It’s Pearl Harbor remembrance day. As a 3rd generation Japanese American/Sansei born and raised in Hawaii (but after Dec. 7, 1941), I am indirectly affected by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. My mother was a nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Honolulu and heard the bombs dropping, and my father was a dental student at USC in Los Angeles (and was forced to flee to Chicago in the aftermath of E.O. 9066). An Uncle and a cousin served honorably in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
But this post is about author T. Martin Bennett who did meticulous research and writing to bring forth this amazing true story about the Pearl Harbor attack, the U.S. Airforce Doolittle Raiders (who bombed Japan in April, 1942), and an American missionary family who lived in Japan and the Philippines during WWII. Bennett even traveled several times to Japan to do his research over a 3 year period.
Just released a month ago on November 7, 2023, is the 3rd edition of this powerful drama, with many B/W photos of the 3 parallel lives during WWII. There are 3 intersecting stories of Flight Commander Mitsuo Fuchida of the Japan Imperial Navy, Sgt. Jake DeShazer, a bombardier of the Doolittle Raiders who bombed Tokyo and other nearby cities (and became a Japanese P.O.W.), and the Covell family who tried to escape Japanese forces invading the Philippines.
My previous book review for Blog for Arizona was written in March, 2014 and is still online: https://blogforarizona.net/wounded-tiger-about-commander-mitsuo-fuchida-who-led-wwii-attack-on-pearl-harbor-book-review/
What I wrote back then still holds true today: “It is about war & peace, extreme courage, suffering & redemption, and finally spiritual understanding. The message of love and humanity is very powerful and fulfilling in all these 3 stories.”
This 3rd edition has now numerous black & white photos of these protagonists and the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and other battles, and is thereby an accurate historical document of what happened in 1941 to 1950. The additional photos truly add to the gripping drama portrayed in this historical novel. The original book published in 2014 included only a few maps.
I highly recommend this latest, improved edition. Bennett is a former Tucsonan but is now based in Tennessee. He has been trying to get this truly inspiring, epic novel, which he originally wrote as a screenplay, into a major motion picture. All info at https://www.woundedtiger.com/
Ultimately, this is a story of transformation from hatred to love, and a spiritual message for all of us. (Publishing simultaneously today in Southern AZ Japanese Cultural Coalition website, www.southernazjapan.org)
Speaking of the Doolittle Raiders, I just read Last Mission to Tokyo about the two B-25 crews who were captured, subjected to a kangaroo court after which the two pilots and a gunner were executed; and the torture the survivors endured. With that background the book is about the post war trials of the perpetrators. Fascinating read.
Interesting aside: In the 1944 movie Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, before Plane #7 takes off (piloted by Ted Lawson who wrote the book), Van Johnson, who played Lawson, remarks “There goes Hallmark” who the US knew had been captured but was not aware he had been executed.
Yes, several of the Doolittle Raiders were tortured and executed by the Japanese military, and therefore, “Wounded Tiger” makes harrowing reading as Jake is in their captivity and tortured as well. Thanks for your comment.
When the prosecution was gathering their witnesses they decided to not include Jake as the last thing they wanted was having him on the stand preaching forgiveness. His fellow raiders never held his forgiveness against him & he was welcomed at every raider reunion until he passed.
This got me thinking how American cinema hasn’t done much to tell WWII stories and include a Japanese perspective. The surprising exception is Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima.
That was a great movie along with it’s companion piece Flags of Our Fathers.
Yes, both “Letters from Iwo Jima” and “Flags of Our Fathers”films presented that horrific, pivotal battle from the American and Japanese perspectives. Amazing filming.
That’s because “history is written by the victors.”
Yeah, the first few drafts. But decades later some ambitious reporter/historian might spend 12 years in the National Archives searching out the truth. I’m referring to Kill Anything that Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam by Nick Turse. Hopefully, there will always be talented writers dedicated to truth. That’s not to say the truth reaches everyone, clearly it does not. But at least it’s there, eventually and most of the time.
Thus the old saying, “A lie can travel around the globe while truth is still tying its shoestrings.” Truth often doesn’t matter after a lie has been embedded in tiny brains. Sort of like, “Stolen elections!”
Most American war movies have always, including to this day, had “assistance” from the Pentagon.
Same with spy movies, the CIA likes to “assist”. That’s why I skipped “Zero Dark Thirty”.
We rarely get realistic war films from Hollywood. We mostly get propaganda.
It’s like the Hayes Code never really went away, no matter how many times Jane Fonda went topless on film.
For no reason here’s the take-off scene from the movie. The B-25 is a beautiful airplane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AFt_SiMz8o
My dad got to fly those when he was an instructor early in his military career.
When I was a kid (~age 6-12) I hated Dec 7 because of the comments and looks I got from white kids and their parents due to my ethnicity. My English wasn’t proficient enough back then to tell them to go “Pound sand!” and that my Dad had served with the 442nd. I still, to this day, find this date fraught.
thanks Nunna for your comment. You should be proud of your Dad who served in the 442nd Regimental Combat team. Growing up on the American side of the war was tough for us, as my father’s parents emigrated from Hiroshima, Japan. We didn’t have divided loyalties, but then my father and other family members were affected by the WWII relocation and internment by our own U.S. government. Our B4AZ founder Michael Bryan’s wife’s family was interned as well.
Thank you for the review. I’m buying it for use on Kindle. We need more stories showing how hate can be turned into peace through love and compassion. Peace and blessings. Mark Klym, Phoenix Peace Builders. ❤️✌️
Thanks Mark. Yes, this is a true story about military men who hated their enemies so much enough to bomb/kill them during WWII, then transformed into missionaries to preach love and forgiveness. When I feel angry toward people who allegedly have been nasty or expressed anger towards me or my family, I think of this novel and how to NOT let hatred take over my heart. It’s certainly not easy, as society often teaches us to hate the other and cause war. Peace to you too.
Incidentally, the title is due to Mitsuo Fuchida being born in the Year of the Tiger.