Japanese General Masaharu Homma

Picture that my dad apparently took of Japanese General Masaharu Homma. The back of the picture says: “Jap General Homma and aides taken Naha Air Field.” Another similar photo continues with: “...on way to Manila to be tried for war crimes.”

According to Wikipedia, Gen. Homma was military commander of the Philippines. During the Japanese occupation, the Bataan Death March occurred and civilians were brutalized. The Japanese military, however, thought he was too cautious and too lenient with Philippine civilians and forced him into retirement in August 1943.

After the war ended, he was captured and transferred to Manila to stand trial for war crimes. He was convicted and executed on April 3, 1946.

This photo was apparently taken during a layover in Okinawa on the way to Manila. Since he was retired, that would explain why he is not wearing a military uniform.

Also according to Wikipedia, there is a film adaption in the works about the general called Beast of Bataan. Actor Hayden Christensen is attached to the project.

USS Admiral Hugh Rodman

In going through some of my dad’s papers the other day, I found a couple of yellowed newspaper clippings containing news about my father’s return to the States after the war ended. According to the newspaper accounts, he returned to New York on the Navy transport vessel USS Admiral Hugh Rodman.

Although the newspaper clippings are not dated, it appears he left Okinawa on April 19, 1946. It is not clear when the Rodman actually arrived in New York.

Dad began his tour of duty when he left the United States on February 14, 1945 and was in Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, the Caroline Islands and arrived on Okinawa on June 7, 1945 where he was stationed for the remainder of the war. After the Japanese surrender, he spent a few days in Tokyo in November 1945.

Here is a photo I found in Wikipedia that I saved on my Flickr site:

The history of the Rodman is interesting. It was named after Admiral Hugh Rodman (1859 – 1940) -- a naval officer who was at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War. He was later Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC) in July 1919 and retired from the service in 1923. The ship itself was launched in February 1945 and was commissioned in July 1945. It served in the Navy for a year and then was recommissioned as an Army vessel (the USAT General Maurice Rose) in August 1946. The ship was eventually decommissioned in June 1970 and was scrapped in 1997.

Military photos

I recently came across a cache of photos that my father took in 1945 while in Okinawa. I have scanned several of the photos and have created a Flickr set to contain these photos. I will be adding more photos as time permits.