Louis zamperini the bird watanabe

Japanese soldier (–)

SergeantMutsuhiro Watanabe (Japanese: 渡邊睦裕, 18 January – 1 April&#;), nicknamed "the Bird" by his prisoners, was a Japanese soldier who served in several prisoner-of-war camps during World War II. Infamous for his mistreatment of Allied prisoners of war, after the surrender of Japan in American occupational authorities classified Watanabe as a war criminal for his mistreatment and torture of POWs, but he managed to elude arrest and was never tried in court.

World War II

Watanabe served at POW camps in Omori, Naoetsu (present-day Jōetsu), Niigata, Mitsushima (present-day Hiraoka) and at a civilian POW Camp in Yamakita.

Louis zamperini In September he was transferred to Omori, a man-made sand-spit between Yokohama and Tokyo. The Bird interview starts at the mark. Yes, and like in the Unbroken movie, the true story confirms that this infuriated guard Mutsuhiro Watanabe aka "The Bird" , who gave Louie daily beatings. The guards mocked Louie and his own frailty scared him.

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. One of his prisoners was American track star and Olympian Louis Zamperini. Zamperini reported that Watanabe beat his prisoners often, causing them serious injuries.

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 year-old prisoner to a tree for days. According to Laura Hillenbrand's book, Watanabe had studied French, in which he was fluent, and had an interest in the French school of nihilist philosophy.

Louis zamperini the bird watanabe At first, Watanabe mocked Louis and laughed, but as time ticked by, he realized that his punishment had turned into a moment of defiance for Louis. Zamperini reported that Watanabe beat his prisoners often, causing them serious injuries. Yes, and like in the Unbroken movie, Louie was trounced in his race against a Japanese runner who had been brought in to the camp. The camp accountant, Yuicho Hatto, stated that Watanabe was a sexual sadist who freely admitted that beating prisoners satisfied his sexual desires.

Later life and death

In , General Douglas MacArthur included Watanabe as number 23 on his list of the 40 most wanted war criminals in Japan.^[1]

However, Watanabe went into hiding and was never prosecuted. In , all charges were quietly dismissed.^[1] In , the Japanese literary magazine Bungeishunjū published an interview with Watanabe, titled "I do not want to be judged by America." He later became an insurance salesman.

Prior to the Winter Olympics in Nagano, the CBS News program 60 Minutes interviewed Watanabe at the Hotel Okura Tokyo as part of a feature on Louis Zamperini who, four days before his 81st birthday, was returning to carry the Olympic Flame torch through Naoetsuen route to Nagano, not far from the POW camp where he had been held.

In the interview, Watanabe acknowledged beating and kicking prisoners, but was unrepentant, saying, "I treated the prisoners strictly as enemies of Japan." Zamperini attempted to meet with his chief and most brutal tormentor, but Watanabe, who had evaded prosecution, refused to see him.

Watanabe died on April 1, , at 85 years old.^[2]

Legacy

Accounts of Watanabe's abusive behavior are given in Laura Hillenbrand's book about Zamperini titled Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption ().^[3] Watanabe also appears in Alfred A.

Weinstein's memoir, Barbed Wire Surgeon, published in

In , Japanese musician Miyavi played Watanabe in Angelina Jolie's Unbroken, the film adaptation of Hillenbrand's book.^[4]David Sakurai portrays Watanabe in Harold Cronk's Unbroken: Path to Redemption, a "spiritual successor" to Jolie's film, released in

References