During the United States' carpet bombing of the Tokai region, in which hundreds of people died, the crews of several planes bailed out and were captured. Rather than being tried as prisoners of war in a military court, they were given a summary trial and beheaded, on the orders of Lt. Gen. Okada.
In 1948, Okada and 19 subordinates involved in the executions were indicted for not giving the airmen a formal tribunal and accused of failing to treat them as prisoners of war under the rules of the Geneva Conventions.
In response to the indictment, Okada insisted that the crew were not POWs but war criminals who carried out indiscriminate bombings, violating the 1923 Rules of Aerial Warfare. He also claimed that he could only give them a summary trial in the chaos and confusion at that time. At the same time, though, Okada admitted responsibility for the execution of the U.S. airmen and protected his subordinates by saying they had just followed his orders.
Okada called the trial a "hosen" (legal battle) and his honest and dignified attitude impressed those in the court, especially the American judges and prosecutors, who eventually called for his sentence to be commuted. Even though he was sentenced to be hanged, Okada thanked them for a fair trial.
I rarely post about tragic stuff.. . but I decided that the complete deleting of war crimes from the collective knowledge because of censored books that are all the Board of Education will "approve" for US public schools, pisses me off enough to post the facts on a rare occasion.
In 1948, Okada and 19 subordinates involved in the executions were indicted for not giving the airmen a formal tribunal and accused of failing to treat them as prisoners of war under the rules of the Geneva Conventions.
In response to the indictment, Okada insisted that the crew were not POWs but war criminals who carried out indiscriminate bombings, violating the 1923 Rules of Aerial Warfare. He also claimed that he could only give them a summary trial in the chaos and confusion at that time. At the same time, though, Okada admitted responsibility for the execution of the U.S. airmen and protected his subordinates by saying they had just followed his orders.
Okada called the trial a "hosen" (legal battle) and his honest and dignified attitude impressed those in the court, especially the American judges and prosecutors, who eventually called for his sentence to be commuted. Even though he was sentenced to be hanged, Okada thanked them for a fair trial.
I rarely post about tragic stuff.. . but I decided that the complete deleting of war crimes from the collective knowledge because of censored books that are all the Board of Education will "approve" for US public schools, pisses me off enough to post the facts on a rare occasion.
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