WOUNDED
TIGER
“Wounded Tiger is an amazing, enthralling story of how the once obscure lives of an Oregon farmhand and a young co-ed intersected with the Japanese pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor. With cultural insight and deep pathos, Martin Bennett brings to life this powerful true chronicle of hatred, surrender, and transformation. Wounded Tiger reveals how ordinary lives lived out faithfully to their calling can impact the destiny of a people and a nation. I wholeheartedly recommend Martin’s work and know that you will find it equally compelling.”
Ravi Zacharias
Best selling author and speaker
“I have read the complete book manuscript. I like the cover which contains the strong face of the young pilot with a full expression of enthusiasm. He is a tiger. He was born in the year of the tiger. You described my father’s posture and behavior so well and so precisely, I could feel his presence.
He remains a national hero in Japan. I have no idea how the world accepts him today. Some will call him a villain, others will call him a proud warrior who found redemption. I will always admire his guts, his intellect, and his sincerity.”
Yours cordially,
Miyako Fuchida Overturf
(Daughter of Mitsuo Fuchida)
“Martin, holy smokes! This is a darn good story! It’s woven together seamlessly and all of the characters are truly likeable. It’s such an amazing story that people need to first understand that it’s TRUE. This is a great book and would be an even greater movie. Gotta say, I’m impressed.”
Dan King, Author of “The Last Zero Fighter”
Pacific War historian, Japanese language
& cultural consultant for films
“The story of Mitsuo Fuchida and his transformation is one of the most gripping stories of WWII and the Pacific War, and it’s a story that few have heard about. Martin Bennett’s new book, Wounded Tiger, brings this epic drama to life with new details on how a Doolittle raider, Jacob DeShazer, and a missionary’s daughter, Peggy Covell, helped effect this change. This thrilling story of war and forgiveness is a must for all.”
Donald M. Goldstein, PhD,
author of over 60 articles and 22 books
including At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story
of Pearl Harbor, Miracle at Midway,
and many others.
The transmittal of your spoken word resonates as a talking story. I found myself right 'there.' What you've done was inject life and emotion into a part of history either long forgotten or unknown. I commend your perseverance, your passion and most of all, sheer guts to bring this story of forgiveness to life. People can and do change. It's often a mystery as to how or why. It's their story. By the time I read the last line, my life in ways changed also. I look forward to seeing this on the silver screen. It will be an inspiration to many and will leave the audience absolutely breathless.
Deborah Tokarz
Producer / Writer
WOUNDED
TIGER
The story of Mitsuo Fuchida, the pilot who led the
Attack on Pearl Harbor whose life was changed by an
American prisoner and by a girl he never met.
The three strands of the extraordinary
lives of Fuchida, DeShazer and the Covells,
are ultimately woven into one.
A Nonfiction Novel
by
T Martin Bennett
Copyright © 2014 Hungry Kitty, LLC
All rights reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not
be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review
or in accordance with fair use law.
Published by Ønstad Press
a division of Hungry Kitty LLC
Tucson, Arizona
First Edition, February 2014
Ordering information:
www.WoundedTigerBook.com
Social Networks:
www.facebook.com/WoundedTigerStory
www.twitter.com/TMartinBennett
Media contact:
Media@WoundedTigerBook.com
Film investor information:
Investors@WoundedTigerFilm.com
Front cover artwork: Faith Te, www.artisticrealism.com
Cover Japanese calligraphy: Bokuseki Ohwada
Paperback book:
ISBN-13: 978-0-9912290-0-0
Hardcover book:
ISBN-13: 978-0-9912290-1-7
eBook
ISBN: 978-0-9912290-2-4
Ebook conversion: eBook Architects, a service of Firebrand Technologies
Table of Contents
Maps
Acknowledgements
Editors / Manuscript Reviewers
Introduction
Prelude: The Sacred Nod
December 1, 1941. The Imperial Palace. Tokyo, Japan.
