Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
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Flyboys: A True Story of Courage is a non-fiction book by writer James Bradley, and a national bestseller in the U.S. This book details a World War II incident over the Pacific island of Chichi-jima one of the Ogasawara Islands (Bonin Islands). It also has a story from a crewman of a downed bomber that crashed in Japan and his life in a POW camp, and a second view of Chichi-jima from a young conscripted Japanese-American Nobuaki "Warren" Iwatake in the Japanese Army. Additionally, it analyzes the rise of the airplane, and the various cruelties, hypocrisies, and war crimes of both the Japanese and American armies and governments.
As U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima some 150 miles away, U.S. warplanes bombed the small communications outpost on Chichi Jima. While Iwo Jima had Japanese forces numbering 22,000, Chichi Jima's forces numbered 25,000. Additionally, Iwo Jima has flat areas suitable for a naval invasion, while Chichi Jima's geography included hilly terrains and unsuitable coasts. According to one Marine (who Bradley does not identify), "Iwo was hell. Chichi would have been impossible." Assumedly, it is because of this that U.S. pilots, known as "Flyboys", were needed to neutralize Chichi's defenses.
Nine crewmen survived after being shot down in the raid. One was picked up by the American submarine USS Finback. His name was Lieutenant George H. W. Bush, who later went to become the forty-first President of the United States. The others were captured by the Japanese and were executed and partially eaten as POWs, a fact that remained hidden until much later. Senior Japanese Army Officers hosted a Sake party for their Navy counterparts where the livers of American POW's were roasted and served as an appetizer. The Navy officers subsequently reciprocated by hosting a party where they butchered and served their own American POW's.
During trials after the war, these atrocities were uncovered and the officers responsible were court-martialed and subsequently executed.
