Скачать или смотреть 9 Pilots Shot Down — 8 Were Eaten By Japanese Officers

September 2, 1944. Nine American pilots shot down over Chichi Jima. A tiny volcanic island 600 miles south of Tokyo.

George H.W. Bush, age 20, was one of them.

His TBM Avenger caught fire. Both crewmen died. Bush bailed out, hit the ocean, floated for 4 hours bleeding from head wound, vomiting seawater, watching Japanese boats approach.

Then USS Finback submarine surfaced and rescued him.

For 60 years, Bush thought he was just lucky.

He was wrong.

Eight other American pilots were shot down that day. They crashed closer to shore. Japanese boats reached them first. All eight captured alive.

What happened next was classified by US government for 60 years:

Lieutenant General Yoshio Tachibana ordered all 8 executed by beheading. Then Japanese officers including Tachibana and Vice Admiral Mori Kunizo cannibalized 4 of the bodies.

Not survival cannibalism. The garrison had food. This was ritual. Officers ate American pilots' livers at formal dinners with sake.

Lloyd Woellhof. Grady York. Jimmy Dye. Glenn Frazier Jr. Marve Mershon. Floyd Hall. Warren Vaughn. Warren Hindenlang.

All eight executed and eaten.

Bush survived because he floated 200 yards further from shore. That's it. 200 yards. Current carried him east. American fighters strafed Japanese boats. Submarine surfaced.

Random chance. Chaos of war. Nothing he did or didn't do.

1946: War crimes trials. Tachibana and Matoba sentenced to death. Records classified to "prevent unnecessary anguish" for families and preserve relations with post-war Japan.

2003: Author James Bradley (Flags of Our Fathers) contacts 79-year-old former President Bush. Tells him the truth. Bush's response: "Why me? Why am I blessed? Why am I still alive?"

No answer. Just the question every combat survivor carries.

⏱️ CHAPTERS:
Bush Thought He Was Lucky
September 2, 1944: Shot Down Over Chichi Jima
4 Hours in the Ocean
The 8 Who Weren't Rescued
Executed and Cannibalized
Classified For 60 Years
2003: Bush Finally Learns the Truth

Why did Bush survive while 8 others were eaten? Two hundred yards of open water.

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💬 Bush lived 74 more years. They didn't. Fair?

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