Siberia and Tokyo
For those who have wondered about the raid on Tokyo and for a little more of the villain who becomes a hero here is an update!
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Siberia:
There would be no New Year’s Eve celebration for the 200 men that were training in the snows and darkness of Siberia. Each day they would rehearse part of an elaborate plan until each one could do it in his sleep. Each day they would pretend to storm an elaborate mock up of the building complex near Canton that had been built for this purpose. They would learn to work together as a team. Half of them were Russian and when they weren’t training on the field they would be in classrooms learning the English language.
The next month would be a grueling month of preparation. If all went well X-day would be on February 8th.
Tokyo:
“We rejoice to see you are alive and doing so well Secretary Sugiyama,” the Emperor of Japan, who was a living god to his people was lying through his teeth. “Truly the gods smiled upon me a few days ago your Majesty,” beamed the Minister of the Army. “Only the fact that I had been delayed in arriving for the Cabinet meeting saved me from the fate of three of my colleagues. I feel my survival is a sign from heaven that the outcome of the war may still be favorable to us. In addition the death of Prime Minister Koiso requires a replacement be made. I believe we should ask General Tojo to once again assume the reins of power.”
Three member of the war cabinet dead, not nearly enough if I hope to bring this war to an end. And now they want that firebrand Tojo to be Prime Minister again, this is going from bad to worse. The Emperor concealed his anguished thoughts and spoke to Sugiyama again. We will consider your words on this matter Secretary Sugiyama,” as if I have a choice, if they’ve already decided on Tojo he’s almost certainly reelected and there is nothing I can do about it! “We realize you are very busy Secretary Sugiyama with reorganizing the Cabinet, I will send some recommendations on the other posts as soon as possible, now if you will excuse us we have a pressing appointment we must attend to,” the Emperor spoke and an aide escorted the War Secretary from Hirohito’s office.
I can get two of the cabinet positions filled and with Shigemitsu I almost have a majority in the cabinet to call for a vote to end this war, but for that to happen there must be one more raid by the Americans to finish this. Hirohito ended his musing. Once he knew where the cabinet would be meeting and when there would need to be another raid on Tokyo at just the right time, and more of my people will die. The casualty list from what would be called the First Great Tokyo Fire Raidwas heart rending. That another raid would be needed to put an end to the suffering of his people would have seemed so ironic so as to invoke laughter that is if the deaths of so many did not sit so heavy on his heart.
Hirohito rose and walked the palace corridors until he reached a suite of rooms guarded by men he knew were loyal to himself and himself alone, they had been chosen for him by Shigemitsu and a handful of others for such loyalty. Once he entered he walked into a western style dining room where two people sat talking together with a third gentleman. The third gentleman was one of the Emperor’s aides who had been assigned to see to the comfort of the two individuals present. One looked more like a scarecrow then a human being with his clothes off, the last three years he had been subject to starvation and torture in prison camps in the Philippines, Formosa, and Manchuria. Now, with some careful manipulation on the part of the Emperor, General Jonathan Wainwright, the “hero of Corregidor,” was now the personal “prisoner” of the Emperor.
Hirohito had been as shocked on first meeting Jonathan Wainwright as the General had been equally shocked to be ushered into the presence of the Emperor of Japan. The Emperor would later say of his first meeting with Wainwright, I saw a man who seemed to have one foot dangling in the grave. It seemed that he had endured great pain of both body and soul during the time he had been in captivity. Hirohito had heard of the brutal treatment of POWs during the war. The perversion of the ancient bushido code sickened him. It had been one of the reasons he had begun to doubt the rightness of the war they were fighting. General Ozawa’s mad plan had been the final straw.
With the Portuguese ambassador having not yet returned to Japan, nor it was suggested by those at the embassy was he likely to be able to for the foreseeable future; the Emperor needed someone prestigious enough to act as a courier for him again. After considering carefully Hirohito had decided that one of the top military leaders captured in the Philippine campaign might be much more believable. He had managed with the small but growing cabal of loyal officers and officials loyal to him and him alone to get Wainwright secretly transferred first to a POW camp on the Japanese mainland and then by a roundabout route to the palace itself.
For the last week, Wainwright had been confined to this small but comfortable suite of rooms in the palace. A doctor had diagnosed him as having suffered from malnourishment and from injuries brought on by torture. Although medical supplies in Japan were few and food was very strictly rationed it was still possible for the Emperor to ask for and get adequate food and medical care for his guest. Now, although Jonathan Wainwright still lived up to his nickname, “Skinny,” he looked stronger. The General would be the courier of his next message back to the Allies.
The other person in the room was a woman of Japanese/American descent, namely one Iva Ikuko Toguri. Toguri had been visiting relatives in Japan when war had broken out and had been trapped there. She had later been forced because of her fluency withAmerican English to become a propaganda tool for the Japanese. She hosted a radio show, The Zero Hour, which broadcast music and propaganda to homesick GI’s in the Pacific and was one of several individuals with the nickname of “Tokyo Rose.” Toguri, unknown to her GI listeners often had smuggled food to American POWs in Tokyo even though doing so would have meant torture and death. Deep down she hated her work at the radio station. The Emperor had taken an interest in Toguri when one of his officers had learned of her food smuggling. The officer had approached Toguri to request her to come with him and that a high official in the Japanese government wished to speak with her. Toguri had no idea it would be the Emperor himself or that she would meet General Wainwright; she was understandably a bit confused and awed by everything around her.
Hirohito first addressed General Wainwright, “I trust General you have found the accommodations adequate.” “They’re more then adequate given what I and thousands of others have been dealing with the past three years, your Majesty,” Wainwright responded respectfully. “I know our actions in the past few years have not been those of a civilized nation when it comes to the treatment of POWs General, and before you give voice to your thoughts you are correct in that we have much to answer for,” the Emperor declared. “It is my hope that their may still be a nation to answer for these matters that has brought you and Miss Toguri here. I have been slowly building a cabal of loyal officers and officials loyal to me and not to the misguided viewpoints of our nation’s war leadership. I want to see this madness ended soon and I need your help, both of you to do so, I need you to be part of my “Peace Conspiracy. Make no mistake there is great risk here for all of us, but if both of you are willing to take the risk with me then there is a chance we may be able to end this war. Will you help me?”
