Minoru Wada was a

kibei Kibei () was a term often used in the 1940s to describe Japanese Americans born in the United States whose parents had sent them to receive their education in Japan and who had then returned to the United States. Many of them had dual citizenship. ...

, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

citizen who was educated in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, who served as an

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

junior officer and was taken prisoner on

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

by members of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in 1945. He provided Marine

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

crews with vital intelligence and led the aircraft in a highly-successful attack on the headquarters of the Japanese 100th Division. He was motivated by a desire to minimize the loss of life through aiding to effect a swift end to the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

Events

Minoru Wada was born in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, but was a student in

when war erupted with the USA. He was a Second Lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army transport section, at the time of his capture. After being taken prisoner in the Philippines, Lt. Wada expressed his strong reservations about the Japanese decision to embark upon a course of war, and further stated a willingness to go to any length, including the sacrifice of his own life, in order to help bring an end to the war, and thus reduce the suffering of the

Japanese people are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.4% of the population of the country of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 125 million people are of Japanese descent, making them list of contempora ...

. It was suggested that Lt. Wada could bring a rapid end to hostilities on Mindanao by providing information as to the whereabouts of the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the Imperial Japanese 100th Division. While initially horrified by the idea of assisting in the killing of his fellow Japanese, he concluded that such an action would actually save lives on both sides, and volunteered to personally direct the bomber squadron from the lead plane. Wada didn't speak English, despite being born in America. The mission was undertaken on August 10, 1945.

Aftermath

The attack on the 100th Division headquarters was enormously successful, and succeeded in largely ending combat in Mindanao, as without a functioning command-and-control apparatus, Japanese troops on the island were effectively reduced to the status of disorganized stragglers. Subsequently, Minoru Wada was given a new identity, and his whereabouts today are unknown.Merriam Press
"''Japanese Officer Led a U.S. Air Strike Against His Own Troops''" (retrieved on August 30th, 2011).

References

External links

Marine Corps photo #130966

Marine Corps photo #130972

Marine Corps photo #130974

Marine Corps photo #130976
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wada, Minoru American people of Japanese descent Japanese people of World War II Japanese prisoners of war Possibly living people Year of birth missing