WW2 Japanese Pilot vs 182 Hawaiian Islanders
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
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Rather than acting as kamikazes at Pearl Harbour in 1941, Japanese pilots were ordered to return to their carriers after unleashing their devastating attack. But how did that return journey play out? What would you have done if the oil tank of your plane got shot and you were losing altitude fast? So fast, in fact, that you can see the licking flames at the front of your vehicle, and you are fully aware that this greasy metal container is the only thing keeping you from plummeting thousands of feet to your doom?
Well, that was the predicament facing the young pilot, Shigenori Nishikaichi. Who decided to steer himself towards one of the nearby Hawaiian islands he was told was uninhabited, and attempt to reconvene with one of his submarine friendlies. Good thing there was nobody on the island, and that his allies quickly reached him and welcomed him aboard, right?
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Show Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Credit:
Script Writer: Natasha Martell
Narrator: Chris Kane
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Bibliography
Beekman, Allan. The Niihau incident: the true story of the Japanese fighter pilot who, after the Pearl Harbor attack, crash-landed on the Hawaiian Island of Niihau and terrorized the residents. Honolulu: Heritage Press of Pacific, 1982.
Jones, Syd. Before and Beyond the Niihau Zero: The Unlikely Drama of Hawaii's Forbidden Island Prior to, During, and After the Pearl Harbour Attack. Merritt Island: Signum Ops, 2014.
Lord, Walter. Day of Infamy: The Bombing of Pearl Harbor. New York: Open Road Media, 2012.
My Great Grandmother was sitting on top of her family’s roof and witnessed the entirety of Pearl Harbor. She distinctly remembered seeing the red “rice bowls” on the wings of each plane as they flew by. The fighters and bombers strafed all around her house, purposefully trying to kill anything or anyone who was trying to flee for cover. It’s amazing that she along with her parents and brother survived. She’d go on to build battleships in the dry docks of Pearl Harbor during WW2 while pregnant with my grandmother. Truly a strong and determined woman who lived to be 94. Miss her dearly ❤️
What was her name?
Matthew she's a hero who helped bring the battleships of personal harbor back to life,I salute you and your family
I think you meant repair and not build. There was no ship factories in Hawaii only repair yards.
@@Donkeyearsa she was one of the many female riveters in the dry docks of Pearl Harbor. Whether it was repairing or building, doesn’t matter. I just thought it was a cool story to share
@@AdmiralDevil thank for you saying that about my Great Grandmother. We had a very deep connection, and I always looked up to her as a true hero. So many other women like her helped turn the tides of the war, and we have to honor everyone who made those sacrifices
Ben and Ella are heroes! Thank you simple history for showing me their tale
Ella deserves a purple heart too.
@@boardcertifiable not a purple heart as she wasn't injured, but the other metal yes.
@@jjham6780 medal*
Lol what? They are not heroes anyways.
Ben and Ella are cringe hahahahha 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
Sadly, this incident was one of the events that fueled the creation of the internment camps. The fact that the Haradas had American citizenship and very quickly joined the Japanese "patriotic cause" made just about every American citizen to get paranoid that any Japanese American citizens would up and attack any one
Seems justified. They didn't think of themselves as real Americans, so neither should we.
Paranoid means you have no evidence of it being a credible threat. This was proof that it was something that could and DID happen.
While i think the internment camps were a terrible idea, i do not think that the fear was unwarranted, I just feel a better solution was in order.
For instance, counter indoctrination would have been far more peaceful, however that won't address the fears of normal citizens, the camps just as much protected them from us as us from them, sadly fear is a powerful enemy, and they were NOT treated properly. What else we could have done eludes me. But i don't feel we would have lost the war had we not made those camps, what i do fear is that many more horrible abuses would have transpired had we NOT. Humanity has so much evil in them, all we can do is look back at ourselves and ask "What could i have done" We have a long way to go.
One man’s foolish choice led to the consequences of many…such is humanity in war
@@juvantelynch7509 You're abhorrent.
Guess you don't know about the 100th Battalion and 442nd Regiment comprised of Americans who fought for their country even after America abandoned them, and they became one of the most highly decorated units in military history. Oh, and they were of Japanese descent.
@@juvantelynch7509 not really. one family doing that doesn't tarnish the whole lot of them. so no
Also the 442nd RCT has something to say to you too
My grandfather was at Pearl Harbor with the 27th Infantry Reg. He told me that they were relaxing in barracks when the guy in the bunk next to him said, "Hey, there's a bunch of Japanese flying around" to which my grandfather responded, "There isn't a single Japanese within a thousand miles of here", then the Arizona blew up.
