Here are Part 1 of 4 and Part 2 of 4 just in case you would like to review one or both of them first.
Memorable quotes and my random notes – II of III
Notable comments from the book are identified with quotation marks. Most of them, of course, are by Fuchida. My comments are separated out by bullet points.
Fuchida wrote, “I still respected Admiral Yamamoto, but it was around that time that a seed of suspicion was born that Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto might be a mediocre admiral.”
- Later on, Fuchida gives several additional pieces of evidence – including the Battle of Midway – which support his initial opinion of the Admiral. His observation is interesting because historians, in general, understand that the Harvard-educated Admiral Yamamoto was not keen on attacking the United States in the first place. Would it be possible that Fuchida, at the time of keeping his diary during the war, was not aware of this aspect about Admiral Yamamoto? It makes me wonder if Admiral Yamamoto was truly inept – as Fuchida saw him – or his heart was simply not in it to give his best. For what it’s worth, here is my theory: Admiral Yamamoto knew exactly what he was doing. I think this way because:
- Seeing that he was educated in the United States, he was in a position to see the positive effects of the Judeo-Christian values first hand – as I have been able to observe as an adult immigrant to this country for the last four decades. It probably would not be too far-fetched to say that he liked and respected the American culture. I say this because he most surely had read Yukichi Fukuzawa’s literature based on Fukuzawa’s visit to the United States in 1860. Fukuzawa, the founder of Keio University, systematically translated and introduced the American culture to Japan. The most famous, among them, was his translation of “All men are created equal” from the Declaration of Independence. He translated it in a way that Japanese – to whom equality is a complete foreign concept – would understand. His translation: “Heaven creates no one above an individual; no one below an individual.”
- It is known that Admiral Yamamoto did what he did only because he had no choice but to follow the orders of his superiors within the Imperial Japanese Navy. Because of his position as Admiral, however, within the limits of the orders that he needed to follow, he was able to choose deployment tactics. (Someone as perceptive as Fuchida saw the fallacy in the Admiral’s tactics but most others probably would not have thought to question his decisions.)
- Based on the result of the war and how the world became a better place for millions of people, based on my theory, Admiral Yamamoto – by his ineptitude, whether intentional or otherwise – helped the outcome of the war.
- Lastly, given the dilemma that Admiral Yamamoto had faced (to either follow the Imperial orders or do what is right for humanity), I think that he was a man of honor and chose to do the right thing based on his own experiences and beliefs.
Fuchida describes in detail how the Battle of Midway ended in defeat for Japan. In particular, he talks about his frustrations with Lieutenant Joichi Tomonaga, who took his place as the leader during Fuchida’s recovery from an appendicitis operation. He writes, “Of special note, Lieutenant Tomonaga crashed onto the enemy carrier on his third bombing attack, crippling her functional ability. As she began to sink, Yorktown’s crews were ordered to abandon the ship and were being transferred to an escorting destroyer. As this was happening, she was detected by our submarine I-168 and attacked. Both the Yorktown and the destroyer were sunk.”
Fuchida goes on to say, “…what was most disgraceful about this operation was the incompetent leadership demonstrated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet Yamamoto, rather than any failures ascribed to the actions or shortcomings of Commander Nagumo.” “In this manner, the Battle of Midway ended in our defeat, and looking back, it was clear that momentum of the war was reversed.”
- A newer aircraft carrier, named after the original USS Yorktown, was commissioned in 1943. It was de-commissioned in 1970 and became a museum in 1975. On December 15, 2013 and September 22, 2014, David and I visited the ship, located at Patriot’s Point, Mount Pleasant (near Charleston), South Carolina.
Fuchida wrote, “The brutal cruelty unleashed by an atomic bomb has been talked about extensively, but the hell-on-earth reality is far beyond what anyone can imagine – unless one has actually seen it.”
- Not having been born yet at the time, I have not personally seen it. The horrific effects of the atomic bombs were ingrained in my mind through school, however.
Fuchida wrote, “…on the battlefield during war, the more you kill, the more decorations you will receive. Because killing contributes to widening the path to victory in battle, human beings have done this repeatedly since ancient times. I myself was promised the Order of the Golden Kite 2nd Class for killing as many as 3,000 people at Pearl Harbor.”
- This is one of the instances where Fuchida began to see the insanity of war and the unnatural ways in which people begin to think and behave.
When growing up in Japan, I thought peace was the norm. It is sad to observe that human nature being what it is, conflicts that escalate to wars appear inevitable.
