tered fleet then returned home to rest and re-
arm. Japanese military fortunes were now at
their zenith.
In June 1942, the Japanese High Command
opted to expand its defensive perimeters by
attacking Midway Island. It was widely antici-
pated that by luring the remaining American
carriers out in the open they could be easily
destroyed by superior Japanese forces.
Fuchida, who had complained about the
onset of “victory disease” (complacency)
among senior naval leaders, was himself smit-
ten by appendicitis and grounded during
these operations. From the decks of Akagi,he
witnessed American dive bombers screaming
down from above, sinking all four Japanese
carriers. Fuchida was severely wounded in
the attack, and he sailed home again to recu-
perate. Midway had been a disaster for Japan,
for the cream of its naval aviation—in the
span of only five minutes—had been annihi-
lated. The tide of the war began turning.
Once back on his feet, Fuchida fulfilled a
number of staff positions at Yokosuka and be-
came actively involved in planning future op-
erations. The fortunes of war were swinging
irrevocably against Japan, however, and he ag-
onized over the dwindling resources available
to the Japanese navy. After extended tours of
the Marianas and Philippines, Fuchida was or-
dered home to help prepare a last-ditch de-
fense of the homeland. Ironically, he was in Hi-
roshima one day before Col. Paul Tibbetts
dropped the first atomic bomb on August 6,
- A second atomic bomb over Nagasaki
three days later finally convinced the Japanese
government to surrender. On September 2,
1945, Fuchida attended capitulation cere-
monies aboard the battleship USS Missouri.
Moreover, of 70 aviation officers present at the
Pearl Harbor raid, he was the only survivor.
After the war, Fuchida embarked on a rather
unusual personal crusade for a former warrior.
He settled at Nara as a rice farmer and con-
verted to Christianity. Fuchida took great inspi-
ration from his newfound faith and became a
nondenominational preacher, lecturing to Japa-
nese and Americans alike. In 1959, Fuchida vis-
ited America on a speaking tour and befriended
Billy Graham, the famous evangelical. The two
became fast friends, and he published an ac-
count of his religious experiences. “Christianity
has opened my eyes,” he confessed, “and I hope
through Christ to help young people of Japan
learn a great love of America.” By 1966,
Fuchida’s religious impulses moved him to relo-
cate to the United States, where he became a
citizen, along with his two children. This daring
aviator died while visiting Kashiwara, near
Osaka, Japan, on May 30, 1976.Bibliography
Clausen, Henry C., and Bruce Lee. Pearl Harbor: Final
Judgement.New York: Crown, 1992; Fuchida, Mitsuo.
From Pearl Harbor to Calvary.Denver: Sky Pilots
Press, 1959; Fuchida, Mitsuo, and Masatake Okumiya.
Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan.Annapolis,
MD: Naval Institute Press, 1955; Goldstein, Donald,
and Katherine Dillon, eds. The Pearl Harbor Papers:
Inside Japanese Plans.Washington, DC: Brassey’s,
1993; Hembree, Charles R. From Pearl Harbor to the
Pulpit.Akron, OH: Rex Humbard World Wide Min-
istry, 1975; Prange, Gordon W. At Dawn We Slept: The
Untold Story of Pearl Harbor.New York: McGraw-
Hill, 1981; Prange, Gordon W. God’s Samurai: Lead
Pilot at Pearl Harbor.Washington, DC: Brassey’s,
1990; Prange, Gordon W. Miracle at Midway.New
York: Putnam, 1982; Raymer, Edward C. Descent into
Darkness: Pearl Harbor, 1941.Novato, CA: Presidio,
1996; Smith, Carl. Pearl Harbor: The Day of Infamy.
Oxford: Osprey Military, 1999.FUCHIDA, MITSUO