True bruh moment
goofy aah grandpa. godbless his soul
@@masshysteria9657 best response I've seen in a long time
Go to school, little kid
then what happen
I was the tour guide who introduced this event to Simple History. I work at Pearl Harbor and it was an honor to show you around 🤙🏻
I'm actually the reenactor at the aviation museum on Ford Island who tells this story in full Japanese flight gear about Nishikaichi. He actually took ground anti air fire from Kaneohe Naval Air Station (now Kanaohe Marine Corps Base). At our museum we have the remains of Nishikaichi's A6M2 zero from that day as well as 1 of 6 air worthy Zeros in the world painted in Nishikaichi's aircraft colors on Dec 7, 1941. (Fun fact, you can google my name along side "Pacific Aviation Museum" and "Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum" for images of myself in my flight suit and standing next to our Zero)
Cool man! I bet you have heard many a stories from surviving WW2 veterans.
@Jon Hall yeah, many, including a lot of Pearl Harbor surviors and WWII pacific theater veterans
Wow sick photos bro. The one of you next to the plane saluting looks like it could genuinely be an enhanced image from WW2.
There was another Japanese man, Ishimatsu Shintani, who was the first to speak to the pilot before Hamada was brought over. Shintani tried to bribe Kaleohano for the pilot's papers.
The fact that the three Japanese residents on the island immediately joined the pilot is one factor that convinced the US government to Inter US Citizens of Japanese descent. They saw how quickly those three changed allegiance, and just guessed that others of Japanese descent would do the same. The Hamadas and Shintani did a huge disservice to Japanese Americans.
(I mean, aside from being traitors, though Shintani was not a US citizen at the time. After the war he was released from internment and became a US Citizen).
True internment was understandable
The American government long wanted to lock up the Japanese population who lived on the west coast. This was just one of many reasons to do so. Not the only one
Keep in mind, any World War 2 veteran still alive today is at least 94 years old.
i refuse to keep this in mind
At least?!
Some were underage boys when they enlisted.
@@chuchillspanzer3911 you better keep that in mind or else?
@@chuchillspanzer3911 find this man!
Imagine hearing that Japan has declared war on your country, but a crashed pilot convinces you of your "national pride" in one day to betray your friends and neighbors, spend the next days holding people hostage, ransacking buildings & setting them on fire, only to lose in a fight with a 50 year old man & then shoot yourself out of shame
Japanese moment
Japanese military being the best at fighting civilians
Nationalism is dumb. It's literally just "Our people on our rock are better because... because!"
@@angelo08280 Second only to the soviets.
As mentioned in the video, news came slowly to Ni’ihau, and Nishikaichi crash-landed on the island before the boat that would deliver news and supplies arrived, so in the meantime, Nishikaichi was the only one on the island who was aware of the attack, and who knows how much angling he did to convince the Haradas to join him.
This incident is the reason for Japanese American internment during ww2 and really scared the US into thinking there could be repeats which ironically led to one of the most decorated units of the war the 442nd Battalions.
Proud of IJA in Nanjing in 1939 🇲🇰
@@zhongguo108 built toilet first
@@hendrygmail4161 already there since 1947 ---->🚽💩🇵🇰
@@hendrygmail4161 🇨🇳 is a toilet
@@zhongguo108 wtf
You're telling me that dude in his 50's took point-blank shots to the head, groin, chest, AND LIVED?!
Not his head, his hip :3
8mm Japanese pistol bullets equal to a 32 cal
Not that powerful
Plus didn’t hit critical areas
This isn't weird. Its not a Hollywood movie where you immediately die from any gun shot.
Pilots of this era typically had bulky equipment to wear, hence many carrying underpowered firearms that were small enough to carry.
Also if you go onto the CCW/self defense side of TH-cam you'll be surprised what adrenaline can do. i've seen a coked up man take 30+ 9mm rounds and still be able to charge the officer.
That was a weak pistol if it was a bolt action Arisaka the story wud be different
Amazing
I’m from Hawaii, we have a large Japanese-American population that lives here. So large in fact that when America interned the Japanese-Americans nationwide, Hawaii was the only place in the country that didn’t intern them, as it would crash the economy. The ironic thing about this is that it was a few Japanese-Americans in Hawaii who hid downed Japanese pilots that inspired America’s decision for internment, even though Hawaii itself remained mostly unaffected by this event.
And a lot of those Japanese-Americans demonstrated their loyalty to America by blood, through the 442nd RCT, 100th Battalion. Many of those were from Hawaii, and many were casualties.
