The passing of a true hero

Just last month, I had the distinct honor of chairing the 60th Anniversary of World War II Events on Tinian. During that historic event, I met some incredible men from both sides of the epic and bloody war. One veteran who made a strong and everlasting impression on me was a USS Indianapolis survivor by the name of Woody James. This man was an impressive man not only in stature, being 6’5″, but in heart and soul. While on Tinian for the 10 days he was here, he told me countless stories of the ugliness of war and his specific tragedy of being a survivor of the USS Indianapolis (His ship was sunk by a Japanese submarine after delivering the atomic bomb components to Tinian; 1,197 men died, with only 317 survivors).

One specific story that will remain with me forever was when he described being rescued in the water after seeing his friends being eaten by sharks and drowning after four days in the water (Of the 900 crew members that survived the ships sinking, 583 were either eaten by sharks or drowned). He told me that after being in the salt water for so long, it softened the skin to jelly. Not realizing this, the rescuers, while trying to lift the almost lifeless survivors out of the water, pulled each survivor up into the rescue boats by the survivors’ arms. Woody described with horror and tears in his eyes the gruesome sight of skin coming right off the bone as the rescuers lifted the survivors into the boats. Some would be lifted out of the water, only to fall right back into the water because they had literally fallen out of their skin. It was a ghastly description that epitomizes the horrors of war.

With this story, one would expect bitterness and hatred toward his enemy for causing so much grief, suffering and extreme pain and loss. However, this was not the case with this 6’5” giant. As tall and impressive as he was, so was the stature of his soul. Woody was the first and most eager to acknowledge the presence of the Japanese veterans involved in the 60th Anniversary and his excitement on meeting them could only be described as akin to a kid on Christmas Eve. Woody met with every Japanese veteran present at the 60th Anniversary events and each meeting was surrounded with love and forgiveness. Of course, there were exchanges of ugly war stories and injuries, which at times seemed like a friendly competition on whose was worse, but most of the time the subject matter that the two former enemies would talk about were exchanges of photos of children and grandchildren and stories about each other’s family.

In Woody’s own words: “Phil, I can never forget what happened to me and my fellow Americans in the war, but I can forgive and I choose love, instead of hate.” This was emphasized at every meeting when, like a big bear, Woody would grab an unsuspecting Japanese veteran about half his size and hug him and tell him “I love you” and “Peace be with you.” Those moments will forever be etched in my heart and I can only hope to become a fourth of the man that Woody James was.

Woody passed away last week at the age of 82. He will be sorely missed by his family and by the people whom he allowed to touch his soul. I will never forget him.

Phillip Mendiola-Long
Tinian