Jacob Daniel DeShazer (15 November 1912 – 15 March 2008) participated in the

Doolittle Raid The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18 April 1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first American air operation to strike the Japan ...

as a staff sergeant and later became a Christian

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

in Japan.

Early years

DeShazer was born on 15 November 1912 in West Stayton,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and graduated from

Madras High School Madras High School is a public high school in Madras, Oregon, United States. Academics In 2008, 71% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 231 students, 165 graduated, 36 dropped out, three received a modified diploma, and 27 ...

Madras, Oregon Madras ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. Originally called "The Basin" after the circular valley the city is in, it is unclear whether Madras was named in 1903 for the cotton fabric called " Madras" ...

in 1931. On Sunday 7 December 1941, while peeling potatoes, DeShazer heard news of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

over the radio. He became enraged, shouting: "Japan is going to have to pay for this!" He also was an atheist.

Doolittle Raid

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Corporal DeShazer, along with other members of the 17th Bomb Group, volunteered to join a special unit that was formed to attack Japan. The 24 crews selected from the 17th BG received intensive training at Eglin Field, Florida, for three weeks beginning on Sunday 1 March 1942. The crews undertook practice carrier deck takeoffs along with extensive flying exercises involving low-level and night flying, low altitude bombing and over water navigation. Their mission would be to fly modified

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

bombers launched from an aircraft carrier to attack Japan. The unit formed to carry out the raid on Japan soon acquired the name, "Doolittle's Raiders", after their famous commander,

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...

. Staff Sergeant DeShazer was the bombardier of B-25 #16, the ''"Bat (Out of Hell)"'', commanded by Lieutenant William G. Farrow, the last of the 16 B-25s to launch from the USS ''Hornet''. The raid was a success despite the task force being sighted and forced to launch the bombers earlier than planned, but part of the plan included flying the airplanes to bases in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, where they were to be refueled and made part of the

Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswell AF ...

Japanese prisoner of war

After bombing

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, Japan, the "Bat" attempted to reach safe haven in China. DeShazer and the rest of the B-25 crew were forced to parachute into enemy territory over Ningpo, China when their B-25 ran out of fuel because of the extra distance it was forced to fly by early launch of the raid. DeShazer was injured in his fall into a cemetery and along with the rest of his crew, he was captured the very next day by the Japanese. During his captivity, DeShazer was sent to Tokyo with the survivors of another Doolittle crew including

Robert Hite Robert J. Hite II (born January 12, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played briefly for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as in the NBA G League and in the top leagues of Turkey, Sp ...

, and was held in a series of P.O.W. (prisoner-of-war) camps both in Japan and China for 40 months – 34 of them in solitary confinement. He was severely beaten and malnourished while three of the crew were executed by a firing squad, and another died of slow starvation. DeShazer's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

.From Bombs to Something More Powerful
.
Dealing with the day of Infamy
Cox News, 7 December 2000

ChristianHistory.net, 8 August 2008 As the war came to an end, on 20 August 1945, DeShazer and the others in the camp at

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

(Peiping), China were finally released when American soldiers parachuted into the camp. On his return to the United States, Staff Sgt. DeShazer was awarded both the Distinguished Flying Cross and the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

for his part in the

Missionary in Japan

During his captivity, DeShazer persuaded one of his guards to loan him a copy of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. Although he only had possession of the Bible for three weeks, he saw its messages as the reason for his survival and resolved to become a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. His conversion included learning a few words of Japanese and treating his captors with respect, which resulted in the guards reacting in a similar fashion. After his release, DeShazer entered Seattle Pacific College, a Christian college associated with the

Free Methodist The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Methodist Church has members in over 100 ...

denomination, and then Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky, where he began studies to become a missionary, eventually to return to Japan with his wife, Florence, in 1948. DeShazer, the Doolittle Raider who bombed Nagoya, met Captain

Mitsuo Fuchida was a Japanese captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and a bomber observer in the Imperial Japanese Navy before and during World War II. He is perhaps best known for leading the first wave of air attacks on Pearl Harbor on 7 Decembe ...

, who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, becoming close friends. (''For That One Day: The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor,'' translated by Douglas T. Shinsato and Tadanori Urabe.) Fuchida became a Christian in 1950 after reading a tract written about DeShazer titled, ''I Was a Prisoner of Japan,'' and spent the rest of his life as a missionary in Asia and the United States. On occasion, DeShazer and Fuchida preached together as Christian missionaries in Japan. In 1959, DeShazer moved to Nagoya to establish a Christian church in the city he had bombed.

Legacy

His decorations include:

USAAF Bombardier Badge DeShazer retired after 30 years of missionary service in Japan and went back to his home town in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

where he spent the last years of his life in an assisted living home with his wife, Florence. On 15 March 2008, DeShazer died in his sleep at the age of 95, leaving his wife and five children: Paul, John, Mark, Carol, and Ruth. On 15 April 2008, the Oregon War Veterans Association (OWVA) nominated DeShazer for the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...

and the

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

noting his extraordinary impact on America as a war hero and for his heroic service to the people of Japan, where he is well known as a hero of

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

and

reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedra ...

. On 21 April 2008, the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

confirmed the nomination in a letter to OWVA's executive director, Greg Warnock. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

's Deputy Director for Awards said that the DeShazer nomination for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's most prestigious civilian award, second only to the nation's highest military award, 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 valor. ...

would be given "every consideration" by the advisory staff, who will provide the President with the recommendation. The medals are usually awarded on or near 4 July annually. About 400 Presidential Medals of Freedom have been awarded since its inception in 1945. Warnock nominated Rev. DeShazer for the Congressional Gold Medal through Congresswoman

Darlene Hooley Darlene Kay Olson Hooley (born April 4, 1939) is an American politician and former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon who represented the state's . A high school teacher by profession, she served as a city counc ...

's (D-Ore.) office in

. In the official nomination letters Warnock wrote, "At this time in our history, we feel it is ideal to honor a man who was a genuine war hero, utwho after his sacrificial service put on gloves of peace, and touched the entire world with grace and humility."

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * DeShazer, Jacob as told to Don Falkenberg. ''I was a Prisoner of Japan'' (Tract). Columbus, Ohio: The Bible Meditation League, 1950. (Out of print.) * DeShazer, Jacob. ''Love Your Enemies'', ''From Bombs to Bible''. Seattle: Home Coming Chapel, 1972–73: Seattle Pacific College (now University SPU) (From the SPU Chapel Archives on iTunes 1), 1978–79.
''From Vengeance to Forgiveness: Jake DeShazer's Extraordinary Journey'' (DVD).
Grand Rapids MI: Discovery House Publishers, 2007.

''Seattle Pacific University.'' * Watson, Charles Hoyt. ''DeShazer, the Amazing Story of Sergeant Jacob DeShazer: The Doolittle Raider Who Turned Missionary''. Winona Lake, Indiana: The Light and Life Press, 1950.

External links

Jacob Daniel DeShazer, 6584514, Staff Sergeant Bombardier Crew 16

* ttp://www.congressionalgoldmedal.com Congressional Gold Medal
Oregon War Veterans Association

Jacob DeShazer's personal testimony
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deshazer, Jacob 1912 births 2008 deaths People from Salem, Oregon Military personnel from Oregon United States Army soldiers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Free Methodist Church members Seattle Pacific University alumni American Methodist missionaries Methodist missionaries in Japan People from Madras, Oregon Doolittle Raiders Asbury Theological Seminary alumni American prisoners of war in World War II American evangelicals