Richard Sakakida
Encyclopedia
Richard Motoso Sakakida was a United States Army
intelligence agent stationed in the Philippines
at the outbreak of World War II
. He was captured and tortured for months after the fall of the country to Imperial Japan, but managed to convince the Japanese that he was a civilian and was released. Employed by the Japanese Fourteenth Army (though still under suspicion), he gathered and passed along valuable information to the Philippine resistance. He also planned and participated in the mass escape of about 500 Filipino prisoners.
. He was a Nisei
, the youngest of four children of Japanese immigrant parents.
He was recruited into the U.S. Army in March 1941, while America was still a neutral in World War II. Fluent in Japanese, he was sworn in as a sergeant and was one of the first two Japanese Americans to be assigned to the Corps of Intelligence Police (the other being fellow Nisei Arthur Komori), which became the Counterintelligence Corps shortly after America's entry in the war.
After intensive training, on April 7, 1941, he and Komori set sail for the Philippines, then an American possession, aboard the Army transport ship Republic
. Upon their arrival in Manila
, they were assigned to spy on the Japanese community in the city, posing as merchant sailors who had jumped ship.
and eventually ended up in Bilibid Prison
, still maintaining his cover as a civilian. Fortunately, he was recognized and released.
He joined the American retreat, first to Bataan
, then to Corregidor
. His duties involved translating documents and interrogating Japanese prisoners of war. The situation on Corregidor being hopeless, Sakakida and Komori were eventually ordered to fly out on one of the last evacuation aircraft. Sakakida persuaded his superiors to let attorney Clarence Yamagata take his seat; Sakakida was unmarried, while Yamagata had a wife and children living in Japan and his pro-American activities had been more public. The airplane left on April 13, 1942, and managed to avoid Japanese interception.
Sakakida accompanied General Jonathan Wainwright
as his interpreter during the surrender negotiations. After the surrender of Corregidor in early May, "Sakakida became the only Japanese-American to be captured by the Japanese forces in the Philippines." By Japanese law, he was considered to be a Japanese citizen because of his ancestry, and was charged with treason. The Kempeitai
(military police) interrogated and tortured him for two months, but were unable to shake his story that he was a civilian who had worked for the U.S. Army under duress. Fortunately, Sakakida's mother had taken the precaution of voiding his Japanese citizenship at the Japanese consulate in Hawaii in August 1941, and the charge of treason was dropped.
He spent nearly a year in one prison after another, before his case was reviewed in February 1943 by Colonel Nishiharu, Chief Judge Advocate of Fourteenth Army Headquarters. Nishiharu concluded Sakakida was most likely innocent, and hired him in March as a staff translator and personal houseboy. However, he periodically faced devious attempts to trick him into betraying himself.
Despite this, security was lax, and Sakakida was often left alone with sensitive military documents, some of which he proceeded to memorize or steal. When a woman showed up at the Judge Advocate General's office to obtain a pass to visit her imprisoned guerrilla leader husband, Ernest Tupas, Sakakida took the risk of revealing his true identity to her. Mrs. Tupas put him in touch with the Philippine resistance, to whom he passed information.
He also devised a plan for a mass escape for Tupas and other Filipino prisoners. On a night in October 1943, it was set in motion. Sakakida posed as a Japanese officer and led a band of guerrillas into the prison at Muntinglupa. After knocking out or overpowering the unsuspecting guards, the rescuers freed nearly 500 inmates. Sakakida returned to his quarters with no one the wiser. According to the Associated Press
1996 obituary of Sakakida, three former guerrillas, including a Roman Catholic priest, claimed that he "fabricated his role in the escape." Senator Daniel Akaka
of Hawaii responded that "Sakakida's story has 'been confirmed time and time again.'"
In December 1944, Sakakida decided that the time had finally come to flee. He hid in the jungle, cut off from any news. The war had been over for weeks when he made contact with Americans soldiers in September 1945.
s trial of General Tomoyuki Yamashita
, as he had been an interpreter in the office of the general's Judge Advocate. He remained in Manila for eighteen months, working on war crime investigations; he encountered some of his former torturers, whom he forgave.
