Monday, October 19, 2009

Ten Things You Might Not Know About World War II-- Part 5

Continued from Oct. 10th.


9. MITSUO FUCHIDA-- Japanese pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor and sent the signal "Tota! Tora! Tora!" that indicated complete surprise had been achieved. Six months later, at the Battle of Midway, he had an emergency appendectomy aboard the carrier Akagi and was on board when American planes attacked. An explosion gave him two broken legs. The Akagi was so badly damaged it later had to be sunk.

Near the end of the war, he visited Hiroshima, but left the day before the atom bomb was dropped.

After the war, he raised chickens and supplied eggs to US forces. I wonder if they knew who he was?


10. An American/Canadian force attacked the island of Kiska in 1943. A heavy fog caused confusion in the fighting and 28 Allied troops were killed and another 50 wounded. Then it was found that the Japanese had left weeks earlier and the casualties were from booby traps and friendly fire.

Now, These Are Some Interesting Stories, Most of Which I Didn't Know. --Cooter

No comments: