23: Mutsuhiro Watanabe, alias the Bird. He offered to meet The Bird (who was thought to be dead but had resurfaced), but Watanabe refused to meet with him. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Zamperini, played by Jack OConnell, was beaten and mistreated by the Japanese navy between July 1943 and the end of the war in August 1945 after being captured near the Marshall Islands following the downing of the B-24 bomber he had been helping to crew and a harrowing 47 days at sea. Among other men looking for the Bird was a General Douglas MacArthur. 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. Thanks for your help! Sergeant Mutsuhiro Watanabe abused prisoners at POW camps in Omori, Naoetsu and Mitsushima. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. While in the military, Watanabe allegedly ordered one man who reported to him to be punched in the face every night for three weeks, and practiced judo on an appendectomy patient. Tom Henling Wade, 'When he made his apology I said I could forgive him and I stand by this. Make sure that the file is a photo. One minute he would be beating a prisoner, and the next he would be handing them fistfuls of candy and cigarettes. He was a spoiled kid from a wealthy family. Watanabe had unceasing mood swings. Jolies film is based on the life story of American Olympic runner and US Air Force second lieutenant Louis Zamperini, as told in Laura Hillenbrands 2010 book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption. Mr Wade said: 'I would like to see the film at the cinema but perhaps I am too old now. In 1945, he drew up a list of the 40 most wanted war criminals in Japan. Try again later. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Watanabe died on 1 April 2003. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/mutsuhiro-watanabe-35031.php. Right after the war, the Bird flew up to mountains right above Nagano. Zamperini, who died in 2014 at age 97, was a very real person, and the film tells the true story of his capture and perseverance as a prisoner of war. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? In Stalag Luft III, they had a gigantic bash. POWs were given freedom to roam the grounds on Christmas Eve and Christmas night. 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.'. Zamperini was well known to me. In the film Zamperini is played by Briton Jack O'Connell but in the film credits there is no mention of Wade, who is sanguine about whether he makes an appearance of any sort in the film. In the year 1952, all charges against Watanabe were dropped. Died on: December 23, 1948. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. To use this feature, use a newer browser. 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. Wade said: 'He whirled it above his head with both arms outstretched and craked it down on the top of my head. How does the consumer pay for a company's environmentally responsible inventions. At Sugamo prison, he confronted many of his old guards and confounded them with absolution. According to Hillenbrand's book, Watanabe had studied French, in which he was fluent, and had interest in the French school of nihilist philosophy which holds that life and human existence hold no objective meaning. Control your anger. I can respect him for that but he went too far with the beatings and near torture. Although Mac dies, Phil and Louie make it for forty-six days, at which point they are captured by the Japanese. The story of Louis Zamperini is one such story, but with an added dimension. The Bird of Unbroken How many children does the bird have in unbroken? By Laura Hillenbrand That's the last chapter of Unbroken. He died on April 1, 2003. Legendary historian Max Hastings wrote in Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45 about the shocking Japanese treatment of POWs that has horrified and fascinated Westerners ever since. Watanabe refused to meet with Zamperini as part of the piece. There are as yet undocumented accounts by local residents, that Watanabe was also arrested as a pedophile, accused of molesting very young boys, including relatives, but this was concealed by officials to "protect family honor". In fact, he earns his nicknamethe Birdbecause it carries "no negative connotation" (4.24. . He was born into a wealthy family but experienced humiliation when he was not made a military officer. Watanabe subsequently built up a successful insurance business and when he was tracked down by the Mail on Sunday in 1995, was living in a luxurious Tokyo apartment. When did Masao Watanabe die? 85 years (1918-2003)Mutsuhiro Watanabe / Age at death. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. But he was famous, as was the fellow who beheaded the Australian coast watcher. His wife - he had married a Miami woman named Cynthia Applewhite in 1947 - urged him to go to listen to a young preacher named Billy Graham. The man who made so many lives so miserable sold life insurance after the war and became wealthy. Zamperini subsequently wrote to Watanabe offering his forgiveness but Watanabe never replied. As an officer and barracks commander Wade recalls that he was particularly vulnerable to being singled out for punishment by Watanabe if any of his men transgressed Japanese orders. No. The 94-year-old told MailOnline: 'Watanabe treated us with terrible brutality and most of the time with no respect at all. Mutsuhiro Watanabe died in 2003. He was portrayed by Miyavi, who also played Finn in Arcane. He is cruel and vicious Imperial Japanese . Watanabe served at POW camps in Omori, Naoetsu (present day Jetsu), Niigata, Mitsushima (present day Hiraoka) and at the Civilian POW Camp at Yamakita. A teacher walks into the Classroom and says If only Yesterday was Tomorrow Today would have been a Saturday Which Day did the Teacher make this Statement? The Imperial Japanese Army corporal was passionate about the field of insurance. . Stealing and sabotaging packages and rail cars. Sergeant Mutsushiro Watanabe (in Japanese: /Guns Watanabe Mutsuhiro) is the main antagonist of Angelina Jolie's film Unbroken. Just 4 percent of British and American POWs had died in German hands. The film has enraged Japanese nationalists who have denounced it as a 'fabrication' with 'no credibility' and called for Jolie to be banned from the country. } He hid out here for seven years. He said: If there is no verification of the things he said, then anyone can make such claims. This movie has no credibility and is immoral.. The Japanese surrendered in September 1945 and Zamperini was set free after being a POW for 2 years. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. The Bird in Unbroken, whose real name was Mutsuhiro Watanabe, was a corporal in charge of discipline at the POW camp where Louis Zamperini was interned. This CBS Sports documentary on Louis Zamperini features the rare Mutsuhiro Watanabe interview (aka "The Bird"). MacArthur never found him. 