Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi
Encyclopedia
, sometimes mistakenly referred to as Nebu Tatsuguchi (August 31, 1911 – May 30, 1943), was a surgeon
in the Imperial Japanese Army
(IJA) during World War II
. He was killed during the Battle of Attu
on Attu Island
, Alaska
on May 30, 1943.
A devout Seventh-day Adventist, Tatsuguchi studied medicine and was licensed as a physician
in the United States (US). He returned to his native Japan
to practice medicine at the Tokyo
Adventist Sanitarium
, where he received further medical training. In 1941, he was ordered to cease his medical practice and conscripted into the IJA as an acting medical officer. In late 1942 or early 1943, Tatsuguchi was sent to Attu, which had been occupied by Japanese forces in October 1942. The United States Army
landed on the island on May 11, 1943 intending to retake the island from the Japanese.
Throughout the resulting battle, Tatsuguchi kept a diary in which he recorded the events of the battle and his struggle to care for the wounded in his field hospital. He was killed on the battle's final day after the remaining Japanese conducted one last, suicidal charge against the American forces.
Tatsuguchi's diary
was recovered by American forces and translated into English
. Copies of the translation were widely disseminated and publicized in the US after the battle. The American public was intrigued by a Christian
, American-trained doctor serving with Japanese forces on the island and by his apparent participation in assisting with the deaths of wounded Japanese soldiers in his field hospital during the battle's final days. Translated excerpts from Tatsuguchi's diary have been widely quoted in Western historical accounts of the battle, especially his final entry in which he recorded a farewell message to his family.
, Japan
, before leaving for the US in 1895 to "explore the new world." He attended Heraldsburg College, later renamed Pacific Union College
in Angwin, California
. While attending the college, he was baptized
into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 1907, after completing a course of study in dentistry
at the College of Physicians and Surgeons
in San Francisco, Suichi Tatsuguchi returned to Hiroshima with plans to serve as a medical missionary
.
In Hiroshima, Tatsuguchi established a prosperous dental practice and promoted the establishment of the Hiroshima Adventist church. He married Sadako Shibata who was also familiar with the US and spoke fluent English. Suichi and Sadako had three sons and three daughters. All three sons would eventually attend school in the US. The middle son, born on August 31, 1911, was given the English name of Paul and the Japanese name of Nobuo, although he was called "Joseph" at home.
in Hiroshima on March 16, 1919. On March 2, 1923, he graduated from Travier English Academy. Paul traveled to California and entered Pacific Union College in 1929 and graduated on May 22, 1932. When Suichi and Sadako both died unexpectedly in 1932, Paul returned to Japan to help settle the family affairs. He returned to California in 1933 and entered the College of Medical Evangelists at Loma Linda University
, completing the course of study in June 1937. Paul Tatsuguchi then accepted a year's internship at White Memorial Hospital
in Los Angeles
. While studying in America, Tatsuguchi was regarded by his classmates, who called him "Tatsy" or Paul, as a serious student, friendly but not gregarious. Classmate J. Mudry, a year behind Tatsuguchi at Loma Linda University later said, "I know him well. I always thought Tatsuguchi – we called him Paul – was quite an American."
On September 8, 1938, Tatsuguchi graduated as a Doctor of Medicine
and was awarded a California medical license
. That same year, he accepted a position at the Tokyo
Adventist Sanitarium, an institution founded in part by his father in 1928. As he would be working with tuberculosis
patients in Tokyo, Tatsuguchi spent several more months undergoing postgraduate
medical studies in California. Also in 1938, Tatsuguchi married a childhood friend, Taeko Miyake. Taeko's parents were serving as Adventist missionaries in Honolulu, Hawaii
while Taeko pursued studies in California. Paul and Taeko departed the US for Japan in 1939.
Early the next year, the IJA – the conscription
authority in Japan – ordered Tatsuguchi to leave his medical practice and report to the First Imperial Guard Regiment (FIGR) in Tokyo, where he was inducted with the rank of private
on January 10, 1941. As he was stationed in Tokyo, Tatsuguchi was occasionally able to visit Taeko and Misako when his duties allowed. Misako said of this time that, "I only have one memory of my father, and that was playing hide and seek with him."
