Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II

Early on December 7, 1941, Cdr. Mitsuo Fuchida looked down on the ships of the U.S. fleet peacefully moored at their Pearl Harbor berths. As air group commander and leader of the first attack wave he wanted to make sure that the battleships were there. They were neatly lined up alongside Ford Island as expected. Excitedly he shouted over his radio the codeword to attack, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” and then led the Japanese aircraft to their target. He later described this moment as “the most thrilling exploit of my career.”

Fuchida was severely injured at the battle of Midway in 1942 and served for the remainder of the war as a high-level staff officer. As the end of the war neared he did not want to surrender, but favored fighting to the last man. He did as the emperor directed, however, and left the service a bitter and disillusioned man.

After the war Fuchida became a farmer so that he could feed his family. Living a life of isolation and poverty, he went through an intense period of introspection and questioning. Before, he had not been a religious man. Now he began to see God in his surroundings and in the working of the seasons. He said, “There on my farm, God began to come into my heart… I began to realize slowly that all things were dependent upon a divine Creator, and that I was living under the grace of God. I could sow the seeds; I could plant the saplings; I could draw water with my hands. But they all came from the benevolence of a kind and far-seeing Creator.”⁶⁵ Mitsuo Fuchida’s long spiritual journey began with a sense of wonder about the natural beauty of the world around him.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

—Psalm 29:2

February 16 Forgiveness

The war crimes trials after the war were a source of bitterness and frustration for Mitsuo Fuchida. Although he himself was not accused, he could not understand the moral basis for the victors putting the defeated on trial. The Japanese military code allowed for no mercy toward a fallen foe and abhorred the idea of any form of surrender. He was convinced that atrocities toward prisoners must have been committed on both sides. He eagerly sought out returning Japanese prisoners to confirm his feelings.

In the spring of 1947 he met an old acquaintance, Sublieutenant Kazuo Kanegasaki, who had been a survivor of the aircraft carrier Hiryu’s sinking during the Battle of Midway. Kanegasaki had eventually been held in a Colorado POW camp. He told Fuchida the remarkable story of an eighteen-year-old American girl named Margaret Covell who came to the camp as a volunteer worker.

Over time, Covell’s unusual compassion aroused the curiosity of the prisoners. One of them asked her, “Why are you so kind to us?” She answered,“Because Japanese soldiers killed my parents.”⁶⁶ As the prisoners stared at her in astonishment, she explained that her parents were missionaries before the war at a mission school in Yokohama. When she learned they had been arrested and beheaded, she was choked with hatred at first. But gradually, she became convinced in her heart that her parents would have forgiven her captors. Could she do less? As a sign of her sincerity, she volunteered to serve the Japanese prisoners.

On hearing this story, Fuchida was thunderstruck. The concept of forgiveness was foreign to his “code.” A teenaged American girl seemed to have an answer to the problem of hatred and suspicion in the world. Fuchida knew that such towering goodness could not have a human source. He wondered, “Where did this great love come from this love that could forgive enemies their cruelest deeds?”⁶⁷

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

—Ephesians 4:32

February 17 The Second Day to Remember

As he was passing through a train station in early October 1948, a stranger handed Mitsuo Fuchida a pamphlet entitled “I Was a Prisoner of Japan,” by Jacob DeShazer. The story of the American airman’s ordeal and life-changing experience greatly affected the Japanese airman. The parallel between DeShazer’s experience and that of Margaret Covell was amazing. Here was another story of love overcoming hatred, only from a more convincing source. DeShazer was a fellow warrior who had suffered even more than he had because of war. Fuchida purchased a Bible, not to pursue Christianity, but to better understand someone like DeShazer. Fuchida reflected:

His story… was something I could not explain. Neither could I forget it. The peaceful motivation I had read about was exactly what I was seeking. Since the American had found it in the Bible, I decided to purchase one myself, despite my traditionally Buddhist heritage. I read this book eagerly. I came to the climactic drama—the Crucifixion. I read in Luke 23:34 the prayer of Jesus Christ at His death… I was impressed that I was certainly one of those for whom He had prayed. Right at that moment I seemed to meet Jesus for the first time. That date, April 14, 1950—became the second “day to remember” of my life. On that day, I became a new person.⁶⁸

Fuchida’s life did not become easier because of his conversion. Many of his countrymen accused him of currying favor with the occupation forces. Despite such criticism he joined a Christian evangelical group dedicated to spreading the gospel. Instead of growing bitter and resigned to the cynical attitudes of his fellow countrymen, he spoke boldly before large audiences in Japan and America and, through his faithful service, influenced countless others to meet Jesus for the first time.

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

—Luke 23:34

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

—Colossians 3:13

February 18 The Miracle before the Battle

In May 1942 the USS Yorktown represented one-third of American combat power in the Pacific. Unfortunately, she was severely damaged early in May at the Battle of the Coral Sea. Two bombs had ruptured fuel tanks and damaged the hull. Worse still, an eight-hundred-pound bomb had penetrated three decks and exploded deep within the ship. In addition to massive casualties, whole compartments were wiped out, bulkheads were warped, and large areas were charred by fire. Many of the casualties were incurred fighting the widespread fires and keeping the ship afloat.

On May 27 the crippled Yorktown arrived in Pearl Harbor and slid into Dry Dock Number 1. One admiral estimated the time needed for repairs as ninety days. The Navy Yard inspectors thought it possible to get her back to sea in two weeks. Admiral Nimitz, aware of the impending showdown at Midway, had the final say. He wanted the Yorktown ready to fight in three days! One historian notes: