Beyond Pearl Harbor (How God caught up with the man who led Japan's surprise attack.)

Christianity Today ^ | June, 2001 | Elesha Coffman

[rightwingintelligentsia]

America's latest blockbuster, Pearl Harbor, has already been blamed for dwelling on a shallow love triangle, ignoring the sacrifices of Japanese Americans, downplaying the Japanese empire's aggression, and generally Disney-fying the "date which will live in infamy." No surprises there; as director Michael Bay told Reuters, "It's not a history lesson." But it's far too easy to shoot holes in Hollywood history. Instead, I'm going to fault the movie for missing a poignant and inspiring Christian story: the saga of Mitsuo Fuchida.

Fuchida grew up loving his native Japan and hating the United States, which treated Asian immigrants harshly in the first half of the twentieth century. Fuchida attended a military academy, joined Japan's Naval Air Force, and by 1941, with 10,000 flying hours behind him, had established himself as the nation's top pilot. When Japanese military leaders needed someone to command a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, they chose Fuchida. [Here, you can cut to the movie—it renders the attack pretty faithfully.]

Fuchida's was the voice that sent his aircraft carrier the message "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!) indicating the success of the surprise mission. Later, he too was surprised when he learned that, of the 70 officers who participated in the raid, he was the only one who returned alive.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Sorry about the old article, but on this historic day I wanted to share one of my favorite stories from WWII.

[P8riot]

I met Mitsuo Fuchida in the summer of 1967 (I was 10 yrs old). He came and spoke at the church we attended in Garden Grove, CA. I don't remember anything about his talk, but my mother still has his autograph in her Bible.

A few years ago I wrote a letter to the National Geographic about him, in response to an article they did on Pearl Harbor, and they actually published it.

[NonValueAdded]

Later, he too was surprised when he learned that, of the 70 officers who participated in the raid, he was the only one who returned alive.

Me three. They sustained that many losses in the raid? I did not know that and I pay better attention that the average Joe. Thank you, Hollywood.

[peteram]

From the end of the article:

"That morning [December 7] … I lifted the curtain of warfare by dispatching that cursed order, and I put my whole effort into the war that followed. … [But] after buying and reading the Bible, my mind was strongly impressed and captivated. I think I can say today without hesitation that God's grace has been set upon me."

I would say that the circumstances surrounding Fuchida's conversion were very much like those of Saul/St. Paul. Very inspiring.

[NonValueAdded]

Wait a minute ... that can’t be right. Context must be missing. As writen, that would be almost a 99% casaulty rate if the statement applied to the Pearl Harbor raid and we know that isn’t true. Instead of “returned alive” it probably should read “survived the war.”

[oh8eleven]

of the 70 officers who participated in the raid, he was the only one who returned alive.
That's gotta' be wrong. A quick search found this - "Japanese losses were comparatively light. Twenty-nine planes, less than 10 percent of the attacking force, failed to return to their carriers."

[Kevmo]

bmflr

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Why the smart money is on Duncan Hunter
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926032/posts