Crazy story from WWII
Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 1:28 pm
I had never heard of this before, but it would make an awesome movie:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niihau_Incident
Japanese fighter pilot crash-lands on the island of Ni'ihau after Pearl Harbor. Ni'ihau, inhabited almost entirely by natives (except for 3 folks of Japanese descent), is essentially cut off from the rest of Hawai'i by design (the island has been owned by one family since the 1800s and is set up to provide a refuge for Hawai'ian natives to live without interference from the white man). Anyway, the locals are suspicious about how the pilot got there. The three Japanese people on the island end up helping him try to take over the island. The islanders were cut off from the rest of Hawai'i, and they were left to deal with this guy and his Japanese compatriots on their own.
Here's how it ended:
Oh yeah, and just prior to this, the Japanese pilot shot Ben Kanahele three times - in the groin, stomach and upper leg.
Interestingly, this incident and the ease with which the Japanese-descended residents of the island appeared to take sides with the pilot (despite their strong ties to the natives) was likely used as an example of why the Japanese internment camps were necessary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niihau_Incident
Japanese fighter pilot crash-lands on the island of Ni'ihau after Pearl Harbor. Ni'ihau, inhabited almost entirely by natives (except for 3 folks of Japanese descent), is essentially cut off from the rest of Hawai'i by design (the island has been owned by one family since the 1800s and is set up to provide a refuge for Hawai'ian natives to live without interference from the white man). Anyway, the locals are suspicious about how the pilot got there. The three Japanese people on the island end up helping him try to take over the island. The islanders were cut off from the rest of Hawai'i, and they were left to deal with this guy and his Japanese compatriots on their own.
Here's how it ended:
Ben Kanahele then picked Nishikaichi up in the same manner that he picked up the sheep that were commercially raised on the island, hurling Nishikaichi into a stone wall. Ella Kanahele then bashed him in the head with a rock, and Ben slit his throat with his hunting knife.
Oh yeah, and just prior to this, the Japanese pilot shot Ben Kanahele three times - in the groin, stomach and upper leg.
Interestingly, this incident and the ease with which the Japanese-descended residents of the island appeared to take sides with the pilot (despite their strong ties to the natives) was likely used as an example of why the Japanese internment camps were necessary.