In September 1941, Tatsuguchi entered the IJA's medical school. He graduated in October and was promoted to sergeant major
, rejoining the FIGR in January 1942. In the meantime, in December 1941
the Japanese attacked
the US Navy
base at Pearl Harbor
and declared war on the US and its allies
. Suspicious of Tatsuguchi's American background, the IJA never gave him officer
status, instead designating him as an non-commissioned
acting medical officer.
Over the next several months, Tatsuguchi was deployed to the South Pacific in support of IJA units in the Dutch East Indies
. During his service, Tatsuguchi kept a diary, recording his first-hand observations of military service as well as his thoughts and feelings about the events in which he was involved. In September 1942, after learning that he would be reassigned to a combat area in Rabaul
, New Britain
, he noted in his diary, "I feel very happy and I am determined to do my best," adding that he was "determined to destroy the enemy force to the very last soldier."
Tatsuguchi reached Rabaul on October 4, 1942. His stay there was probably short, for his wife recorded that he joined her in Tokyo that same month prior to being redeployed. Tatsuguchi was unable to tell his wife, now pregnant with their second child, where he would be assigned, but she noticed that he studied maps of the North Pacific area. At one point, he remarked to Taeko that he was going to an area where he might meet some of his former classmates from California.
A few weeks after Tatsuguchi left for his new assignment, the IJA delivered a lock of his hair to Taeko. The IJA did this whenever soldiers were sent to a high-risk combat area in case the soldier was killed and it proved impossible to repatriate the remains for proper funeral rites.
Japanese forces had first occupied Attu and Kiska
in the Aleutian Islands on June 7, 1942. They abandoned Attu in September 1942, but then decided to reoccupy it. A regiment of IJA soldiers from the , a detachment of Imperial Japanese Navy
Special Naval Landing Force troops, and support personnel, began arriving on Attu in October 1942. The total number of Japanese on the island would eventually be between 2,500 and 2,900 men. Exactly when Tatsuguchi arrived on Attu is unclear, because he was forbidden from specifying dates in the letters he wrote to Taeko, but it was probably between November 1942 and January 1943. He was assigned to the Northern 5216 Detachment North Sea Defense Hospital.
With an American naval blockade in place, mail
between Attu and Japan was infrequent and unscheduled. Tatsuguchi received several small packages from Taeko containing cookies, and ointment for his skin, which was chafed by Attu's severe winter winds. Four letters and several postcards from Tatsuguchi reached Taeko. As he was forbidden from discussing his unit's exact location or mission, Tatsuguchi wrote about the weather, the beauty of the snowy and mountainous landscape around him, and his success in catching fish. He was cheered by the news from Taeko that their second daughter, Laura Mutsuko, was born in February. Tatsuguchi reminded Taeko in his letters to play classical music
for their daughters. Whether he kept his diary during this time is unclear, for the only known diary entries by Tatsuguchi began in May, after the American landings to retake the island.
, positioned his troops – who were outnumbered five to one – in the mountains from where they temporarily delayed the Americans' advance inland. Tatsuguchi's diary entry on May 12 records the Japanese move into the mountains after the American landings, stating simply "evacuated to the summit. Air raids carried out frequently. Heard loud noise, it is naval gunfire. Prepared battle equipment."
On May 14, American artillery
fired phosphorus
smoke shells to mark Japanese positions in the mountains. Many Japanese, and many Americans, believed these were poison gas
shells. Tatsuguchi noted in his diary that, "In the enemy the U.S. Forces used gas but no damage was done on account of strong wind."
Tatsuguchi recorded in his diary that he was forced to move his field hospital into a cave to escape American naval and aerial bombardment. He relocated the hospital and patients several times as the Japanese forces were pushed back by the Americans. His May 17 entry describes one of the moves:
Tatsuguchi refers again and again in his diary to the constant, intense attacks by American aircraft and artillery on his comrades' positions. On May 21, he noted that he "was strafed when amputating a patient's arm" and on May 23 that "by naval gun fire a hit was scored on the pillar pole of tents for patients and the tents gave in and killed two instantly. No food for two days." On May 26, Tatsuguchi recorded that "there was a ceremony of granting of the Imperial Edict. The last line of Umanose [Japanese defensive position] was broken through. No hope for reinforcements. We will die for cause of Imperial Edict."
