1. “Ukraine Has Become My Homeland”
After his eventual release from Soviet imprisonment, Ishinosuke Uwano had settled in the USSR instead of returning to Japan. He got naturalized as a citizen, ended up living in the Ukrainian SSR, married, and had three children. It was only after he asked Ukrainian friends to contact the Japanese government, which then sent officials to interview him in Kiev, that the story of his survival came out.
A hiccup emerged when Uwano sought to visit Japan in order to pray at his parents’ graves, reconnect with his family, and see once more his birth country’s famous cherry blossoms. Because he had been declared dead in 2000, Uwano was technically no longer a Japanese citizen. He was allowed to visit Japan, but only as a visiting Ukrainian citizen traveling on his Ukrainian passport. Not that Uwano minded. As he told reporters, he had no plans to live in Japan. “Ukraine has become my homeland”, he said.
Read More:
- The Japanese Soldier Who Refused to Surrender After WWII Had Ended.
- 10 Japanese Holdouts Who Did Not Surrender After WWII Ended
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
Albuquerque Journal, February 3rd, 2004 – Man Survived 22,000 Foot Fall From Bomber
Cradle of Aviation Museum – Aviation Darwinism: The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Defense Media Network – Nazi Rotors: German Helicopter Development 1932-1945
Defense Media Network – Operation Vengeance: The Mission to Kill Admiral Yamamoto
Encyclopedia Britannica – P-47
Historical Resources Org – Hitler’s Directive for Operation Green
Historic Wings – The Miracle of Saint Nazaire
Hogg, Ian V. – German Artillery of World War II (2002)
Imperial War Museum – Life and Death in Bomber Command
Japan Times, April 28th, 2006 – Long Lost Soldier, 83, Returns to Ukraine
La Brujala Verde – The World War II Airmen Who Survived Falls From Thousands of Feet High
Military Factory – Junkers Ju 88 Medium Bomber
Military Factory – World War 2 Helicopters
New York Times, April 19th, 2006 – 60 Years After the War, Japanese Soldier Returns
Neatorama – The Indestructible Alkemade
Tank Encyclopedia – Panzerkampfwagen 38(t)
Task and Purpose – Balloon Bombs: How Japan Killed Americans at Home in WWII
We Are the Mighty – Patton Once Sent 300 Men to Rescue His Son-in-Law From a Nazi Prison
War History Online – Operation Jericho: A Rescue Mission Which Turned Into a Bloodbath
Wikipedia – Fall Grun (Czechoslovakia)