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. That's a Class B at best. He said: 'Age has mellowed my perspective, as has my Far Eastern experience. He was captured by the Japanese in World War II and subjected to years of brutal treatment. Failed to delete memorial. Why did they call Watanabe the bird? Also, he once gave a sixty-three-year-old POW, David James, a humiliating punishment. Zamperini had survived. Because of my own personal feelings, I treated the prisoners strictly as enemies of Japan. In the movie, which was released on Boxing Day, Officer Matsuhiro Watanabe relentlessly tortures the one-time Olympic hero Zamperini by making him hold a railway sleeper over his head for 37 minutes. He was a psychopath. Oops, we were unable to send the email. He said: 'I knew Zamperini very well. He was also portrayed by David Sakurai in the sequel. After his plane was downed over the Pacific, Zamperini and his fellow survivors sustained themselves by eating albatrosses. Then he swung it like a baseball bat against the left side of my head and then the right. However, Watanabe went into hiding and was never prosecuted. awards: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun Order of the Golden Kite 2nd Class Order of the Sacred Treasure. Wade said: 'He cracked a stunning first into my mouth. If he had tugs of conscience over what hed done, he shrugged them away by assuring himself that the lifting of the fugitive-apprehension order was a personal exoneration. After Japan's defeat, the US Occupation authorities classified Watanabe as a war criminal for his mistreatment of prisoners of war (POWs), but he managed to evade arrest and was never tried in court. He just went on and on the Japanese never know when to stop.'. 05:12 EST 31 Dec 2014 During the interview Watanabe was unrepentant for beating prisoners, but acknowledged that he was not following official orders but "personal . Watanabe's abuses are detailed in the 2010 best-selling book about Zamperini titled Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. In the end, he laid the blame on sinful, absurd, insane war. He saw himself as a victim. Zamperini was pummeled with clubs, belts, and fists, and on one occasion, was ordered to hold a heavy wooden beam over his head. The camp in Naoetsu was a harsh place. William "Bill" Harris fights for the United States in the Korean Conflict and disappears on December 7, 1950; it's assumed he died in a POW camp in Korea. Yes. When was Marina. 'As I rose he landed two more punches left and right on my head. Oops, something didn't work. Watanabe once forced a weak and starving Zamperini to hold a heavy piece of wood above his head for 37 minutes before punching him in the stomach, and the book also accuses the Japanese of engaging in cannibalism of POWs and indulging in murderous medical experiments. Because of my own personal feelings, I treated the prisoners strictly as enemies of Japan." Japanese conservatives have levelled charges of racism at the Angelina Jolie second world war biopic Unbroken and called for the Oscar-winning actor to be banned from the country, reports the Daily Telegraph.Nationalist campaigners say the films vision of Japanese guards severely mistreating American prisoners of war is deeply misleading. He was drinking heavily. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. camps, Zamperini's main problem was the physical abuse he was taking, including getting repeatedly punched in the face. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Mutsuhiro Watanabe I found on Findagrave.com. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Occupation of Japan was ending. Mutsuhiro Watanabe, known as the Bird to POWs, was a sadistic Japanese leader at two different POW camps, Omori and Naoetsu. Navy warship HMS Iron Duke docks in Portsmouth after six month patrol in South Atlantic. Yes, Unbroken is based on true events. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Miyavi, who plays Mutsuhiro Watanabe in Unbroken, at the films New York premiere. He hid out here for. How many bullet holes did Louie's plane receive. He added: 'We decided we had to have a name for him. The stunned Wade was ordered to Watanabe's room where the Japanese NCO reached for his 4ft kendo sword, made of tightly bound bamboo. } Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Zamperini wasn't the only one looking. Wade, who was brought up in China, admits that if he were younger he might be tempted to take Watanabe up on the offer of a free hit. Known to his family as "Mu-cchan" (4.23. . Quote by Louis Zamperini: One moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory.. He was nicknamed by the prisoners as the Bird. He treated all prisoners cruelly, by beating, kicking, and choking them. Once he made Zamperini hold a heavy wooden log over his head for over 37 minutes, at the end of which Watanabe punched him in the stomach. The real problem was his hatred for the Bird and former prison guards. Louis' faith taught him to forgive his enemies, so he decided to make an effort to forgive the Bird. Watanabe severely beat Zamperini during his time as a POW, and was reviled among the American captives. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. You know, I had been dead and I came back alive," he says. It didn't take long for the most viscous guard, Corporal Mutsuhiro Watanabe, who prisoners nicknamed "the Bird," or the "most sadistic man." The Bird said that he felt near sexual excitement. Then a 21-year-old intelligence officer with the Loyal Regiment (North Lancs), Wade, who was captured at the Fall of Singapore, first encountered Watanabe in September 1943 at Omori, on an island in Tokyo Bay. When did On Watanabe die? How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh It is said Watanabe made one officer sit in a shack, wearing only a fundoshi undergarment, for four days in winter, and that he tied a sixty-five-year-old prisoner to a tree for days. Continue Learning about General Arts & Entertainment. They'd barely gotten their feet wet, when an American plane appeared overhead blinking its red lights, sending a message in Morse code. 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. Prison guard Mutsuhiro Watanabe was so relentless in his torture of the POWs that it left Louis with nightmares and constant dread. I can understand how Watanabe was trying to be a good Japanese. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Hillenbrand cites Zamperini's status as an officer and . Mutsuhiro "the Bird" Watanabe (played by Japanese musician Miyavi), a young corporal, singled out Zamperini for excessive torment. As the summer of 1945 swung around, the prisoners knew it would be their last summer - and not necessarily because the Americans were winning the war. They apologized for their criminal behavior during the war. 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