Yamasaki launched his attack early in the morning on May 30. Although the attack succeeded in penetrating the enemy lines, American rear-area personnel rallied and killed Yamasaki and the majority of his attacking troops. Most of the remaining Japanese then committed suicide
and only 27 were taken prisoner.
Two versions exist of how Tatsuguchi died. One version is that he did not participate in the attack. Later in the day on May 30, two American soldiers, Charles W. Laird and John Hirn, who were helping mop-up remaining Japanese forces after Yamasaki's attack was defeated, approached the cave containing Tatsuguchi's field hospital. Tatsuguchi emerged from the cave, waving his Bible
in the direction of the Americans and yelling in English, "Don't shoot! I am a Christian!" Laird heard and understood what Tatsuguchi was saying and withheld fire. Hirn, however, shot and killed Tatsuguchi. Hirn later stated that he could not hear what Tatsuguchi was saying over the wind and noise of battle and that he thought that the Bible Tatsuguchi was holding was a weapon.
The other version was told to Taeko and Laura by Charles Laird in 1984. Laird, a former US Army sergeant
who served on Attu, stated that he was sleeping in a tent the morning of May 30 when Yamasaki's troops broke through the American front lines. A man ran into Laird's tent and Laird shot and killed him, only to discover that the man was American. Then he saw eight Japanese soldiers approaching through the fog, so he shot and killed them too. One of them was Tatsuguchi. Laird said that he found Tatsuguchi's diary and an address book in which he was shocked to see American names and addresses.
J. Mudry and another of Tatsuguchi's Loma Linda classmates, J. L. Whitaker, were medical officers with the US Seventh Division on Attu during the battle. Whitaker was in the path of Yamasaki's final attack, but survived without injury. Whitaker and Mudry were stunned to later learn that their former classmate was on the island with Japanese forces and was killed nearby.
, as well as his Bible and address book, were forwarded to the division
intelligence section. At division headquarters, an American Nisei
serviceman named Yasuo Sam Umetani made the initial translation of the diary.
Word of what the diary contained spread quickly through divisional headquarters and then through the other American troops on Attu. The news that an American-trained doctor had been with the Japanese forces on Attu and Tatsuguchi's descriptions of the battle from a Japanese perspective intrigued the Americans. Unauthorized copies of Umetani's and later translations, some of which contained variations of the translated text, spread quickly among the American troops on Attu and to military installations on other Aleutian islands. Civilian crews of transport ships in the area who obtained copies of the diary translation took their copies with them back to the continental US, where it gained wider public exposure, including press attention.
Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr.
the US commander of the Alaska Defense Command (ADC), learned of the diary and was concerned about Tatsuguchi's claim that the Americans had used poison gas in the Attu battle. Buckner ordered the diary sent to his headquarters and all copies of the translations confiscated. In transit to Buckner's headquarters, the diary vanished without a trace. In early September 1943, the ADC's intelligence section reported that efforts to control the distribution of copies of the diary's translation had failed.
Several American newspapers published portions of the diary's translation. Most of them highlighted the aspect of Tatsuguchi's account that indicated that he, a professed Christian, may have been involved in the killing of wounded patients. The Chicago Tribune
on September 9, 1943 published an article headlined "Japs Slew Own Patients on Attu, Diary Discloses". In contrast, the Loma Linda School of Medicine Alumni Journal defended Tatsuguchi as a gentle and caring doctor who was trapped in a situation beyond his control, where his actions did not violate his religious and medical creed. Most Western
historical accounts of the Battle of Attu mention Tatsuguchi and quote from his diary's translation, especially the diary's last entry.
The Japanese government notified Taeko of her husband's death in August 1943. Taeko and her two daughters survived the remainder of the war on a small widow's pension
and with help from relatives. Taeko hoped that her husband was still alive and would return. Just after the war ended, B. P. Hoffman, one of Tatsuguchi's former college instructors and a friend of Taeko's, visited her in Osaka
where she was living. Hoffman told her that a US Federal Bureau of Investigation
agent had visited him during the war because Hoffman's name was in Tatsuguchi's address book found on Attu. The agent told the story of Tatsuguchi's death to Hoffman, who related it to Taeko. Taeko accepted that her husband would not be coming back.