While the heroics of the 442nd were mainly in Europe, they also served in the Pacific as intelligence officers and translators, as having someone who knows the language of the opponent is a good idea if you want to know what they're saying. Although my grandfather was not Japanese (he was Korean, then a Japanese colony), he served alongside them in that capacity.
After the attack, Martial law was declared and a strict curfew was set in place for all civilians. All people of Japanese descent had to be in their homes by 8 pm. Internment camps were not set up as the whole of Hawaii was essentially turned into an internment camp.
Also Hawaii was ultimately where espionage took place and American security was jeopardized!!!
@@classifiedad1wow
The territory of Hawaii was put under martial law anyway, so it was effectively one big internment camp anyway.
He could have just chilled with the islanders
I’d love it if you guys made a short video about the USS Nevada getting underway at Pearl Harbor during the attack. That’s such a cool little part of this event
It’s surprising how little attention the Nevada’s run gets. A very cool moment!
Can we all take a moment to appreciate how much these animations have come over the years?
This is like 1940s among us
No we can't!😤
There are two mistakes here:
1: at the 1:26 and the 1:50 mark, the US in 1941 did not have the star and bars national insignia until 1943-1944. Instead, they would’ve used the so-called meatball insignia with a white star on a blue background and a red dot in the middle of the star.
2: at the 1:50 mark, there were no Republic P-47s at Pearl Harbor let alone existed in 1941 at all. Instead, the main fighter aircraft that the USAAC had at Pearl Harbor were the Curtiss P-36 Hawk and the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.
This would make an amazing short film tbh
This is such an abnormal story concerning the likes of Pearl Harbor that it’d likely take almost all Americans by surprise
Theres a short film loosely based on this incident, called Enemy Within
You just watched it dummy.
Definitely agree. I had no idea about this story, I'm amazed it's not even mentioned in American school systems. I wonder if they at the very least cover it at schools in Hawaii.
Our military bases here on Oahu were attacked as well, not just Pearl Harbor. But Pearl overshadows all of these events that almost no one talks about them.
@@thatperformer3879 I don't think, at least me, when I hear Pearl harbor I don't think of just Ford island and battleship row. It's thought of as all together. Everyone knows that the whole place was attacked.
Wow. As a huge ww2 buff, I have usually already heard most of these stories, but not this one. What a wild series of events
Now when ppl ask why Americans of Japanese descent were interned, you can say this was why.
Learned this while visiting the Oahu island last summer! Such bravery displayed by the locals!
I love stories of civilians fighting back against those monsters
Dang I've lived in Hawaii my whole life and this is the 1st time I've heard of this,
Well done simple history
Absolutely deserved those honours, especially the purple heart ofc. But I feel his wife also deserved an official recognition.
She is the Chewbacca of WWII
I think it's because either they didn't believe a woman could preform such actions or maybe time period stuff. Not sure. But I concur she deserved a medal too. Or at least some form of recognition.
I agree
The small stories behind history's larger frame of events. Every day in life is so full of them, yet we will never learn about all of them.
True, like my father(rest in peace) who fought alongside the Americans, but had to flee and find refuge in America. I would never know what he had to do or endure. But he will always have my utmost respect and admiration.
As a Japanese officer once said,
"Behind every blade of grass, is an American with a rifle."
For every 1 traitor an invading force finds, there are 100 more patriots ready to snuff them out!
God bless those heroes.
they werent traitors. Japan was their country not America. Who would feel patriotism for a mixed country like America that has no real identity?
This incident also prompted calls for Japanese internment camps on the mainland. Japanese in Hawaii were spared from internment camps, but strict martial law was established.
Finally! The event that I was waiting for your channel to do. I’ve read about this event on Wikipedia years ago and most people don’t know about it.
Amazing how Ben was shot 3 times and still was able to throw the pilot
A irl giga chad
8mm nambu is a low power 32 ACP so I can see how he throw the pilot
It was in that moment that Shigenori Nishikaichi realized "Japanese superiority" was a myth.
Polynesian Power
People can still run far away after eating a few small cal leads, seen it on cctv footages.
Seems like this was the first skirmish won for Hawaii and the US! Bravo to the Hawaiian 🌺 people.
This needs to be a movie!!
I saw the little that remains of the Zero at the museum on Ford Island. It's a piece of history that most do not know about.
“I was saving the planet from an Axis of Darkness, while you were back home opening National Parks! Yes!” Winston Churchill
English are worse than Germans
😂 Nice reference
And torpedoing civilian Norwegian ships in order to drag them into the war, and starving 3 million Indians because "they should stop breeding like rabbits".
