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The Saga Of Mitsuo Fuchida PRO
Contributed by Brad Bailey on Aug 9, 2004 (message contributor)
the saga of Mitsuo Fuchida.
Fuchida grew up loving his native Japan and hating the United States, which treated Asian immigrants harshly in the first half of the twentieth century. Fuchida attended a military academy, joined Japan’s Naval Air Force, and by 1941, with 10,000 flying hours behind him, had established himself as the nation’s top pilot. When Japanese military leaders needed someone to command a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, they chose Fuchida.
Fuchida’s was the voice that sent his aircraft carrier the message "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!) indicating the success of the surprise mission. Later, he too was surprised when he learned that, of the 70 officers who participated in the raid, he was the only one who returned alive. He had another close call when he was shot down during the battle of Midway in 1942, but despite serious injuries, he survived again.
By 1945 he had attained the position of the Imperial Navy’s Air Operations Officer. On August 6 he was eating breakfast in Nara, Japan, where a new military headquarters was under construction, when he heard about a bomb dropped on Hiroshima. He flew to investigate, then sent a grim report to the Imperial Command.
On the same day, an American P.O.W. named Jacob DeShazer felt moved by the Holy Spirit to pray for peace. DeShazer had been in captivity since 1942, when, as a member of Doolittle’s Raiders, he dropped bombs near Tokyo and then was forced to parachute into China. While imprisoned, first in Nanjing and later in Beijing, DeShazer had become a Christian. He found his heart softened toward his Japanese captors. After being liberated, DeShazer wrote a widely distributed essay, "I Was a Prisoner of the Japanese," detailing his experiences of capture, conversion, and forgiveness.
Fuchida and DeShazer met in 1950. DeShazer had returned to Japan in 1948 as a missionary. Fuchida had read DeShazer’s testimony, bought a Bible, and converted from Buddhism to Christianity. DeShazer had recently finished a 40-day fast for revival in Japan when Fuchida came to his home and introduced himself. DeShazer welcomed the new convert and encouraged him to be baptized. While DeShazer continued to plant churches throughout Japan, Fuchida became an evangelist, spreading a...
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John Wesley Provides The Most Convicting Analysis ... PRO
Contributed by Kenneth Squires on Jul 20, 2004
John Wesley provides the most convicting analysis on what it means to be a true servant: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you can.” Rick ...read more
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The First Day Of School Our Professor Introduced ... PRO
Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 21, 2004
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a winkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire ...read more
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And Starting Today, You Are Beginning To Turn ... PRO
Contributed by Peter Schmidt on Nov 13, 2003
And starting today, you are beginning to turn into adults. While your parents still are going to make a lot of choices for you, you are just beginning that Phase where you begin to make some life-changing decisions. You will learn that mom and dad won’t always be there to tell you what to do. I’m ...read more
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Over The Long Run, Love's Power To Forgive Is ... PRO
Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Dec 1, 2004
"Over the long run, love’s power to forgive is stronger than hate’s power to ...read more
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I Was Fascinated When I Read The Following ... PRO
Contributed by Tim Richards on Dec 1, 2004
I was fascinated when I read the following research a number of years in Dennis Waitley’s, Empires of the Mind. Waitley reported that although there are approximately 450,000 words in the English language, about 80% of our conversations use only about 400 ...read more
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