After the war, Taeko worked for the American occupation forces as a secretary and teacher. In 1954, she and her two daughters left Japan and joined Taeko's parents in Hawaii. All three became naturalized
citizens of the US. Joy and Laura both attended Pacific Union College and became nurses. Joy later married a Japanese man and returned to Japan to live. Laura married an American and moved to the Los Angeles area, where Taeko later joined her. In 2005, Taeko told Kyodo News
of her husband, "He was a faithful Christian doctor and a gentleman who devoted himself to God and communities."
In May 1993, Laura traveled to Attu and spoke at a 50th anniversary commemorative event of the Battle of Attu. In her speech at the event, Laura stated "How ironic that my father was killed in combat against his beloved America while in loyal service to his Japanese homeland ... Like my father, I too have a great love for Japan and America."
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
in the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
(IJA) during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was killed during the Battle of Attu
Battle of Attu
The Battle of Attu, which took place from 11-30 May 1943, was fought entirely between forces of the United States and the Empire of Japan on Attu Island off the coast of Alaska. The action, which was part of the Aleutian Islands Campaign during the Pacific War, was the only land battle of World War...
on Attu Island
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
on May 30, 1943.
A devout Seventh-day Adventist, Tatsuguchi studied medicine and was licensed as a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
in the United States (US). He returned to his native Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to practice medicine at the Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
Adventist Sanitarium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
, where he received further medical training. In 1941, he was ordered to cease his medical practice and conscripted into the IJA as an acting medical officer. In late 1942 or early 1943, Tatsuguchi was sent to Attu, which had been occupied by Japanese forces in October 1942. The United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
landed on the island on May 11, 1943 intending to retake the island from the Japanese.
Throughout the resulting battle, Tatsuguchi kept a diary in which he recorded the events of the battle and his struggle to care for the wounded in his field hospital. He was killed on the battle's final day after the remaining Japanese conducted one last, suicidal charge against the American forces.
Tatsuguchi's diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
was recovered by American forces and translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Copies of the translation were widely disseminated and publicized in the US after the battle. The American public was intrigued by a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, American-trained doctor serving with Japanese forces on the island and by his apparent participation in assisting with the deaths of wounded Japanese soldiers in his field hospital during the battle's final days. Translated excerpts from Tatsuguchi's diary have been widely quoted in Western historical accounts of the battle, especially his final entry in which he recorded a farewell message to his family.
Parents and birth
Tatsuguchi's father, Suichi Tatsuguchi, was born and raised in HiroshimaHiroshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, before leaving for the US in 1895 to "explore the new world." He attended Heraldsburg College, later renamed Pacific Union College
Pacific Union College
Pacific Union College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Angwin, California, United States. It is the only four-year college in Napa County, California....
in Angwin, California
Angwin, California
Angwin is a census-designated place in Napa County, United States. California. It is part of the northern San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 3,051 at the 2010 census. Its area code is 707. Its two zip codes are 94508 and 94576. It is in the Pacific time zone.The town was named in 1874 for...
. While attending the college, he was baptized
Believer's baptism
Believer's baptism is the Christian practice of baptism as this is understood by many Protestant churches, particularly those that descend from the Anabaptist tradition...
into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 1907, after completing a course of study in dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
at the College of Physicians and Surgeons
Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry
University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry is one of the graduate schools of University of the Pacific. It is an American dental school located in the Pacific Heights Area in San Francisco, California.-Three Year Curriculum:...
in San Francisco, Suichi Tatsuguchi returned to Hiroshima with plans to serve as a medical missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
.
In Hiroshima, Tatsuguchi established a prosperous dental practice and promoted the establishment of the Hiroshima Adventist church. He married Sadako Shibata who was also familiar with the US and spoke fluent English. Suichi and Sadako had three sons and three daughters. All three sons would eventually attend school in the US. The middle son, born on August 31, 1911, was given the English name of Paul and the Japanese name of Nobuo, although he was called "Joseph" at home.