December 8, 1941 (Japan time). Early a.m. before the dawn. The Pacific Ocean several hundred miles north of Hawaii.
Part I: The Clouds of War
Chapter 1
Eighteen years earlier - Spring, 1923. The Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, Etajima Island, Hiroshima, Japan.
Chapter 2
September 3, 1923. Kanto Gakuin University, Yokohama, Japan.
Chapter 3
January, 1925. San Francisco Bay.
Chapter 4
1931, Spring. The Deschutes River, Central Oregon.
Chapter 5
1931, Fall. The Kanto Gakuin School, Yokohama, Japan.
Chapter 6
January 7, 1932. The Kashiwara Shrine complex, fifteen miles southeast of Osaka.
Spring, 1932. Yokosuka Naval Base, Tokyo Bay.
Chapter 7
Spring, 1932. Central Oregon.
Chapter 8
Summer, 1932. The Kanto Gakuin School, Yokohama.
Chapter 9
1935. The California-Nevada Border, twenty-five miles northwest of Alturas, California.
Chapter 10
1936. Tokyo.
The Naval Staff College, Tokyo.
Chapter 11
Spring, 1937. The Kanto Gakuin School, Yokohama.
Chapter 12
Spring, 1937. Medford, Oregon.
Six Months Later.
Chapter 13
Early December, 1937. Hankow, China.
Chapter 14
December, 1938. Yokohama.
June 8, 1939. Yokohama Bay.
Chapter 15
November, 1939. The open sea off of the coast of Tokyo.
Chapter 16
1940, Spring. Tacoma, Washington.
Chapter 17
June, 1940, Central Philippine University on the island of Panay, Iloilo, The Philippines.
Chapter 18
October 8, 1940. Tokyo Bay.
Chapter 19
July, 1941. Tacoma, Washington.
Chapter 20
August, 1941. Kagoshima Air Base on the island of Kyushu, the southernmost main island of Japan.
September 5, 1941. The Imperial Palace, Tokyo.
Chapter 21
Fall, 1941. Keuka College, just outside Rochester, New York.
Chapter 22
September, 1941. Kagoshima Air Base. The island of Kyushu, southern Japan.
Chapter 23
October, 1941. High desert bombing range, Washington.
Chapter 24
October, 1941. Central Philippine University, Iloilo City.
Chapter 25
October, 1941. The aircraft carrier Akagi. Yokosuka Naval Base, Tokyo Bay.
November 17, 1941.
Chapter 26
Nov
ember 26, 1941. Just off the Kuril Islands, Japan.
December 1, 1941. The Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan.
Part II: Thunder and Lightning
Chapter 27
December 8, 1941 (Japan), December 7 (USA) before the dawn. The Pacific Ocean, 300 miles north of Oahu, Hawaii.
Twenty-five minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Kota Bharu, Malaya, 350 miles northwest from the British stronghold of Singapore.
Five minutes before the attack. Oahu, Hawaii.
Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii.
3:18 a.m. Japanese Standard Time, December 8.
7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time, December 7.
10:50 a.m. Pacific Time, McChord Field, Tacoma, Washington.
2: 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Keuka College outside Rochester, New York.
Chapter 28
Just past noon, the aircraft carrier Akagi.
Chapter 29
December 7, three hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, McChord Field, Tacoma, Washington.
Five hours after the attack, Central Philippines University.
Six hours after the attack, Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong.
Six hours after the attack, Tokyo, Japan.
Eight hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Clark Air Base, about forty miles northwest of Manila, Philippines.
Chapter 30
December 10, 1941. The Imperial Palace.
December 23, 1941. Kanoya Air Base.
December 26, 1941. The Imperial Palace.
Chapter 31
Late December, 1941. Central Philippines University.
Chapter 32
January 22, 1942. Rabaul, New Guinea.
Royal Australian Air Force Headquarters (RAAF), Telecommunication Unit, Melbourne, Australia.
Rabaul.
February 19, 1942. Darwin, Australia.
