgotten about that great loss. Time to bring it back to life.
My grandfather who served in the Navy during the Korean War took me when I was a kid in either the late eighties early nineties I just remember going to a naval museum and the USS Missouri was there and I got to see where the treaty was signed I had no idea about this story though. It was amazing walking the deck of the Missouri.
Was Setsuo Ishino's burial flag given to his family? So much honor that day. I respect those warriors, especially the captain and his humanity.
Likely not. In burials at sea, the same flag is normally used over and over again. After a major battle a ship may have a dozen or more killed and buried that way. A ship simply does not have that many flags on hand to set aside and hold them for later.
I salute the gallantry of this young Japanese pilot and the Ship's Captain and his crew truthful of being an officer and gentlemen. Their sacrifices to achieve peace will never be forgotten.
The Zero is still one of the most amazing warbirds to fly. I’ve never heard this story before but it was definitely touching and heartfelt 😢
The Zero is kind of over exaggerated. It was very maneuverable but lacked protection.
@@olafs7022 that was by design.
It's a beast in WarThunder
@@olafs7022 It was, like most of Japan's arsenal, an all or nothing weapon. Remember that they are a tiny island nation with almost no resources. They pushed the absolute limit to invent a plane like the Zero, something that vastly eclipsed rival planes at the beginning of the war. They didn't have the resources to improve upon its airframe like the U.S. did with the Hellcats or Corsairs. You see this same philosophy in Japan's ships, many of which were prone to fire due to the heavy use of wood in lieu of scarce steel. You can even see it in Japan's war strategy, relying on decisiveness rather than American endurance.
The Zero continued to be effective with the implementation of Kamikaze tactics, making up for the lacking pilots (as most died) and giving the Zero a secondary purpose after its initial ambush (since it couldn't face American fighters in conventional dogfights).
A month ago, my wife and I were in Honolulu for a holiday. We spent an afternoon touring Pearl Harbor and were on the USS Missouri, it was amazing to stand right where Setsuo's plane hit the side of the ship. I was impressed to see the memorial they had below deck for him and his fellow pilots.
Its a Japanese film called "The Eternal Zero" about a pilot becoming a kamikaze one. A gem of a film.
"For Those We Love," was another good film about the kamikaze pilots.
The irony of all this is that the exceptional bravery of those pilots played a significant role in the decision to use the atomic bomb. A substantial number of command staff felt that unless it could be made absolutely crystal clear that there was NO chance of victory. Only something dramatic and absolutely unequivocal would bring the point home or lives of many more brave and absolutely committed men would be thrown away.
In the book The Blong Knight of Germany which chronicles the story of Erich Hartmann, he mentions a German pilot that would often fly alongside a burning Soviet aircraft and such was his humanity he would try to get the Soviet pilot to bail out. Might be something for you to research.
And just as moving, I'm sure, is the story of the German pilot of a BF-109 who escorted a badly damaged plane and injured crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress over to the English channel after a bombing raid, realizing that he could have easily finished off the bomber but instead took compassion over the helpless crew to escape what surely would have been a fatal end to the American flyers. I believe a book was also written about that incident, as well as a documentary film.
@@tedtolentino4955 I read that book and You are so right my friend. A moving story of humanity, courage and mercy in a horrible time of war.
Probably the sweetest story I've ever heard. The Japanese Movie "The Eternal Zero" is loosely based on this story.
These pilots almost ended the HMAS Australia at the battle of Lingayen Gulf where she took four direct hits. With all the senior officers killed, or incapacitated in the kamikaze strike, the actions of a 19 year old lieutenant saved the ship on that day...his name was David Hamer. He was awarded the DSC.
Should have been awarded a Victoria Cross for all that.
In war, we fight against each other, but as warriors, we are bound by a common spirit, love for one's people, country, and are bound by honor.
Obviously you were at in the Bataan Death March.
Great story!!
I remember many years ago I was watching a TV show about a Kamikaze that was send 2-3 times to his death mission but he was returning alive.
His plane was having mechanical problems and could not follow the mission.
And every time he had to take the whole ritual from the start before the mission.
That was pretty unusual for a Kamikaze.
what is the name of the show?
@@doommmmmmm It was more than 15 years ago. I have no idea now. It was a TV documentary.
@@hariszark7396 thanks for the reply, if you remember let me know I'm curious
@@doommmmmmm I also heard and this case I believe but it wasn't a mechanical failure the pilot simply pulled that excuse off his ass when what obviously happens it's that he didn't want to do the kamikaze shit for obvious reasons, I think he was executed after his command caught onto what was happening.
