Pearl Harbor vet Haruo Yoshino passes

[Dan K]

News from Japan is that Pearl Harbor vet Haruo Yoshino has passed recently.

Yoshino-san was aircrew on the Type 97 "Kate" flying off the Kaga, first wave torpedo attack vs the Oklahoma. Later action at Rabaul & Port Darwin. Jumped off the sinking Kaga at Midway. Santa Cruz. Philippines. A wonder he survived that much aerial combat.

[Bill Tromblay]

Hi Dan,

There is a great story about him in the book that Ron Werneth wrote, "Beyond Pearl Harbor". His story was very impressive.

Bill

[Dan K]

Hi Bill,

You are (as always) correct, sir!

Now if only Ron would move along on that second book.

[Steve Nelson]

Years ago I heard (I forget where) that only a handful of the Japanese aircrew who flew in the Pearl Harbor attack survived the war. Does anyone have any actual numbers?

SN

[John Dupre]

I am sorry and don't mean to start anything but my first gut reaction to the title of this post was....."Not soon enough". Now why is that? I was born 18 years after the Pearl Harbor attack. I have only ever met a few Japanese who were invariably polite and well mannered. None of my relatives were injured or killed by the Japanese. We paid the Japanese back many times for the attack and completely destroyed the political and military systems that promoted it. So why would my visceral reaction to the death of an elderly Japanese gentleman be one of annoyance that he survived so long?

[shoki]

I don't know do you feel this way when you hear a German vet. has passed?

[JohnB]

I don't know do you feel this way when you hear a German vet. has passed?

Even though the question wasn't directed at me, allow me to give my two cents worth:

Probably not.
Why?
Japan picked a fight with us, even the Nazis (for all their evil ways) didn't do that.

I'm a huge fan of the Japanese, the culture, history, people. I lived there as a child and was even engaged to a Japanese-American.
Yes, they did terrible things in the war, as bad as the Nazis even though they don't get the same bad press.
But 65 years after the fact, time to let it go.

I drive a Mercedes even though Daimler engines powered the fighters that tried to shoot down my father, a B-17 pilot.
But I know a woman whose father, a Jew was driven out of Gemany before the war, refused to drive one.

We're only on this earth for a short time, no need to hate anyone for events before we were born.

[gary1954]

I am sorry and don't mean to start anything but my first gut reaction to the title of this post was....."Not soon enough". Now why is that? I was born 18 years after the Pearl Harbor attack. I have only ever met a few Japanese who were invariably polite and well mannered. None of my relatives were injured or killed by the Japanese. We paid the Japanese back many times for the attack and completely destroyed the political and military systems that promoted it. So why would my visceral reaction to the death of an elderly Japanese gentleman be one of annoyance that he survived so long?

This was an air crewmember, and while he took part in the attack of Pearl Harbor, as a veteran myself, I feel much much more disgust and ill feelings for those soldiers that took part in the Rape of NanKing, the slaughter in the Phillippines, and the outright murder and canabalization of our airmen and soldiers, by their soldiers. The people of Japan, personally, I hold nothing against them as a whole, but their infantry soldiers of the 1930's and 40's, different story

[StangStung]

I knew a gentleman who was a radio operator on a B-24 which was shot down over Wewak in early 1943. He remained a guest of the Emperor until 1945, suffering unspeakable torture and deprivation. He survived the fireboming of Tokyo before a long career in the Air Force and eventually became my Sunday school teacher and a general good ole guy in the community. On one occassion I recall discussing his time as a POW over coffee and doughnuts in the community hall. After this particular discussion of his ordeal, I asked him why he went on mission trips to Japan and never said a cross word about the Japanese. His response: "There's not enough time in life to waste it on hate."

Those words made a big impression on me as a young man. If anyone had justifciation to hate, it was him. But he let it go.

Draw your own conclusion.

[lmritger]

I knew a gentleman who was a radio operator on a B-24 which was shot down over Wewak in early 1943. He remained a guest of the Emperor until 1945, suffering unspeakable torture and deprivation. He survived the fireboming of Tokyo before a long career in the Air Force and eventually became my Sunday school teacher and a general good ole guy in the community. On one occassion I recall discussing his time as a POW over coffee and doughnuts in the community hall. After this particular discussion of his ordeal, I asked him why he went on mission trips to Japan and never said a cross word about the Japanese. His response: "There's not enough time in life to waste it on hate."

Those words made a big impression on me as a young man. If anyone had justifciation to hate, it was him. But he let it go.

Draw your own conclusion.

That is as powerful a lesson in forgiveness as one could ever hope to learn. Thank you for sharing this.

Lynn

[Dan Jones]

It's politicians that cause and start wars, but it's the common soldiers, sailors, and airmen who fight them. If the man fought as an honorable enemy he deserves to be respected and remembered for that. Many of these men became our friends and allies after that greatest of tragedies.

[Chappie]

This was an air crewmember, and while he took part in the attack of Pearl Harbor, as a veteran myself, I feel much much more disgust and ill feelings for those soldiers that took part in the Rape of NanKing, the slaughter in the Phillippines, and the outright murder and canabalization of our airmen and soldiers, by their soldiers. The people of Japan, personally, I hold nothing against them as a whole, but their infantry soldiers of the 1930's and 40's, different story

I agree with this. Japanese airmen were, I believe, a little different from the Japanese soldiers that committed various atrocities or the Japanese high command that wanted to fight to the last man even after two cities had been leveled by atomic bombs. Same goes with the Germans, being in the Luftwaffe did not automatically make you a member of the Nazi Party or agree with the visions of Hitler or Himmler. As a matter of fact I'm watching "Missions That Changed The War" on the Military Channel and Gunther Rall thought Hitler had lost his mind when he launched Barbarossa before the war in the west was finished.


Chappie

[twelveby12]

What I would say is that my personal experiences with Mr Yoshino were brilliant. As a charity fundraiser, he was kind enough to send me numerous signed items for auctioning, and was a pleasure to deal with. Though he may have made mistakes in life, (can we really judge the ground level fighter?), he was brilliant with me.

To see what he signed for me, check out my website http://twelveby12.wordpress.com

I was unaware he had passed away until I found this forum. Sad.

Robin

[John Dupre]

This was an air crewmember, and while he took part in the attack of Pearl Harbor, as a veteran myself, I feel much much more disgust and ill feelings for those soldiers that took part in the Rape of NanKing, the slaughter in the Phillippines, and the outright murder and canabalization of our airmen and soldiers, by their soldiers. The people of Japan, personally, I hold nothing against them as a whole, but their infantry soldiers of the 1930's and 40's, different story

Undoubtedly the Japanese soldier was barbarous and cruel in the extreme but it was largely a matter of degree. Japanese sailors threw captured American flyers overboard after interrogation during the Battle of Midway and did nothing to ameliorate the suffering of American POWs being sent from the Phillipines to Japan later in the war. The entire Japanese military (with the rare exception of a few Christians) simply did not regard the civilized treatment of prisoners or civilians for that matter with anything like the importance the Allies did.

[cooper9411]

This veteran was doing what his government ordered him to do, we may not agree but do we agree when our government gives orders for our soldiers? This man had to live a long life and I bet there was not a day that went by he didn't think about his war time service. How do we know that what our government said was not propoganda?