Wonder whatever happened to “The Bird”?
The Bird went into hiding immediately after the war to avoid prosecution as a war criminal (he probably would have been hung). But with the start of the Korean War, the attitude toward Japanese military men who had, ahem, questionable conduct towards POWs during WWII softened. He eventually resumed life under his true identity and rose high in an insurance company. Zamperini wanted to meet with him during his 1988 trip to Japan but The Bird declined (this is all in the book).