Chapter 33
February, 1942. Katipunan, Panay, the Philippines.
Chapter 34
February, 1942. Columbia Army Air Base. Columbia, South Carolina.
Chapter 35
March 3, 1942. The southern coast of Java.
Chapter 36
March, 1942. Elgin Air Base, Florida.
Madras, Oregon.
Chapter 37
April 1, 1942. San Francisco Harbor. The carrier USS Hornet.
Chapter 38
Early April, 1942. The open sea, east of Singapore.
Part III: The Eagle’s Talons
Chapter 39
April 12, 1942. USS Hornet. The Pacific Ocean.
Chapter 40
April 12, 1942. Downtown Nagoya, Japan.
April 18, 1942. Nagoya.
Chapter 41
April 18, 1942. The Pacific Ocean 700 miles east of Japan.
Chapter 42
April 18, 1942. The open seas, southwest of Japan. The aircraft carrier Akagi.
Chapter 43
The Pacific Ocean, just east of Nagoya, Japan.
Chapter 44
Somewhere over China.
Early a.m., China.
Chapter 45
April 19, 1942. Nagoya, Japan.
Chapter 46
April 19, 1942. The aircraft carrier Akagi. East of mainland Japan.
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
April 20, 1942. Nanchang, China.
Chapter 49
Late April, 1942. The battleship Yamato. Hashirajima Bay, 25 miles due south of Hiroshima.
Chapter 50
Late April, 1942. The Imperial Palace.
Chapter 51
Late April, 1942. The Battleship Yamato.
Chapter 52
Late April, 1942. Madras, Oregon.
Chapter 53
Late April, 1942. Nanking, China.
Chapter 54
May 1, 1942. The Battleship Yamato. Hashirajima Bay, 25 miles south of Hiroshima.
Chapter 55
May 27, 1942. One week before the battle.
Part IV: Blood in the Water
Chapter 56
June 4, 1942, 3:00 a.m. The aircraft carrier Akagi. 250 miles northwest of Midway Island.
5:31 a.m.
5:56 a.m., Midway Island.
6:41 a.m.
7:10 a.m.
7:53 a.m.
8:09 a.m.
8:30 a.m.
Chapter 57
8:50 a.m.
8:55 a.m. The battleship Yamato.
8:55 a.m. The carrier Akagi.
9:18 a.m.
9:38 a.m.
Chapter 58
10:00 a.m. The battleship Yamato.
10:10 a.m. The carrier Akagi.
Chapter 59
June, 1942. The island of Panay, the Philippines.
Chapter 60
June, 1942. Tokyo.
Chapter 61
June, 1942. The Imperial General Headquarters, Tokyo.
Chapter 62
June, 1942. Tokyo.
Chapter 63
July, 1942. Madras, Oregon.
Chapter 64
July, 1942. Yokosuka Base Hospital, Tokyo Bay.
Chapter 65
August, 1942. Hopevale, the Philippines.
Chapter 66
August, 1942. Keuka College, New York.
Chapter 67
August 28, 1942. Shanghai, China.
Chapter 68
October 15, 1942. Kiangwan Military Prison, Shanghai, China.
Chapter 69
The following morning.
Chapter 70
December, 1942. Madras, Oregon.
Chapter 71
December, 1942. Hopevale.
Chapter 72
December 28, 1942, Hopevale.
Chapter 73
Early April, 1943. Rabaul Air Base, the Australian Territory of New Guinea.
Chapter 74
April 19, 1943. Yokosuka Naval Base, Tokyo Bay.
Chapter 75
April 23, 1943. Madras, Oregon.
Chapter 76
Early July, 1943. Tama Reien Cemetery, Tokyo.
Chapter 77
July, 1943. Hopevale.
Chapter 78
July, 1943. Japanese Headquarters. Iloilo City, Panay.
Chapter 79
August, 1943. Nanking, China.
Chapter 80
August, 1943. The Andrus Farm. Madras, Oregon.
Chapter 81
Fall, 1943. Keuka College, New York.
