Nobuaki "Warren" Iwatake
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Nobuaki "Warren" (1923-) was Radio Operator and communications intercepter and a veteran of the World War 2 Imperial Japanese Army.
[edit] Family History
He was born in Kahului, Hawaii, USA. Warren was the eldest son of six children and was raised in Kahului. The father of Iwatake, a Kobayashi store employee, presumed drowned from a fishing trip at Peahi. With the loss of the family breadwinner, his mother, four brothers, and one sister moved to Hiroshima, Japan, to live with an uncle in November, 1940. Warren stayed on Maui to graduate with his Maui High School class of '41, and then left to rejoin his family in Hiroshima. The December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor would eventually have a profound effect on Iwatake's family, and lead to an unlikely association with George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States.
[edit] Service in Imperial Japanese Army
Iwatake was beaten and drafted against his will to the Imperial Japanese Army from a Japanese college in 1943.
He was present when former United States President George H.W. Bush was shot down over the Pacific in his Avenger bomber, during September 1944, and was later rescued by a submarine. Two American crewman with Bush were killed. Iwatake had missed the battle of Iwo Jima due to an American submarine attack on his ship's convoy, and was then placed on Chichi-jima, 150 miles north of Iwo Jima. American forces bombed Chichi-jima to cut radio communications between islands. Former President George H.W. Bush's task was to bomb the island's communication towers, and possibly any Imperial Japanese forces. Due to the "island hopping" strategy by American forces, the island was spared an invasion attack.
Iwatake was present when Japanese Imperial forces captured a Texas American pilot "Warren Vaughn" in February 1945. According to Iwatake, the pilot was executed at the harbor by beheading. Mr. Iwatake was assigned to guard and work with Warren Vaughn on Chichi Jima. He and Warren spent many hours talking and developed a personal relationship. One day Warren was taken away by other Japanese soldiers and executed. On that day Mr. Iwatake adopted and kept the name "Warren" in honor of his American friend Warren Vaughn. The story of Warren Vaughn, Iwatake's observation of the rescue of George H.W. Bush, and the experiences of other American "Flyboys" is recounted in the book Flyboys: A True Story of Courage by James Bradley. Warren Iwatake and President George H.W. Bush met on Chichi Jima in 2002 in a symbolic reunion of veterans from both sides of the conflict.
Iwatake lost his youngest brother in the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack. The youngest brother was 500 yards from the epicenter attending a school. Reportly, the only thing left was a US Army canteen, as the youngest brother was vaporized in the atomic attack. Iwatake's uncle, Dr. Hiroshi Iwatake, was badly burned in the atomic explosion, but regained his health and lived into the 1980's. Dr. Hiroshi Iwatake's true story is recounted in the 1966 (1969 Kodansha English translation by John Bester) historical novel "Black Rain" by Masuji Ibuse. This title is not to be confused with the 1989 Michael Douglas movie of the same name, also set in Japan. The Ibuse "Black Rain", though centered around fictional characters, is based on interviews with actual atom bomb survivors, including Hiroshi Iwatake. Graphic details in the novel, such as the maggots eating away at Hiroshi's earlobe, are true. In hindsight, maggots are now recognized for their cleansing properties in removing dead flesh and preventing infection. The nephew in the novel is Warren Iwatake's youngest brother Takashi. The novel states that Takashi's metal ID tag was found. However, Warren's brother Masaru reported that all he could find when he searched for Takashi amongst the ruins of Hiroshima was Takashi's U.S. Army canteen.
After the war, Iwatake, served as a translator for the American Embassy in Tokyo for 35 years.
[edit] Sources
CNN aired October 19, 2003 - 20:00 ET
Capt. Neil F. Murphy, Marine Corps Public Affairs Office November 5, 2003 "Childress vet was a great man."
Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse (1969 Kodansha English translation by John Bester)
Flyboys: A True Story of Courage by James Bradley (2003 Back Bay/Little, Brown)
The Honolulu Advertiser (newspaper), 3-31-2003, with pictures.
The Maui News (newspaper), 3-13-2005
Iwatake family accounts