Schooling and marriage
Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi graduated from middle schoolMiddle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
in Hiroshima on March 16, 1919. On March 2, 1923, he graduated from Travier English Academy. Paul traveled to California and entered Pacific Union College in 1929 and graduated on May 22, 1932. When Suichi and Sadako both died unexpectedly in 1932, Paul returned to Japan to help settle the family affairs. He returned to California in 1933 and entered the College of Medical Evangelists at Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University is a Seventh-day Adventist coeducational health sciences university located in Loma Linda, California, United States. The University comprises eight schools and the Faculty of Graduate Studies...
, completing the course of study in June 1937. Paul Tatsuguchi then accepted a year's internship at White Memorial Hospital
White Memorial Medical Center
White Memorial Medical Center is a hospital in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is owned and operated by Adventist Health...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. While studying in America, Tatsuguchi was regarded by his classmates, who called him "Tatsy" or Paul, as a serious student, friendly but not gregarious. Classmate J. Mudry, a year behind Tatsuguchi at Loma Linda University later said, "I know him well. I always thought Tatsuguchi – we called him Paul – was quite an American."
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
and was awarded a California medical license
Medical license
In most countries, only persons with a medical license bestowed either by a specified government-approved professional association or a government agency are authorized to practice medicine. Licenses are not granted automatically to all people with medical degrees...
. That same year, he accepted a position at the Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
Adventist Sanitarium, an institution founded in part by his father in 1928. As he would be working with tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
patients in Tokyo, Tatsuguchi spent several more months undergoing postgraduate
Postgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...
medical studies in California. Also in 1938, Tatsuguchi married a childhood friend, Taeko Miyake. Taeko's parents were serving as Adventist missionaries in Honolulu, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
while Taeko pursued studies in California. Paul and Taeko departed the US for Japan in 1939.
Early military service
In Tokyo, Tatsuguchi was aware of the rising tensions between Japan and the United States. Although he was strongly loyal to his native country, he also shared with Taeko a love of the US, to which they hoped to return to live someday. Tatsuguchi concentrated on his work at the sanitorium, and, with Taeko, supported activities for the Adventist church, of which they were devout members. In 1940 their first daughter, Joy Misako, was born.Early the next year, the IJA – the conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
authority in Japan – ordered Tatsuguchi to leave his medical practice and report to the First Imperial Guard Regiment (FIGR) in Tokyo, where he was inducted with the rank of private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
on January 10, 1941. As he was stationed in Tokyo, Tatsuguchi was occasionally able to visit Taeko and Misako when his duties allowed. Misako said of this time that, "I only have one memory of my father, and that was playing hide and seek with him."
In September 1941, Tatsuguchi entered the IJA's medical school. He graduated in October and was promoted to sergeant major
Sergeant Major
Sergeants major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. In Commonwealth countries, Sergeants Major are usually appointments held by senior non-commissioned officers or warrant officers...
, rejoining the FIGR in January 1942. In the meantime, in December 1941
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
the Japanese attacked
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
the US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
base at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
and declared war on the US and its allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
. Suspicious of Tatsuguchi's American background, the IJA never gave him officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
status, instead designating him as an non-commissioned
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
acting medical officer.
Over the next several months, Tatsuguchi was deployed to the South Pacific in support of IJA units in the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. During his service, Tatsuguchi kept a diary, recording his first-hand observations of military service as well as his thoughts and feelings about the events in which he was involved. In September 1942, after learning that he would be reassigned to a combat area in Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
, New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
, he noted in his diary, "I feel very happy and I am determined to do my best," adding that he was "determined to destroy the enemy force to the very last soldier."
Tatsuguchi reached Rabaul on October 4, 1942. His stay there was probably short, for his wife recorded that he joined her in Tokyo that same month prior to being redeployed. Tatsuguchi was unable to tell his wife, now pregnant with their second child, where he would be assigned, but she noticed that he studied maps of the North Pacific area. At one point, he remarked to Taeko that he was going to an area where he might meet some of his former classmates from California.
A few weeks after Tatsuguchi left for his new assignment, the IJA delivered a lock of his hair to Taeko. The IJA did this whenever soldiers were sent to a high-risk combat area in case the soldier was killed and it proved impossible to repatriate the remains for proper funeral rites.
