Statement Concerning Kikkawa

Statement of Kikkawa (1-6 Nov. 1947)

34, resident of Kobe, works for transportation company. Entered army in 1930, made major in 1942, was with Intelligence Section of GHQ from 1943 until the end of the war. His duties concerned tactical matters. Kikkawa made trips to Fukuoka (1) in late April 1945 and (2) in late May or early June 1945. The April trip was related to intelligence education. The 2nd trip was to inspect and study the maneuvers in preparation for the Kyushu Invasion. Kikkawa was accompanied by Lt. Col. Abe of the Educational Section of GHQ. This 2nd trip took about a week.

Most of Kikkawa's work was done with Inenaga, Intelligence Staff Officer. Kikkawa also met Yokoyama, Yoshinaka, (Chief of Staff Inada became Chief of Staff the day Kikkawa left Headquarters??), Akita, Maj. Haba, 2nd Lt. Yamanaka, Nakao.

Kikkawa believes that he told Inenaga at the April visit (not the 2nd visit) that the flyers should be interrogated for intelligence at the local headquar­ters as much as possible, that anything especially important should be reported to General Staff Headquarters, that flyers who were found to be of value to intelligence were to be sent to General Staff Headquarters, including pilots and fighter plane fliers from aircraft Carriers. It was natural and official that the flyers when no longer of use for intelligence were to be put in PW Camps.

Kikkawa further believes that a telegram was sent to WAH Intelligence Section advising them of the same thing Kikkawa told them, sent to all armies, bearing Kikkawa's name on the draft of the telegram, but on order of General Hata. This was sent out in late April. GHQ Intelligence did not instruct the armies as to the disposal of the remaining flyers. Such instructions would have originated from the Military Affairs Section in the name of the Minister of War, Kikkawa thinks, might have gone to WA through 2nd Army.

On Kikkawa's April trip he went with Col. Koko (now in Sasebo), chief of the Intelligence Section, but only Kikkawa gave instruction as to the flyers.

On 17-18 August Capt. Aihara came to Tokyo, asked Kikkawa what happened to Watkins. Kikkawa called the KT, learned he was at Omori PW camp. He said, Kikkawa believes, that the PWIB had refused him assistance; he was worried about the report Watkins would give concerning the 6 men of his crew he had last seen at WAH. Aihara said about 40 flyers had been executed (Kikkawa thought he meant after the war in the Kyushu confusion). Kikkawa stated that General Staff Headquarters had nothing to do with the executions, the entire responsibility was that of WA, told Kikkawa to report the executions to Lt. Col. Maki of 2nd General Army Headquarters and act under direction of 2nd Central Army.

On 20-21 August 1945 Sato came to Tokyo, told Kikkawa what Aihara had previously told him, and Kikkawa answered as he had Aihara. Sato said about 40 fliers had been executed.

On 25-26 August Aihara returned, told him that 2nd Army had refused assistance to Sato, pleaded with Kikkawa to assist in a cover-up. Kikkawa had already

KIKKAWA       CONT'D.

received transfer orders to the Staff Section of the Chu-koku Area A, at Hiroshima, so he told Aihara he would give some thought to his problems.

Kikkawa felt he must give assistance to a neighboring unit, was transferred 30 August. On 5-6 September Sato came to Hiroshima, and Kikkawa took him to see Senior Staff Officer, Col. Kitano (Sato and he knew each other) Kitano told him he would have to discuss it with Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Saburo Kawamura and the Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Hisao Tani of the Chukoku Area A. 4-5 days later Kikkawa went with Kitano to Kawamura, and the 3 then went to Tani, who said that they must assist the neighboring army. Kikkawa later heard that Tani was a good friend of Inada. Sato wanted them to accept all 40 as killed in the atomic bombing, but Kitano and Kikkawa refused to accept this many. Sato then said that a pilot named Watkins had been sent to Tokyo, that his plane crashed near Mt. Aso and his captured crew of 6 had been killed at WAH, that as soon as Watkins reported his crew at WAH there would be trouble, so asked Hiroshima to accept these 6 and perhaps a few more so that it would not look suspicious. They decided on 9 at the time. This was told to Tani, who said 9 would be alright.

