Finding God at Pearl Harbor.........by Tom

At 7:49 am on December 7th, 1941, Jacob DeShazer and Mitsuo Fuchida could not have existed in more opposite worlds.

Fuchida was warming up his single-engine, three-seater "97-type" plane after making a routine check of intelligence reports. As the General Commander of the Japanese Air Squadron, he was about to lead the most important military advancement of his long career. What happened next was the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, called a "day of infamy" by President Franklin Roosevelt. In a matter of hours, 3,622 U.S. military personnel were declared killed or missing. 800 more were wounded.

History had a profound effect on young Mitsuo Fuchida. Every since hearing of his native Japan's victory over Russian in 1905, he dreamed of mimicking the exploits of the hero of the Russio-Japan War, Admiral Togo. At the age of 18, Mitsuo Fuchida enrolled in the Japanese Naval Academy. Three years later, Fuchida graduated and joined the Japanese Naval Air Force. For the next fifteen years, Fuchida served as an aircraft carrier pilot, logging over 15,000 hours. When the time came to choose a commander of the highly secretive Pearl Harbor Mission, Mitsuo Fuchida's experience made him a natural selection.

Then came December 7th, 1941. The night before brought so much excitement that Fuchida could barely sleep. As the mission began at 7:59 am, Fuchida's fleet of 360 fighter planes high above Pearl Harbor. Then, he gave the fateful command, "All squadrons, plunge in to attack!" Over the next several hours, the Japanese fleet rained down a furious assault on American battleships, airfields, dry docks, and barracks. Over the radios, his triumphant voice shouted, "Tora, Tora, Tora," signaling that the attack had been successful.

The Pearl Harbor invasion made Fuchida a hero in Japan. As the war continued he saw action in the Solomon Islands, Java, and the Indian Ocean. Just before the battle of Midway, he was stricken with appendicitis and bedridden. This was Japan's first major defeat, losing 10 ships. Things just got worse for the Japanese. Mitsuo was in Hiroshima just before the bomb was dropped, but a last minute summons to Tokyo spared his life. Finally, the emperor of Japan surrendered to the Allies, much to Fuchida's chagrin.

The disbanding of the Japanese military spelled the end of Fuchida's military career. Discouraged, he moved to his hometown and began working the family farm. Things did not work well for him, so he wandered the Japanese Islands looking for peace, doing odd jobs in order to survive.

Several times, Mitsuo was summoned by American General Douglas MacArthur to Tokyo for the war crimes trials. In his honor bound society, the shame he was facing was overwhelming. Mitsuo decided that he would honorably face his accusors, but at the end of the trial, regardless of the verdict, he would commit the ritual of Hari Kari to atone for the shame he had brought upon himself, his family, and his country. As the last day of the trials approached, Mitsuo Fuchida prepared for his death.

On the last day of the trials, as he got off the train, an American handed Mitsuo a pamphlet entitled, "I Was a Prisoner of Japan." Later, Fuchida read the pamphlet, which recounted the story of Jacob DeShazer's cruel imprisonment in Japan, his hatred of his captors, and the dynamic transformation that took place in the soldier's heart when someone gave him a smuggled Bible.

Desiring that same peace, Fuchida bought a Bible, despite his Buddhist heritage. He read Luke 23:34, the prayer of Christ on the cross, "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

This moment was the climax of Mitsuo Fuchida's life. He realized that he was one of the sinners for whom Christ died and he at that moment, accepted Christ as Savior. As he began to grow in his newfound faith, the Holy Spirit began removing the bitterness for the enemy and his disillusionment with his own fate. He found new purpose: seeking forgiveness from his former enemy and wishing to spread the Gospel message to the lost world.

Mitsuo Fuchida eventually met Jacob DeShazer and the two became great friends. Together they spoke to people across Japan and around the world, sharing their story of reconciliation and the message of the Gospel. A moment in history that at first brought devastation to thousands of soldiers later brought God's love and peace to thousands of seeking souls.

Mitsuo Fuchida died in 1976 at the age of 73, survived by his wife and two children. Jacob DeShazer turned 89 this November and still makes a limited number of speaking appearances, sharing his story to people around the world. He lives with is wife, Florence, in Salem, Oregon. They have five children.

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