Skip to main content

Statement Concerning Tokihiro Sato

Statement Title Statement of Sato
Record Type Statement
Subject of Statement
Statement Provided By

SATO (Tokihiro).

Statement of Sato (1 Dec 47). 41 years old; on 5 May 1945, about 1000 saw a B 29 catch fire, 6 parachutes descending, so got his shot gun, went to spot where a crowd was gathered around a flyer behind a tree. Sato shot at his legs, missed, thought the flyer was going to shoot. Tsunahiko Iwashita, with Sato, fired his shotgun and hit him in the chest, was still alive when Sato went to search for another flyer. This was a Minami-Oguni Mura.

About 1 1/2 hours after the first flyer was killed, Sato was on the left flank of a searching party, saw a flyer 500 meters in a forest, motioned for him to come forward, and he gave Sato a pistol, a dortag and chain. Sato gave the pistol to Yoshito Ishihashi, who sent it to Tsukamoto, a Mangnji area Policeman, gave the chain and metal (dog tag) to Tsukamoto directly. The flyer was sent to Hoshiwa school. Sato searched for a third flyer, then joined the; second at the school.

With. Sato on the searching party, which captured the flyer, were Yoshito Ishihashi, Sadao Ito and Asachi M.orikawa and another. The photo of .PLAMBECK (Dale E.) looked like the man they captured. The picture of Charles M. Kearns, reminds Sato slightly of the flyer he saw. killed, but Sato is very uncertain.