@@NautilusSSN571 can't really blame the guy for backing out dying for a cause isn't a small thing
A truly remarkable story, showing that even in the furnace of war, enemies are capable of showing respect and compassion.
Being an American combat Veteran (US Army 505th PIR 82nd Airborne Division...Phu Bai, Vietnam), I was always very proud that both my Dad, and my Uncle Bob, we're both WW2 combat Vets. My Dad was US Army Infantry, and my Uncle Bob was, US Navy. My dear Uncle Bob was manning one of USS Missouri's Anti-Aircraft Guns during the Kamikaze attacks You relate in your very well made video. My Uncle was also present at the official ceremonies of Japan's surrender aboard the, "Mighty Mo". I well remember my Uncle telling me about the Japanese Pilots Military funeral and honors provided by Capt. Callahan and the US Navy. My Uncle always told me how the crew of the USS Missouri totally admired and respected Capt. Callahan. And, my Uncle told me that even though the Japanese were the enemy, most of the "Mighty Mo" crew did admire the courage and discipline of the young Japanese Kamikaze fighter pilots. My Uncle always said that there is a code of Honor among Honorable Warriors that has them respect one another no matter what uniform they wear. He also stressed that Troops that commit atrocities, and Commanders that slow this do not fall into the category of, Honorable Warriors, but are rather criminals. Despite the fact of some terrible deeds commited by our WW2 enemies, there were instances of honor on their side toward American such as the young German Wehrmacht lieutenant and a German Medic team rescuing a wounded American soldier. In the process, the young German Officer lost his life. Today, a Bronze Plaque marks the area in which the German Officer saved the wounded American. And, the Plaque was placed there by the American Soldiers Regiment. These types of noble events took place on All sides throughout the War. Anyway, my heartfelt Thanks to You who have produced this Outstanding video.
God's Speed to You and Yours.
Respect yeah but we beat them because we hated them Japs. The brought us into the war by bombing Pearl on a Sunday morning killing fathers, sons ,mothers and family of all types. Mostly American family, i think generation X was the last one to get really passed off about some such shit. I hope I'm wrong. But these Tide pod eating, Trans excepting, Biden voting generation with fucking "PRONOUNS" that's got to be the gayest shit going has some shit to prove yet.
I lived in Japan for one year and worked for a Japanese company. In the evenings I would watch TV and news. They reported that during WWII. Most of the kamikaze were 17 to 19 year old kids. And the night before their mission, they cried and were very sad. Their pillow sheets were soaking with their tears. The cleaning ladies who did their laundries were interviewed by the news agencies, described these kids were all crying before going to their last night on earth....It really had me thinking that the leaders who sent these kids to battle and die, really needs to be ashamed of themselves. That is too much to bear for teenage kids....The captain of the Missouri is correct. He showed compassion for the enemy. He is a great man indeed!!
Wickedness
Wow thats a insane story of dedication on both sides. In the end the ones who suffer the most are the kids we send to fight and their families.
This photograph had a very strong meaning for me, I highly value any form of respect and honor, even coming from an enemy or an ally, it proves that we can still coexist peacefully and in mutual respect among all peoples.
I went to the Missouri 6 years ago at Pearl Harbour, it is truly a sight and would have been such hell on the ship at these moments. Can't be more grateful for all sacrifices on all sides.
I toured the USS Missouri and heard the guide tell this story almost exactly as you state here. If anyone reading this goes to Pearl Harbor and visits the USS Arizona, you can’t help but feel the sadness there.
Conversely, visiting the USS Missouri tells the ending of WW II as well as stories of valor such as this one. And gives a sense of hope seeing the plaque with General MacArthur’s words:
"It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past - a world founded upon faith and understanding - a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish - for freedom, tolerance and justice."
My father was on the Missouri in the Korean War, so I have known about the kamikaze strike and the subsequent burial at sea. But this is much more detail then I have heard before.
Decades after Korea my father was a highly placed project manager for the refitting and recommissioning of the 'Mighty Mo' at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, during the Reagan naval build up. Sadly the Iowa class ships were only in service for 5-6 years before the end of the Cold War and budget realities made them redundant. Still magnificent ships, and both BB63 and the Wisconsin saw action during the Gulf War.
I had the honor of standing on the deck of the USS MISSOURI @ Pearl Harbor. It’s hard to describe the feeling you get when you visit.