Arrival
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
in the Aleutian Islands on June 7, 1942. They abandoned Attu in September 1942, but then decided to reoccupy it. A regiment of IJA soldiers from the , a detachment of Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
Special Naval Landing Force troops, and support personnel, began arriving on Attu in October 1942. The total number of Japanese on the island would eventually be between 2,500 and 2,900 men. Exactly when Tatsuguchi arrived on Attu is unclear, because he was forbidden from specifying dates in the letters he wrote to Taeko, but it was probably between November 1942 and January 1943. He was assigned to the Northern 5216 Detachment North Sea Defense Hospital.
With an American naval blockade in place, mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
between Attu and Japan was infrequent and unscheduled. Tatsuguchi received several small packages from Taeko containing cookies, and ointment for his skin, which was chafed by Attu's severe winter winds. Four letters and several postcards from Tatsuguchi reached Taeko. As he was forbidden from discussing his unit's exact location or mission, Tatsuguchi wrote about the weather, the beauty of the snowy and mountainous landscape around him, and his success in catching fish. He was cheered by the news from Taeko that their second daughter, Laura Mutsuko, was born in February. Tatsuguchi reminded Taeko in his letters to play classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
for their daughters. Whether he kept his diary during this time is unclear, for the only known diary entries by Tatsuguchi began in May, after the American landings to retake the island.
Battle of Attu
On May 11, 1943, the American Seventh Infantry Division began landing on Attu to retake the island from the Japanese. Attu's commander, Yasuyo YamasakiYasuyo Yamasaki
-External links:* at imperialarmy.hp.infoseek.co.jp...
, positioned his troops – who were outnumbered five to one – in the mountains from where they temporarily delayed the Americans' advance inland. Tatsuguchi's diary entry on May 12 records the Japanese move into the mountains after the American landings, stating simply "evacuated to the summit. Air raids carried out frequently. Heard loud noise, it is naval gunfire. Prepared battle equipment."
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
fired phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
smoke shells to mark Japanese positions in the mountains. Many Japanese, and many Americans, believed these were poison gas
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
shells. Tatsuguchi noted in his diary that, "In the enemy the U.S. Forces used gas but no damage was done on account of strong wind."
Tatsuguchi recorded in his diary that he was forced to move his field hospital into a cave to escape American naval and aerial bombardment. He relocated the hospital and patients several times as the Japanese forces were pushed back by the Americans. His May 17 entry describes one of the moves:
Tatsuguchi refers again and again in his diary to the constant, intense attacks by American aircraft and artillery on his comrades' positions. On May 21, he noted that he "was strafed when amputating a patient's arm" and on May 23 that "by naval gun fire a hit was scored on the pillar pole of tents for patients and the tents gave in and killed two instantly. No food for two days." On May 26, Tatsuguchi recorded that "there was a ceremony of granting of the Imperial Edict. The last line of Umanose [Japanese defensive position] was broken through. No hope for reinforcements. We will die for cause of Imperial Edict."
Final attack and death
By May 28 about a thousand Japanese remained, compressed into a small pocket. Yamasaki, apparently realizing that help from Japan was not forthcoming, decided on one last, desperate measure to try to save his command from destruction. On May 29, Yamasaki organized a surprise attack on American positions. Yamasaki hoped to break through the enemy's front lines and seize the American artillery batteries, which would then be turned on the rest of the American forces and their ships offshore. Tatsuguchi's last diary entry records Yamasaki's order, the disposition of the wounded in his hospital, and a farewell message to his family:Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and only 27 were taken prisoner.
Two versions exist of how Tatsuguchi died. One version is that he did not participate in the attack. Later in the day on May 30, two American soldiers, Charles W. Laird and John Hirn, who were helping mop-up remaining Japanese forces after Yamasaki's attack was defeated, approached the cave containing Tatsuguchi's field hospital. Tatsuguchi emerged from the cave, waving his Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in the direction of the Americans and yelling in English, "Don't shoot! I am a Christian!" Laird heard and understood what Tatsuguchi was saying and withheld fire. Hirn, however, shot and killed Tatsuguchi. Hirn later stated that he could not hear what Tatsuguchi was saying over the wind and noise of battle and that he thought that the Bible Tatsuguchi was holding was a weapon.
