Many allied soldiers who were captured during Second World II suffered brutal torture and execution at the hands of the Japanese. One of the most harrowing tales reported was the gruesome Chichijima incident that took place on the tiny island of Chichijima located around 600 miles from Japan.
Instead of opting for a full-scale invasion of the island, the US decided to conduct bombing raids over the island. Per reports, over a hundred airmen were shot down, and at least 20 were captured by the Japanese.
In 1944, nine airmen were shot down during a raid out of which only one, future American president George HW Bush managed to escape alive. His eight other fellow airmen who were captured were destined for a horrible fate.
While all eight were executed, four of them were butchered in order to be served as meals to the Japanese officers.
Even though Japanese officers were found guilty of murder and prevention of honorable burial after the war, the details were not made public until James Bradley's 2004 book Flyboys: a Story of True Courage brought the atrocities to light.
The horrifying tragedy of the Allied prisoners who were victims of cannibalism was described in this book as this excerpt explains: "In his book Flyboys: A True Story of Courage, James Bradley details several instances of cannibalism of World War II Allied prisoners by their Japanese captors. The author claims that this included not only ritual cannibalization of the livers of freshly killed prisoners but also the cannibalization-for-sustenance of living prisoners over the course of several days, amputating limbs only as needed to keep the meat fresh."
The men who lost their lives to this atrocity were Marve Mershon, Floyd Hall, Jimmy Dye, and Warren Earl Vaughn.
Per Bradley's book, the Japanese army and navy commanders of the island partook in cannibalism not only to show the Americans who was the boss but also for the alleged physical and spiritual benefits as this excerpt explains: "General Yoshio Tachibana and Rear Admiral Kunizo Mori, the army and navy commanders of the island, were two notable participants in the acts of cannibalism. Four American airmen were executed for the purpose of being partially consumed, with flesh being removed from their thighs and their livers being served as “delicacies.” On Chichi Jima, the guilty officers committed cannibalism for both alleged physical and spiritual benefits as well as further showing dominance over their captives as revenge for American air raids."
While thirty Japanese soldiers were prosecuted at a war crimes trial held in 1947 and four officers were executed by hanging for crimes committed, reports indicate that all other enlisted men were released within 8 years.
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