@Chase Williams He prevented aid from reaching them. Also, it is rumored that millions died in India under their rule.
And please don't forget the even more native Americans they killed.
Totally the good guys.
@XQC.. This person has posted the same stupid spam reply on almost every comment here. Obviously a bot. How does TH-cam not have the capability to detect an account that’s clearly posting the same spam hundreds or thousands of times simultaneously? Never mind the fact that myself and I’m sure plenty of others have reported the account as spam.
Google is so keen on censoring and banning anyone that dares comment against their BS political agenda but can’t even get a handle on basic spam/bot accounts like this?
I've seen my fair share of "Auntehs" like Ella an "Unkos" like Ben in Hawaii. Absolutely built different and non-hesitant to help out strangers. Crazy to see how some dumb individuals don't listen to an "Unko" to "cut that s#!+ out" when the individuals were harassing tourists and trying to take their belongings in Waikiki. Long story short. Those individuals caught the thunder palm super size combo and got free flyer miles onto the pavement from the Unko. Also, you never want to mess with an "Aunteh" usually they're the only daughter with 4 brothers and learned how to stand her own against them growing up so best believe she got that Wonder Woman strength behind those backhands🤌 Those Unkos and Auntehs are essential to the community to keep everyone in check. 😂
That's how
Living my whole life in Hawaii and being quite familiar with pigeon, I'm always surprised to see those pronunciations put into text. Also saying "free flyer miles" is fantastic and I will now adopt it.
It was a travesty that the islander's wife received no award for bludgeoning Shigenori Nishikaichi, because in the game of rock, knife, paper--- rock beats knife.
I really find imperial Japanese war stories very interesting
They are also very scary because it reminds you that the Imperial Japanese army had some crazy folks
@@quinnholloway5400 doesn’t everyone have a crazy and disturbing story at one point or another?
@@AuroraWolf655 yep but Imperial Japan was pretty fucked up is what I'm saying
@@AuroraWolf655 Most of Imperial Japan's stories are crazy and evil. They sometimes outdid the Nazis in brutality.
@@obligatoryusername7239 yeah the imperial Japanese were worse than the Nazis. I sometimes wonder if they were worse than the Soviets (who were also horrible but don’t get labeled as such because they were on our side).
The only time the Hawaiian Islands were invaded by the Japanese during World War Two.😮
A wise man in WW1 once told me "History only remembers 1 in a 1000 of us our stories and who we are and those who aren't remembered are forgotten with their stories lost"
>man is in 50s
>gets shot 3 times
>knocks pistol out of enemy's hand, grabs him by the neck and leg and throws him into a wall
>slits his throat
(All while quite possibly heavily bleeding and in a lot of pain)
Man deserved that award
A real action man 💪
Wow THIS IS SO INCREDIBLE I DID NOT KNOW THIS
4:09 - "Soon Nishikaichi had planted the seeds of Japanese patriotism deep into their minds"
Given the image, I'm sure that he had planted some other seeds, too.
You should do a story about Saburo Sakai please, also keep up the work it’s becoming excellent simple history!
Yes
Someone lets you stay in the community in rather good accommodations and so you turn on them seems like he was in a great state of mind.
Love this channel
btw, it was 2 Curtiss P-40s that defended the harbor, not P-47s
What was Harata's legal status -- was he born in the United States to Japanese parents, a naturalized citizen, a recent immigrant, something else?
Because of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution he was a US citizen. Everyone born in US soil is a citizen no matter their ethnicity
If he was a Japanese citizen, then his actions can be seen as those of a patriot supporting his Emperor. If he were an American citizen, then he committed treason (and probably sedition). Hence my question. It was unclear from the video _where_ Harata had been born.
A read a few years ago that the "Battle of Niihau" was one of the factors that contributed to the feeling that Japanese Americans would not be loyal to the US in case of an invasion. This, in turn, led to the internment of Japanese Americans during the war.
It's understandable not without cause
Love simple history!
I'm surprised you didn't mention this incident helped influence law makers into supporting the Japanese internment camp program.
been waiting a long time for you to cover this event
People don't believe me about this when I tell them, thanks for making this
Wow, what a great story. Thanks for sharing this one! This is exactly the kind of content that I love - very unknown stories that still significantly impacted lives even if but a few. What a wild story!
I’m from Kauai, and this story is widely known among the Kanahele Ohana 🤙🏾🤙🏾
Ben and Ella went postal on that one jap
Whoa it’s an interesting thought to think the Japanese pilot was at my current age when this happened to him
I love these lesser known stories in big time events thank you!
