Captured Japanese Suicide Submarine Dec 8, 1941

Object/Artifact

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Hawaii's History, A Personal Collection

Author's Personal Collection: Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, a Japanese Sailor, becoming US's first prisoner of World War II.
Author's Personal Collection

Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, a Japanese Sailor, becoming US's first prisoner of World War II.

Name/Title

Captured Japanese Suicide Submarine Dec 8, 1941

Description

Inscribed "Captured Two-Man Japanese Suicide Submarine" Just before dawn on December 8, 1941, Lt. Paul Plybonwas and Cpl. David Akui of the Hawaii National Guard were patrolling Waimanalo Beach 15 miles east of Pearl Harbor when they discovered an exhausted, half-naked man desperately swimming near the shore. On high alert after Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the previous day, the soldiers moved to detain him. After dragging the man out of the water, they discovered he was Japanese. Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, a Japanese sailor, had just hours earlier been piloting a mini submarine on a mission to infiltrate Pearl Harbor and sink US ships as part of the attack. (See other entry in this category - Kazuo Sakamaki) He was taken to Fort Shafter, interrogated, and sent to a prisoner of war camp, becoming the US's first prisoner of World War II. Business Insider Credit

Web Links and URLs

Additional Information - Japanese Midget Submarines, Business Insider -First Japanese Prisioner-of-War Pearl Harbor Attack

Created By

hawaiiancovers@gmail.com

Create Date

July 5, 2023

Update Date

June 27, 2025