In answer to a telegram from 1st Demobilization Ministry in Tokyo asking for report on the nationality, name, age, date of capture, place of capture, present status of captured flyers, and place of burial, and whether a death certificate, if dead, of all held at Chokuku, to be submitted by 10 Dec.; Kikkawa wrote the report including the 9 from WAH, 32-33 in all, which Kitano, Kawamura, and Tani (now Chief of the Chukoku Demobilization Office) signed. At this time, all the parties concerned were of the Demoblizstion office, and the report was sent to the Demcblization Vice Minister, believes the original is at Chukoku Liaison Demoblization Office. In this report it is stated that 9 flyers received from WAH had been killed in the atomic bombing. (Kikkawa was agitated because WAH hadn’t sent them more facts on the flyers).

In late Feb. 1946 Kikkawa first saw a report at Tokyo from WAH giving details regarding the executions; before this he thought the Prisoners were killed after the war. A messenger was sent to WAH with a verbal message of acceptance of the 9 flyers in Mid Sept. 1945; he returned with the ashes of 9 flyers. The messenger said that Sato told him that these were the ashes of the flyers. All the ashes were wrapped together in paper making a package about 8" x 3". These ashes were then mixed with ashes of Japanese soldiers, since the flyers were to be reported as burned to death in the atomic bombing with Japanese soldiers. These ashes were buried in the yard of the Officers Day Room and mess hall at the 1st Infantry Overseas Training Unit at Hiroshima.

The ashes were dug up in late 1946, taken to the Welfare Section of the Hiroshima Demobilization Office, heard that they were taken to some shrine.

The Tokyo report Kikkawa saw stated that there were 3 executions, one on the day following the Fukuoka bombing in June of 8, the 2nd on the day following the Nagasaki bombing in August of 8, the 3rd on 15 or 16 August of about 15. The report used the names of Sato, head of LS (Ito), Idezono (as to the 2nd series), Tomomori (as present with Idezono). Sato heard that this document had been brought to the Legal Investigation Section by Inada. It was addressed from Western Demobilization to the Vice Minister of Demobilization at the 1st Demobilization Ministry.

KIKKAWA        CONT’D

Kikkawa saw merely a copy, with no date, thinks the original was written in mid Feb. Kikkawa's work involved investigation of treatment of PWs. Kikkawa's impression was that the document was false since the figures were not exact, stating that "about" 8 flyers were supposed to have been killed following the Fukuoka bombing, the total was reported as ’’about” 31. It did not include the 9 allegedly sent to Hiroshima.

In April or May 1946 Kikkawa went to the Legal Investigation Section of 1st Demobilization and asked about WAH, was told that the Occupation Forces were investigating some doctors at KIU — the 1st Kikkawa heard that KIU was in­volved. Kikkawa deducted that sine 31 were mentioned as executed, since WAH told him that about 40 had been killed, the 9 must have been killed at KIU.

In June or July 1946 Kikkawa went to Western Demobilization Bureau, spoke to Tsutsumi of the Legal Investigation Section, learned that it had been established that 2-3 flyers had undergone autopsies or some sort of medical experiment at KIU.

Between late Dec. 1945 and 1 Jan. 1946 Western Demobilization sent 4 documents to Hiroshima the 1st stated that Aihara wag to be reported with 4-5 KT men as having accompanied the 9 flyers to Hiroshima. These documents were sent from the Head of General Affairs Section of Western Demobilization Bureau To the similar head of the Chukoku Demobilization. The 2nd named 2 of the KT men on the trip. The 3rd contained the names of 6 of the flyers, gave the date and place of capture. The 4th contained the names of the remaining 3 flyers with place and date of capture, stated these 3 flyers were "probably" the ones. These documents should still be there.

About 25 March 1927 and about 20 April 1947, Kikkawa reported to the Occupa­tion Forces that he thought that this 9 were killed at KIU. Kikkawa also reported to Osaka LS in April 1947.

In mid or late Dec. 1945 Kikkawa was told by 1st Lt. Viola of 10th Corps at Kure Base, who was investigating cases of captured flyers in the Chukoku Area, that it would not be enough to report only that 9 flyers had been killed in the Hiroshima bombing; that they would have to give the names. Sato came to Hiroshima in response to Kikkawa's telegram with a copy of the June 1945 report to the PWIB that some flyers had been killed in the Fukuoka bombing, and he gave Kikkawa 6 names of persons from the Watkins plane. Kikkawa got these names in a 2nd report as well as in late Dec. 1945, he now recalls. The names of the 3 others were sent later. Sato checked off the 6 names, wrote them on a piece of paper, kept the report. Kikkawa threw this paper away as soon as he got the official report of names from WAH.