Richard Motoso Sakakida ( ja, 榊田 元宗, November 19, 1920 – January 23, 1996) was a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
intelligence agent stationed in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
at the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. He was captured and tortured for months after the fall of the country to
Imperial Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
, but managed to convince the Japanese that he was a civilian and was released. Employed by the
Japanese Fourteenth Army
The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. It was originally the 14th Army, formed on November 6, 1941 for the upcoming invasion of the Philippines. It was reorganized in the Philippines on July 28, 1944, wh ...
(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
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. He was a
Nisei
is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generation, ...
, the youngest of four children of Japanese immigrant parents.
[
He was recruited into the U.S. Army in March 1941, while America was still 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
The Counter Intelligence Corps (Army CIC) was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army consisting of highly trained special agents. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and ...
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 . Upon their arrival in ]Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, 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 Constabulary
The Philippine Constabulary (PC; tl, Hukbóng Pamayapà ng Pilipinas, ''HPP''; es, Policía de Filipinas, ''PF'') was a gendarmerie-type police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Po ...
and eventually ended up in Bilibid Prison, still maintaining his cover as a civilian,[ but he was recognized and released.
He joined the American retreat, first to ]Bataan
Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...
, 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
The , also known as Kempeitai, was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945 that also served as a secret police force. In addition, in Japanese-occupied territories, the Kenpeitai arrested or killed those suspecte ...
'' (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.[ 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][''Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service During World War II'', James C. McNaughton. p. 458] 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
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
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 Kahikina Akaka (; September 11, 1924 – April 6, 2018) was an American educator and politician who served as a United States Senator from Hawaii from 1990 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Akaka was the first U.S. Senator of Nat ...
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.][''Nisei Linguists'', James C. McNaughton. p. 459]
Post-war
Sakakida returned to the Counterintelligence Corps and was promoted to master sergeant.[ He testified at the war crimes 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
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
After retiring in 1975, he lived in Fremont, California. He died of lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...
on January 23, 1996.[ He was survived by his wife.
]
Awards and honors
For his accomplishments, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
and two Commendation Medals, and was inducted into the 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. The hall is ...
.[ He also received four medals from the Philippine government, including the ]Philippine Legion of Honor
The Philippine Legion of Honor ( fil, Lehiyong Pandangal ng Pilipinas; es, Legion de Honor Filipino) was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. 60 dated July 3, 1947. The Philippine Legion of Honor was patterne ...
(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 Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
, 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 (DSM) is a high award of a nation.
Examples include:
*Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action
* Distinguishe ...
.
Bibliography
*''A Spy in Their Midst: The World War II Struggle of a Japanese-American Hero'', Richard Sakakida, as told to Wayne S. Kiyosaki. Madison Books, 1995.
*''Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service During World War II'', James C. McNaughton. U.S. Army Center of Military History, 2007.
full text
References
See also
an account in Sakakida's own words of his espionage career, Japanese American Veterans Association website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakakida, Richard Motoso
1920 births
1996 deaths
Hawaii people of Japanese descent
Interwar-period spies
World War II spies for the United States
United States Army personnel of World War II
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
United States Army officers
United States Air Force officers
American military personnel of Japanese descent
American expatriates in the Philippines