{"id":18032,"date":"2026-09-21T21:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T21:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/?p=18032"},"modified":"2026-09-21T21:31:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T21:31:53","slug":"chichijima-incident-bush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/chichijima-incident-bush\/","title":{"rendered":"George H.W. Bush Escaped Chichijima. Eight American Airmen Didn\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The island of Chichijima, located in Japan, was a focal area of bombing missions in World War 2. Future president George H.W. Bush participated in one such mission on September 2, 1944, but his aircraft caught fire, and he was nearly captured by Japanese forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Bush escaped, some of his compatriots did not. American airmen\u2019s execution and subsequent cannibalism prompted an international investigation that led to war crimes trials on Guam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"820\" height=\"1070\" src=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-1.jpg\" alt=\"A young George H.W. Bush in flight helmet, goggles and life vest, writing on a clipboard in the cockpit of a TBM Avenger\" class=\"wp-image-18026\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-1.jpg 820w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-1-230x300.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-1-785x1024.jpg 785w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-1-768x1002.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">George H.W. Bush in the cockpit of a TBM Avenger, circa 1944. Photo: public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why did Japanese forces react the way they did at Chichijima? The answer comes down to the political and military environment at the time, Japanese ritualistic beliefs, and the reality of prolonged warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Political (and Personal) Context of Chichijima<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-2.jpg\" alt=\"Futami harbor on Chichijima, a sheltered turquoise bay ringed by steep, forested mountains, with a small town along the shore\" class=\"wp-image-18027\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-2-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Futami harbor on Chichijima, the largest of the Bonin Islands. The steep terrain that made the island so hard to hit from the air is plain even today. Photo: Si-take, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chichijima is located in the Bonin Islands and is the largest landmass in the island chain (near the famous Iwojima). Due to its location about 600 miles southwest of Japan, Chichijima became an important position between the main Japanese islands and the areas where American forces were advancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A radio station at Chichijima was being used to intercept American military transmissions and provide warnings of incoming American bombing runs, which made Chichijima an even more prescient threat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If America could eliminate an island that was compromising the secrecy of its plans, it could gain an advantage over Japan. However, Chichijima was difficult to attack from the air thanks to anti-aircraft defenses on the mountainous landscape. It was into this context that George H.W. Bush became embroiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"741\" src=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-3.jpg\" alt=\"A TBM Avenger with landing gear down silhouetted above the deck of an aircraft carrier, with crewmen in the foreground\" class=\"wp-image-18028\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-3.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-3-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-3-768x569.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A TBM Avenger of Torpedo Squadron 51 \u2014 Bush\u2019s squadron \u2014 over the deck of USS San Jacinto, June 1944. Photo: U.S. Navy (80-G-238783), public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Having joined the Navy just two years prior, Bush was assigned to Torpedo Squadron 51 (also known as VT-51). This squad flew three-seat aircraft, within which Bush served as the lead alongside radioman John Delaney and substitute gunner William White. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chichijima was not Bush\u2019s first engagement; in fact, after sinking a Japanese cargo vessel, Bush was promoted to lieutenant junior grade just a few days before his Chichijima flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Capture of American Soldiers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-4.jpg\" alt=\"The bare concrete interior of a ruined wartime building on Chichijima, with a central pillar, small windows and equipment plinths\" class=\"wp-image-18029\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-4.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-4-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-4-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The ruins of a wartime Japanese naval transmitting station on Chichijima. The island\u2019s radio installations were the target of Bush\u2019s raid. Photo: \u30d6\u30eb\u30fc\u30ce\u30fb\u30d7\u30e9\u30b9, CC BY 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On September 2, 1944, Bush and three other VT-51 Avenger pilots approached the radio facilities on Chihijima. When the attack began, Bush\u2019s craft (Barbara III) took anti-aircraft fire to the engine, and it burst into flames. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Bush continued his bombing run and succeeded in dropping his load over the target before pulling his damaged aircraft away. The act later earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unable to return to San Jacinto, the aircraft carrier to which the Barbara III belonged, Bush and his team were forced to eject from the craft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Bush\u2019s parachute opened, the other man\u2019s did not, and he fell to his death. The only other participant went down with the aircraft, though historians cannot be sure which was White and which was Delaney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"1159\" src=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-5.jpg\" alt=\"Crewmen on the deck of the submarine USS Finback reach toward a man in a small life raft alongside the hull\" class=\"wp-image-18030\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-5.jpg 780w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-5-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-5-689x1024.jpg 689w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-5-768x1141.