Letter reveals thoughts of man who led rescue mission

The man who led the mission to rescue Japanese naval personnel marooned in Anatahan after World War II expressed gratitude to the men who helped in the rescue effort, the museum for re-discovering an important part of the history of the CNMI, and expressed admiration at the patriotism of the Japanese.

In a letter read by CNMI Museum of History and Culture curator Barbara Moir during Thursday’s opening of the exhibit “Castaways on Anatahan: the Last Surrender. 1944 to 1951,” retired U.S. Navy commander James B. Johnson described how the men he helped rescue had such an undying love of their home country.

He wrote that the 30 men and women stranded on the northern island had so much pride in the Japanese military that when they heard explosions on Saipan, which were actually bomb dumps being exploded and detonated by the Americans, they thought that the war was still going on.

“They are so proud of their government. They refused to believe, they could not believe that Japan had lost the war, that Japan had surrendered,” wrote Johnson in his letter.

He said the Japanese men stayed on Anatahan for six long years after the war was over and whenever they heard planes flying overhead they thought they were American planes on their way to Guam.

Johnson also wrote that when the Japanese stragglers heard explosions, they always thought that it was the gun batteries of the Japanese garrison on Saipan and that their troops were still fighting the Americans.

Although most of the men on Anatahan were former commercial fishermen in their civilian lives, each single one of them considered surrender a terrible stain in their honor. Some of them also revealed to Johnson that they were also afraid of being mistreated once they were captured.

Johnson said the last surrender was finally brought about because of letters from home. He wrote that one particular letter from a wife of one of the Japanese naval men won the sympathy of millions of people during that time, and was, in fact, carried by several newspapers, magazines, books, and was even made into a movie.

An excerpt of the woman’s letter read:

“…I thought it was a dream when I saw your name, my happiness brought tears to my eyes, something has brought new life to me, hours had passed and still tears had come from eyes. In Aug. 1945 the war was over but our country is recovering now. I am praying that you come home as soon as possible. I’m with you in spirit, but what I want is to see you and talk to you in person. I pray everyday for you to come home. For the sake of myself and our children.”

Moir said that Johnson’s letter is available at the exhibit in its entirety. She also said the letter is so moving that it brought tears to her eyes after reading it.

Johnson, who is 91 years old and living in Florida, also apologized for not being able to attend Thursday’s opening of the exhibit.

He thanked the museum, in particular board members Scott Russell and now Rep. Joe Guerrero, for arranging the acquisition of the documents and artifacts of the Anatahan rescue.

“For those of you who participated in the actual operations in 1950 and 1951 either back at sea or at sea or back on Saipan, I’m sorry that I’m not there today to shake your hands to express my gratitude for the work that you did,” he wrote.

The exhibit represents a vivid part of his memory, but it is just a small part of the history of the Northern Marianas, he wrote. The CNMI’s history, which is rich beyond proportion for such a small group of island, contains many stories of greater consequence but few of those stories have evoked a wider interest, or unfortunately, a wider notoriety or scandal, Johnson said in his letter.