Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Japanese: , 18 January 1918 - 1 April 2003) - nicknamed "the Bird" by his prisoners - was a known war criminal and Imperial Japanese Army soldier in World War II who served in a number of military internment camps. The guards at the Japanese concentration camps tried to break Louis. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Watanabe couldnt be one of them, so he decided to make their lives as miserable as possible.Watanabe was stationed at several POW camps, including Naoetsu, and Omori, a man-made sand-spit between Yokohama and Tokyo. I am the fourth of six children of my father and mother, Shizuka Watanabe. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. He says that at the time, he considered the prisoners enemies of Japan. On a search and rescue mission, Zamperini's plane experienced mechanical difficulties and crashed into the ocean. What place did Louis Zamperini finish in the 1936 Olympics? [2], Prior to the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, the CBS News program 60 Minutes interviewed Watanabe at the Hotel Okura in Tokyo as part of a feature on Zamperini, a Watanabe's former prisoner who was returning to carry the Olympic Flame torch through Naoetsu en route to Nagano. What are the disadvantages of shielding a thermometer? Later on, he went on to become an insurance salesman and ultimately grew wealthy. And face the ghosts. 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Husband of woman murdered with an ax convicted 40 years after her death Driven by a desire to feel powerful, Watanabe derives sexual pleasure and self-worth by using torture to dehumanize the prisoners. When did Masao Watanabe die? Wade said: 'As far as I know I believe I am the last British survivor of Omori camp but I do not know about the Americans.'. Mutsuhiro Watanabe (em japons: , 18 de janeiro de 1918 Abril de 2003, apelidado de " O Pssaro " pelos prisioneiros) foi um militar do Exrcito Imperial Japons durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, que serviu em campos de prisioneiros em Omori, Naoetsu (atual Joetsu ), Niigata, Mitsushima (atual Hiraoka) e . It was an apparent lie by Wade over the enforcement of yet another petty rule regarding POWs boots that saw Watanabe subject him to a sustained beating and threats of instant death. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. The message was: The war is over. Then there's the epilogue, which has so many twists and turns it feels like The Usual Suspects. MacArthur never found him. Mutsuhiro Watanabe is a man of many names and personalities. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Zamperini wasn't the only one looking. 'The other Americans who arrived told me that he was an Olympic athlete and said he had run at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Mutsuhiro Watanabe also used a four-foot kendo sword like a baseball bat and bashed Wade's skull with 40 repeated blows. } I can understand how Watanabe was trying to be a good Japanese. He said: 'Age has mellowed my perspective, as has my Far Eastern experience. I was obeying orders under Japanese military rule - I had to teach the prisoners military discipline.'. "[2], Following the Occupation, Watanabe became a life insurance salesman and was reportedly wealthy, owning a $1.5 million apartment in Tokyo and a vacation condominium on the Gold Coast of Australia. How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh . This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. He was captured by the Japanese in World War II and subjected to years of brutal treatment. Corporal Mutsuhiro Watanabe, was an officer of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, and was regarded as the most cold-blooded guard of the Japanese army.Watanabe initially worked for the Japanese news agency, Domei. Try again later. Watanabes favorite punishments included ordering some men to punch their officials in the head. There have been many World War II stories told in film depicting triumphs of personal courage and survival. The 94-year-old told MailOnline: 'Watanabe treated us with terrible brutality and most of the time with no respect at all. This CBS Sports documentary on Louis Zamperini features the rare Mutsuhiro Watanabe interview (aka "The Bird"). The Bird, who once faked his own death, turns out to be alive and goes on 60 Minutes to confess his war crimes. List of aircraft of the Malaysian Armed Forces, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, "Former Track Star, POW, Doesn't Get Closure at 81 in His Return to Japan", http://articles.latimes.com/1998/feb/19/sports/sp-20790, http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/louis-zamperini-4, http://www.seabiscuitonline.com/author.asp. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. display: block; Zamperini was prepared to meet his former tormentor but Watanabe backed out. Yoshiro Mori. Mutsuhiro Watanabe (,born circa 1918 - died April 2003), POW given nickname, "The Bird", was an Imperial Japanese Army sergeant in World War II who served at POW camps in funa, Naoetsu (present day Jetsu, Niigata ), and Mitsushima (present day Hiraoka). Mutsuhiro Watanabe, known as the Bird to POWs, was a sadistic Japanese leader at two different POW camps, Omori and Naoetsu. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/192509131/mutsuhiro-watanabe. Driven by a desire to feel powerful, Watanabe derives sexual pleasure and self-worth by using torture to dehumanize the prisoners. Mutsuhiro Watanabe was born to a wealthy Tokyo family. Produced by David Kohn Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Then he swung it like a baseball bat against the left side of my head and then the right. training. At the age of 27, he settled at the Tokyo Headquarters Camp. !1954http . [4] David Sakurai portrays Watanabe in Harold Cronk's Unbroken: Path to Redemption, a "spiritual successor" to Jolie's film, released in 2018. After the war was over, Watanabe was placed on #23 on the most-wanted war criminals list. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. In 1950, he visited a Tokyo prison holding several of his former prison guards. Mutsuhiro Watanabe was born on January 1, 1918 (age 85) in Japan. His wife, Cynthia Applewhite, convinced him to attend a revival meeting by the evangelist Billy Graham. You know, I had been dead and I came back alive," he says. Some emails and online comments in response to Nicolas Gattig's Jan. 7 Foreign Agenda column, "Japan may shun 'Unbroken' just because it's old hat," about the Angelina Jolie film . So, feel free to use this information and benefit from expert answers to the questions you are interested in! Adam Luck for MailOnline Mutsuhiro Watanabe was born on 1 January 1918 in Japan. Continue Learning about General Arts & Entertainment. Because of my own personal feelings, I treated the prisoners strictly as enemies of Japan.. In his 60 Minutes interview with Bob Simon, Watanabe said, I wasnt given military orders. Zamparini mentioned in the interview that shortly after the war ended he wanted to return to Japan and exact revenge on his tormentor. Among other men looking for the Bird was a General Douglas MacArthur. Zamperini attempted to meet with his chief and most brutal tormentor, but Watanabe, who had evaded prosecution, refused to see him. Right after the war, the Bird flew up to mountains right above Nagano. He later became an insurance salesman. His has an estimated net worth of $100 million. Phil survives, along with Louie and Mac. How did the actors in Unbroken get so skinny? Zamperini was well known to me. He had five siblings, including his eldest sister Michiko. Watanabe's punishments were especially cruel because they were psychological and emotional, not just physical. However, Wade doesn't recall Zamperini being struck in the stomach, which is central to the book Unbroken and central to Jolie's film. "Probably the biggest thrill my folks had ever had," says his brother Pete. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Point is that if you wanted to pursue that kind o. Mindy Kotler, director of Asia Policy Point, told the Telegraph: It is one thing to question the memories of illiterate women who were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military. Watanabe severely beat Zamperini during his time as a POW, and was reviled among the American captives. [2] His mistreatment of the Allied officials while they were prisoners of war (POWs) may have stemmed from his hatred of officials in general. 'I thought he was very Italian in appearance, very athletic with beautiful long legs and compact body. Trending News Make sure that the file is a photo. Due to numerous technical problems and inadequate training, more than 50,000 airmen died in non-combat related accidents. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. "And when I think back to 1945 when we left Naoetsu, it was such a horrible place in our minds, I couldn't look back. Japanese Imperial Army Unit 731, which carried out medical experiments on prisoners during the war that matched or even surpassed Nazi Germany in cruelty, was particularly infamous. ). Failed to report flower. The book, which was written after extensive interviews with Wade, details how Zamperini, who only died earlier this year, survived 47 days on a raft in the Pacific and then Watanabe's brutality. 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