He was commissioned in 1947. He married Cherry M. Kiyosaki of Maui on September 25, 1948. He transferred to the United States Air Force
and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. After retiring in 1975, he lived in Fremont, California
. He died of lung cancer
on January 23, 1996. He was survived by his wife.
, Bronze Star and two Commendation Medal
s, and was inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame
. He also received four medals from the Philippine government, including the Philippine Legion of Honor
(degree of Legionnaire), presented to him by Ambassador Raul Rabe at a ceremony at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. on April 15, 1994. Despite efforts to have Sakakida awarded the Medal of Honor
, the Army refused to consider it on the grounds that a statute required that a recommendation be filed by 1951 at the latest. Senator Akaka introduced legislation to waive this condition. On February 17, 1999, the senator announced that Sakakida had been posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
intelligence agent stationed in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
at the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was captured and tortured for months after the fall of the country to Imperial Japan, but managed to convince the Japanese that he was a civilian and was released. Employed by the Japanese Fourteenth Army (though still under suspicion), he gathered and passed along valuable information to the Philippine resistance. He also planned and participated in the mass escape of about 500 Filipino prisoners.
Early life
Sakakida was born and raised in HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. He was a Nisei
Nisei
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
, the youngest of four children of Japanese immigrant parents.
He was recruited into the U.S. Army in March 1941, while America was still a neutral in World War II. Fluent in Japanese, he was sworn in as a sergeant and was one of the first two Japanese Americans to be assigned to the Corps of Intelligence Police (the other being fellow Nisei Arthur Komori), which became the Counterintelligence Corps shortly after America's entry in the war.
After intensive training, on April 7, 1941, he and Komori set sail for the Philippines, then an American possession, aboard the Army transport ship Republic
USS Republic (AP-33)
USS Republic was a troop transport that served with the US Navy during World War II. In World War I she served with the Navy as USS President Grant before being turned over to the Army and named Republic...
. Upon their arrival in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, they were assigned to spy on the Japanese community in the city, posing as merchant sailors who had jumped ship.
World War II
After the outbreak of hostilities with Japan, Sakakida was rounded up by the Philippine ConstabularyPhilippine Constabulary
The Philippine Constabulary ' was the oldest of four service commands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It was a gendarmerie type para-military police force of the Philippines established in 1901 by the United States-appointed administrative authority replacing the Guardia Civil...
and eventually ended up in Bilibid Prison
New Bilibid Prison
The New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, Philippines, is the main insular penitentiary designed to house the prison population of the Philippines. It is maintained by the Bureau of Corrections under the Philippine Department of Justice. As of October 2004, it has an inmate population of 16,747....
, still maintaining his cover as a civilian. Fortunately, he was recognized and released.
He joined the American retreat, first to Bataan
Battle of Bataan
The Battle of Bataan represented the most intense phase of Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II. The capture of the Philippine Islands was crucial to Japan's effort to control the Southwest Pacific, seize the resource-rich Dutch East Indies, and protect its Southeast...
, then to Corregidor
Battle of Corregidor
The Battle for Corregidor was the culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the Philippines. The fall of Bataan on 9 April 1942 ended all organized opposition by the U.S...
. His duties involved translating documents and interrogating Japanese prisoners of war. The situation on Corregidor being hopeless, Sakakida and Komori were eventually ordered to fly out on one of the last evacuation aircraft. Sakakida persuaded his superiors to let attorney Clarence Yamagata take his seat; Sakakida was unmarried, while Yamagata had a wife and children living in Japan and his pro-American activities had been more public. The airplane left on April 13, 1942, and managed to avoid Japanese interception.
Sakakida accompanied General Jonathan Wainwright
Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV
Jonathan Mayhew "Skinny" Wainwright IV was a career American army officer and the commander of Allied forces in the Philippines at the time of their surrender to the Empire of Japan during World War II...
as his interpreter during the surrender negotiations. After the surrender of Corregidor in early May, "Sakakida became the only Japanese-American to be captured by the Japanese forces in the Philippines." By Japanese law, he was considered to be a Japanese citizen because of his ancestry, and was charged with treason. The Kempeitai
Kempeitai
The was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945. It was not an English-style military police, but a French-style gendarmerie...
