Do you know the name Mitsuo Fuchida? Probably not. Have you heard of “Tora! Tora! Tora!”? My guess is yes. Mitsuo Fuchida was the leader of the Japanese bomber unit that attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 who gave that famous directive to his fellow pilots. One day after the war he read a pamphlet by American Jake DeShazer who had been interred in a Japanese POW camp and returned to Japan to spread the gospel. DeShazer’s pamphlet emphasized Jesus’ words on the cross as He said “Father forgive them they don’t know what they are doing” which struck Fuchida about grace and forgiveness. He gave his life to Christ on April 14, 1950 and became a solid witness as a former Buddhist.