0:55 Is that Hiroo Onoda on the right?
I also think it would’ve been nice if the occasional bird cry of a Kaua’i ō’ō was part of the ambience.
I read about this incident when I was in Hawaii! It’s very interesting!
This is fascinating. Thanks for making a video on it 😎
Thank you simple history, keep up the videos
Ironically not in Japanese but Mandarin Nihao means Hi or Hello. Just thought that the context of this with that name made it hilarious on some level.
Hey! You should make a video about Roza Shanina, a Soviet sniper during WW2. Her story is incredible and I’d love to see it as one of your videos
Harada was a coward that's for sure
Why did the title and thumbnail make me LOL so hard?
Never heard about this but dam glad I have now great work as always
Salute to all the brave warriors❤️
Wow! I never heard of this incident
I’m from Hawai’i and my social studies teacher told us about this story 😅
The Japanese are on a whole new level of freakiness, Japan is one of the most unique countries in the world
And Japan has successfully taken over the world now due to anime
@@pabcu2507 anime? Bro really? 😔
@@jibril2473 sucks that it’s true right?
@@pabcu2507 whatever you say pal.
@@jibril2473 meh, don’t care kiddo
“You should be ashamed of your military honor! Everybody knows you’re back at home like “Thank God for Pearl Harbor!” Don’t worry the US will give you the pass, just change your poster to, “Keep calm and kiss my cousin’s a**!”” Theodore Roosevelt
What a crazy tale, much appreciated 👍
I had only read about this incident in a brief summary. I never knew the details.
Great video
0:45 that battlefront 1 zoom
Damn that Ben guy was a pretty hardcore man it takes some serious grit to just slit a dudes neck even if he did shoot you.
Fun fact: the pistol that the Japanese pilot is holding in a Nambu type 14
A random fact: The 2 Blue Strips on his plane incdicates that he is from the IJN Hiryū
I wonder why US has a warship called USS Iwo Jima while the Japanese do not have warship called JSS Pearl Harbour.
Honestly Ella should be included with metals as well but at least people like us acknowledge what they done.
That Hawaiian man is a hero.
Hey, You could make a video of the Juminda mine battle. It was probably the bloodiest sea battle of the Second World War that took place near Tallinn in Estonia.
historical anecdotes like these would make great small missions in FPS games
They later got a kid, they named. THE ROCK! :D
Video Idea: I would be pleased to see a video on Philippine army air corps pilot captain Jesus Villlamore. If you do It’s a big thanks from me.
And because of those actions 100,000 Nisei Japanese (American citizens) were placed in concentration camps.
The zero wreckage is at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum
This was the first I have heard of this story.
Incrível essa história! Eu nunca tinha ouvido 🌟
Ezra Miller using his connection to the speed force to travel back in time and finally end up in Hawaii
The bengal ghouls(fbi) and the North Carolina kkk chapter got him 😔
THE (Day) I BEEN WAITED FOR....
I'd like to see a video about the Japanese attack on Darwin, Australia (basically the Australian Pearl Harbour)
Wow, even if you have a gun bullets will run out.
On the other hand, Nobuo Fujita currently holds the only record on attacking the mainland U.S. after his aircraft bombed Oregion in 1942.
Crazy- my ukulele is from that island. It’s now a native only island.
Cool story
When will there be a video about the Tuskegee Airmen?
This needs to be a movie
Sadly will probably never happen, this story basically supports the internment of Japanese Americans, something we were taught in school as being unjustifiable.
They did make a movie, it's called Enemy within
There are two smaller islands close to Ni'ihau Oiamoi Point and Lehua Island. 2:15.
History hurts, but it NEEDS to be remembered for generations to learn from the mistakes of man. No more wars, and no more genocide, for evil has no place amongst our more civilized cultures.
Just take the L dude. Because you don't understand that war and brutality is needed.
How am I barely finding out about this. I'm American, have visited Hawaii & have even read a book about Pearl Harbor & I'm just barely finding out about this..
America is a big place with a wealth of history its easy to miss some but always a treat to find a new nuget
@@vysekrugger9186 agreed
Bro actually lost to a 50 year old civilian even with a pistol
Wow, this entire story deserves its own film.
One was made but not released. It starred an actor from the Black Sails show on Starz. An Island actor wasn’t the lead which may have complicated release. Another irony in the story.
They did make a movie, it's called Enemy within
"Secret agent?"
“The attack was unprecedented “💀💀