(military police) interrogated and tortured him for two months, but were unable to shake his story that he was a civilian who had worked for the U.S. Army under duress. Fortunately, Sakakida's mother had taken the precaution of voiding his Japanese citizenship at the Japanese consulate in Hawaii in August 1941, and the charge of treason was dropped.
He spent nearly a year in one prison after another, before his case was reviewed in February 1943 by Colonel Nishiharu, Chief Judge Advocate of Fourteenth Army Headquarters. Nishiharu concluded Sakakida was most likely innocent, and hired him in March as a staff translator and personal houseboy. However, he periodically faced devious attempts to trick him into betraying himself.
Despite this, security was lax, and Sakakida was often left alone with sensitive military documents, some of which he proceeded to memorize or steal. When a woman showed up at the Judge Advocate General's office to obtain a pass to visit her imprisoned guerrilla leader husband, Ernest Tupas, Sakakida took the risk of revealing his true identity to her. Mrs. Tupas put him in touch with the Philippine resistance, to whom he passed information.
He also devised a plan for a mass escape for Tupas and other Filipino prisoners. On a night in October 1943, it was set in motion. Sakakida posed as a Japanese officer and led a band of guerrillas into the prison at Muntinglupa. After knocking out or overpowering the unsuspecting guards, the rescuers freed nearly 500 inmates. Sakakida returned to his quarters with no one the wiser. According to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
1996 obituary of Sakakida, three former guerrillas, including a Roman Catholic priest, claimed that he "fabricated his role in the escape." Senator Daniel Akaka
Daniel Akaka
Daniel Kahikina Akaka is the junior U.S. Senator from Hawaii and a member of the Democratic Party. He is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and is currently the only member of the Senate who has Chinese ancestry....
of Hawaii responded that "Sakakida's story has 'been confirmed time and time again.'"
In December 1944, Sakakida decided that the time had finally come to flee. He hid in the jungle, cut off from any news. The war had been over for weeks when he made contact with Americans soldiers in September 1945.
Post-war
Sakakida returned to the Counterintelligence Corps and was promoted to master sergeant. He testified at the war crimeWar crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s trial of General Tomoyuki Yamashita
Tomoyuki Yamashita
General was a general of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. He was most famous for conquering the British colonies of Malaya and Singapore, earning the nickname "The Tiger of Malaya".- Biography :...
, as he had been an interpreter in the office of the general's Judge Advocate. He remained in Manila for eighteen months, working on war crime investigations; he encountered some of his former torturers, whom he forgave.
He was commissioned in 1947. He married Cherry M. Kiyosaki of Maui on September 25, 1948. He transferred to the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. After retiring in 1975, he lived in Fremont, California
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
. He died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
on January 23, 1996. He was survived by his wife.
Awards and honors
For his accomplishments, he was awarded the Legion of MeritLegion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
, Bronze Star and two Commendation Medal
Commendation Medal
The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. For valorous actions in direct contact with an enemy force, but of a lesser degree than required for the award of the Bronze Star, the Valor device may...
s, and was inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame
Military Intelligence Hall of Fame
The Military Intelligence Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame established by the Military Intelligence Corps of the United States Army in 1988 to honor soldiers and civilians who have made exceptional contributions to Military Intelligence...
. He also received four medals from the Philippine government, including the Philippine Legion of Honor
Philippine Legion of Honor
The Philippine Legion of Honor was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. 60 dated July 3, 1947. The Philippine Legion of Honor was patterned after the Legion of Merit of the United States of America, and was meant to honor both civilians and members of the...
(degree of Legionnaire), presented to him by Ambassador Raul Rabe at a ceremony at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. on April 15, 1994. Despite efforts to have Sakakida awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
, the Army refused to consider it on the grounds that a statute required that a recommendation be filed by 1951 at the latest. Senator Akaka introduced legislation to waive this condition. On February 17, 1999, the senator announced that Sakakida had been posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
.
See also
- Undercover Agent in Manila - Richard M. Sakakida, an account in Sakakida's own words of his espionage career, Japanese American Veterans Association website