Chapter 82
September, 1943. Yokosuka Naval Base, Tokyo Bay.
The Philippine Islands.
Chapter 83
October, 1943. Hopevale. The Philippines.
Chapter 84
November, 1943. The island of Panay. The Philippines.
Chapter 85
Early December, 1943. Nanking, China.
Tokyo, Japan.
One week later, Nanking, China.
Chapter 86
December 10, 1943. Hopevale. The Philippines.
December 14, 1943. Twenty eight miles north of Hopevale.
December 19, Hopevale.
Chapter 87
Early February, 1944. Saipan.
Chapter 88
February 22, 1944. Yokosuka Naval Base. Tokyo Bay.
The next day. Tinian Island. The Mariana Islands.
The following afternoon.
Part V: No Damn Hypocrite
Chapter 89
May, 1944. Nanking, China.
Chapter 90
May, 1944. Keuka College. New York.
Chapter 91
Morning, June 19, 1944. The aircraft carrier Taiho. The Pacific Ocean between the Philippines and the Mariana Islands.
Chapter 92
Two weeks later. Saipan.
Chapter 93
July 14, 1944. Northern Honshu, Japan.
Chapter 94
Fall, 1944. Nanking, China.
Chapter 95
Fall, 1944. Downtown
Rochester, New York.
Chapter 96
October, 1944. Tokyo, Japan.
Chapter 97
October, 1944. Yokosuka Naval Base, Tokyo Bay.
Chapter 98
November, 1944. Nanking, China.
Chapter 99
November, 1944. Granada, Colorado.
Chapter 100
November, 1944. Nanking, China.
Early December, 1944. Nanking, China.
December 25, 1944.
Chapter 101
March 10, 1945. Tokyo, Japan.
March 18, 1945. Tokyo, Japan.
Chapter 102
April, 1945. Nanking, China.
June 15, 1945.
Chapter 103
August 5, 1945. Hiroshima Military Complex.
Part VI: The Light of A Thousand Suns
Chapter 104
7:00 a.m., August 6, 1945. Peking, China.
Chapter 105
8:15 a.m., the same day. Hiroshima, Japan.
9:05 a.m., Yamato Naval Base.
Chapter 106
August 6, 1945. 1:40 p.m. The skies above Japan.
The following day.
Chapter 107
11:01 a.m., August 9, 1945. Nagasaki, Japan.
1:30 a.m., August 10, 1945. Tokyo, Japan.
Chapter 108
August 12, 1945. OSS Headquarters, Kunming, China.
Chapter 109
12:00 p.m. noon, August 15, 1945. Yokosuka, Japan.
Chapter 110
August 15, 1945. Madras, Oregon.
Chapter 111
August 17, 1945. Kure Naval Hospital, 15 miles from Hiroshima.
Chapter 112
August 17, 1945. Peking, China.
August 20, 1945.
Chapter 113
August 21, 1945. Madras, Oregon.
Chapter 114
August 31, 1945. Tateyama Naval Base, Tokyo Bay.
Chapter 115
9:00 a.m., September 2, 1945. Tokyo.
Chapter 116
September, 1945. Madras, Oregon.
A few weeks later.
Chapter 117
Early December, 1945. Tokyo.
The mountains of Chichibu, 50 miles northwest of Tokyo.
Chapter 118
Three weeks later. Yokosuka Naval Base, Tokyo Bay.
January, 1946. Rabaul, New Britain. The Australian Territory of New Guinea.
Chapter 119
March, 1946. Seattle Pacific College, Seattle, Washington.
Chapter 120
Summer, 1946. Kashiwara.
Chapter 121
August 29, 1946. Portland, Oregon.
Part VII: Why Are You Here?
Chapter 122
June, 1947. Osaka.
Uraga Harbor, SE of the Yokosuka Naval Base.
Chapter 123
June, 1948. Seattle, Washington.
Chapter 124
December 3, 1948. Tokyo. Shibuya Train Station.