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-5-727x1080.jpg 727w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bush, in the raft at right, is pulled aboard the submarine USS Finback after being shot down on September 2, 1944. Photo: U.S. Navy, public domain. Via the National Archives and Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bush sustained injuries from hitting the Barbara III upon ejection, and he awaited rescue in the water while nearby aircraft kept Japanese boats at bay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thankfully for Bush, submarines were assigned to lifeguarding duties near areas where aircraft carriers were commencing strikes against Japanese-held islands. In Bush\u2019s case, the USS Finback recovered him after several hours, risking shots from Japanese shore batteries. He remained on the Finback for around a month afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Bush was not the only American shot down near Chichijima, and many were not recovered by lifeguard subs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between August 1944 and March 1945, eight American airmen were recorded captured by Japanese forces, all of whom were executed. However, four of them had been cannibalized after death. American forces were unaware of this at the time, discovering the truth only after Japan\u2019s surrender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"496\" src=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-6.jpg\" alt=\"Three men in caps crouch and dig through soil on a hillside on Chichijima\" class=\"wp-image-18031\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-6.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chichijima-incident-bush-6-300x213.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Marines search Chichijima for the remains of the executed airmen in 1946, part of the investigation that led to the Guam trials. Photo: U.S. Marine Corps, public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the eight months that followed, investigators questioned more than 120 witnesses and gathered almost 1,000 pages of evidence. Among this evidence was an organized effort to conceal the killings, led at least in part by Major Yoshitaka Horie, a senior staff officer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He originally claimed that the prisoners had died during bombing attacks, but he later admitted that this story was not true. Further testimony from other participants confirmed that this was a deliberate front to dissuade further investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Horie implicated Lieutenant General Yoshio Tachibana, who he alleged had ordered records concerning the Americans to be destroyed. With him, Major Sueo Matoba helped to construct the \u201cbombing attack\u201d falsehood explaining the deaths, and he was the one who at last admitted that some of the Americans had been cannibalized despite their attempts to convince the American investigators otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why did the Japanese forces resort to cannibalism? The answer is multifaceted, but perhaps the most notable factor was supply line challenges on the Japanese side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chichijima, as well as other distant islands, were already facing issues with consistent supply runs. Add the complex terrain, and the soldiers did not consistently have access to food. The Bonins later became blockaded, eliminating access to fresh meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, Matoba (at least) cited ritualistic beliefs as a driver behind the decision. He boasted that enemy bombs would not be able to hurt him because he\u2019d eaten his enemy. The livers, especially, were cut from the bodies soon after death, with flesh from the legs being used for the lower officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the war, the Guam War Crimes Trial began. However, the cannibalism aspect caused some surprising issues. Both military and international law had not explicitly noted the criminal nature of cannibalism; many people credit this to the \u201cassumption\u201d that cannibalism was prohibited and thus did not need to be included or had been overlooked. As a result, prosecutors could not directly try the parties on this count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, prosecutors focused on the treatment of the bodies, citing the prevention of honorable burial. Thirteen of fourteen defendants were found guilty, and among them, Tachibana and two others were executed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for George H.W. Bush, he continued to serve, completing a total of 58 combat missions. Many of the surviving officers of the Finback later participated in Bush\u2019s 1989 presidential inaugural parade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On September 2, 1944, anti-aircraft fire set George H.W. Bush\u2019s plane alight over Chichijima, and a submarine pulled him from the sea. Eight other American airmen captured near the island were never seen alive again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,21],"tags":[86,85,63,59,88,76,87,58],"class_list":["post-18032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-history","category-ww2","tag-chichijima","tag-george-h-w-bush","tag-japan","tag-pacific-war","tag-prisoners-of-war","tag-us-navy","tag-war-crimes","tag-world-war-ii"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO Pro 4.9.8 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On September 2, 1944, anti-aircraft fire set George H.W. 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