The other version was told to Taeko and Laura by Charles Laird in 1984. Laird, a former US Army sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
who served on Attu, stated that he was sleeping in a tent the morning of May 30 when Yamasaki's troops broke through the American front lines. A man ran into Laird's tent and Laird shot and killed him, only to discover that the man was American. Then he saw eight Japanese soldiers approaching through the fog, so he shot and killed them too. One of them was Tatsuguchi. Laird said that he found Tatsuguchi's diary and an address book in which he was shocked to see American names and addresses.
J. Mudry and another of Tatsuguchi's Loma Linda classmates, J. L. Whitaker, were medical officers with the US Seventh Division on Attu during the battle. Whitaker was in the path of Yamasaki's final attack, but survived without injury. Whitaker and Mudry were stunned to later learn that their former classmate was on the island with Japanese forces and was killed nearby.
Diary
After Tatsuguchi's death his diary, which was written in JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, as well as his Bible and address book, were forwarded to the division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
intelligence section. At division headquarters, an American Nisei
Nisei
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
serviceman named Yasuo Sam Umetani made the initial translation of the diary.
Word of what the diary contained spread quickly through divisional headquarters and then through the other American troops on Attu. The news that an American-trained doctor had been with the Japanese forces on Attu and Tatsuguchi's descriptions of the battle from a Japanese perspective intrigued the Americans. Unauthorized copies of Umetani's and later translations, some of which contained variations of the translated text, spread quickly among the American troops on Attu and to military installations on other Aleutian islands. Civilian crews of transport ships in the area who obtained copies of the diary translation took their copies with them back to the continental US, where it gained wider public exposure, including press attention.
Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr.
Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr.
General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. was an American lieutenant general during World War II. He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations and commanded the defenses of Alaska early in the war. After that assignment, he was promoted to command 10th Army, which conducted the amphibious assault on...
the US commander of the Alaska Defense Command (ADC), learned of the diary and was concerned about Tatsuguchi's claim that the Americans had used poison gas in the Attu battle. Buckner ordered the diary sent to his headquarters and all copies of the translations confiscated. In transit to Buckner's headquarters, the diary vanished without a trace. In early September 1943, the ADC's intelligence section reported that efforts to control the distribution of copies of the diary's translation had failed.
Several American newspapers published portions of the diary's translation. Most of them highlighted the aspect of Tatsuguchi's account that indicated that he, a professed Christian, may have been involved in the killing of wounded patients. The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
on September 9, 1943 published an article headlined "Japs Slew Own Patients on Attu, Diary Discloses". In contrast, the Loma Linda School of Medicine Alumni Journal defended Tatsuguchi as a gentle and caring doctor who was trapped in a situation beyond his control, where his actions did not violate his religious and medical creed. Most Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
historical accounts of the Battle of Attu mention Tatsuguchi and quote from his diary's translation, especially the diary's last entry.
Family legacy
Widow's pension
A widow's pension is a payment from the government of a country to a person whose spouse has died.Generally, such payments are made to a widow whose late spouse has satisfied the country's requirements, including contribution, cohabitation, and length of marriage.-United States:In the United...
and with help from relatives. Taeko hoped that her husband was still alive and would return. Just after the war ended, B. P. Hoffman, one of Tatsuguchi's former college instructors and a friend of Taeko's, visited her in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
where she was living. Hoffman told her that a US Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agent had visited him during the war because Hoffman's name was in Tatsuguchi's address book found on Attu. The agent told the story of Tatsuguchi's death to Hoffman, who related it to Taeko. Taeko accepted that her husband would not be coming back.
After the war, Taeko worked for the American occupation forces as a secretary and teacher. In 1954, she and her two daughters left Japan and joined Taeko's parents in Hawaii. All three became naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
citizens of the US. Joy and Laura both attended Pacific Union College and became nurses. Joy later married a Japanese man and returned to Japan to live. Laura married an American and moved to the Los Angeles area, where Taeko later joined her. In 2005, Taeko told Kyodo News
Kyodo News
is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 million subscribers. K. K. Kyodo News is Kyodo News' business...
of her husband, "He was a faithful Christian doctor and a gentleman who devoted himself to God and communities."
In May 1993, Laura traveled to Attu and spoke at a 50th anniversary commemorative event of the Battle of Attu. In her speech at the event, Laura stated "How ironic that my father was killed in combat against his beloved America while in loyal service to his Japanese homeland ... Like my father, I too have a great love for Japan and America."