<Begin Segment 23>

MU: I've also heard it said that some of the criminals were blamed for... no, I'll put it the other way: sometimes the commanding officer was held responsible for something that somebody lower grades committed. Anything like that happen?

GK: Oh, yes. For instance, in Nagoya area, B-29s (and) B-24s (...) were shot down (...) and airmen captured. And some of them were captured in Nagoya area. And I think there were about eight of them -- were captured in Nagoya area -- and three of them were executed. Because they were charged... actually, they were charged and tried by [Ed. note: Narrator submitted revised transcript for clarification: the Japanese as war criminals. Under the Japanese military system, ascertainment of facts constituted a trial. Hiroshima was bombed out, and so was Nagoya. Most bombings destroyed schools, churches, temples, and thousands of people were killed. The bombings were indiscriminate. After ascertaining fliers participation in the bombings they were executed. Execution was carried out by lower ranking soldiers, but since the order for executions came down through the channel, all persons were responsible for the execution. The area commander, divisional commander, regimental commander, and battalion commander, and of course, the company commander who supervised the execution were all tried as war criminals, convicted and executed.] [End note]

MU: Yeah, this is kinda getting off the subject, George, but I... you know, you're an attorney and you were involved in the war crimes... the one that sticks in my mind is what happened to General Yamashita. I think he got executed in Manila. He was hung in Manila, wasn't he?

GK: Yes.

MU: What was your feeling about that trial?

GK: Well, I think... without the question of fair or unfair trial, he as the commander, whose subordinate units perpetrated all these atrocities in the city of Manila and other places. And in many cases, there were atrocities committed. Of course, they didn't even know, like General Yamashita. He just went there in March or so, and had nothing to do with the atrocities. But then because his subordinate units committed it, he was tried.

MU: He got blamed for it.

GK: He felt that, "Well, I'm not guilty, I didn't even know about it, but as the commander for the entire unit, I assume the responsibility." So he and (...) General Homma, they willingly went for the trial and accepted the conviction and accepted the execution.

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.