Jim Smith - The Last Mission: The Secret History of World War IIs Final Battle

Table of Contents

The story is dedicated first to my dad, who told me years ago that I had a tiger by the tail and advised me to never let go. I also want to thank Darin C. Maurer, an airline pilot, who is like my son. He encouraged me in the face of seemingly impossible odds to write the original account of The Last Mission. Without his prodding, Im convinced the story never would have come to light.

This book is dedicated especially to the crew of The Boomerang, on which I served. Without the teamwork of Carl Schahrer, Dick Marshall, John Waltershausen, Hank Gorder, Tony Cosola, Rich Ginster, Henry Carlson, Hank Leffler, and Sid Seigel, I wouldnt have been able to relate my story.

I salute my 315th Bomb Wing and every B-29er for giving their best in the face of the enemy. I thank Sally Ann Wagoner and her B-29 Internet group for the collective recall of some details that had faded.

And lastly, this book is in honor of every American, both military and civilian, who delivered a team effort in World War II and preserved the freedom that has given us the greatest country in history.

JIM B. SMITH

I dedicate this book to my brother, Sergeant Bartley F. McConnell, 852nd
Bomb Squadron, 8th Air Force, Killed in Action, January 5, 1945.

MALCOLM MCCONNELL

PARTIAL LIST OF INDIVIDUALS APPEARING IN THE BOOK

I. THE TRUMAN ADMINISTRATION

Harry S. Truman, President
Admiral William D. Leahy, Chief of Staff to the President
Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War
James F. Byrnes, Secretary of State
James V. Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy
General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
General Douglas MacArthur, Commander, Allied Forces Southwest Pacific
Later, Supreme Commander, Allied Forces
General Henry H. Hap Arnold, Commanding General, U.S. Army Air Forces
General Carl Spaatz, Commander, U.S. Strategic Air Forces
Major General Curtis E. LeMay, Commander, XXI Bomber Command
Major General Leslie Groves, Commander, Manhattan Project
Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, Chief Scientist, Manhattan Project
W. Averell Harriman, U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union
General George C. Kenney, Commander, Allied Air Forces
Lt. General Ennis C. Whitehead, Deputy Commander, Allied Air Forces
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet

II. THE IMPERIAL PALACE, TOKYO

Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, 124th Descendant of the Imperial Line
General Shigeru Hasunuma, Chief Aide-de-Camp to the Emperor
Kiichiro Hiranuma, President of the Privy Council
Chamberlain Sukemasa Irie
Marquis Koichi Kido, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
Sotaro Ishiwatari, Minister of the Imperial Household
Motohiko Kakei, Chief of General Affairs Section, Imperial House
hold Ministry
Susumu Kato, Director of General Affairs Bureau, Imperial House
hold Ministry
Prince Fumimaro Konoye, Ex-Premier and Adviser to the Emperor
Imperial Chamberlain Yasuya Mitsui
Chamberlain Yasuhide Toda
Chamberlain Yoshihiro Tokugawa

III. THE SUPREME COUNCIL FOR THE DIRECTION OF THE WAR (THE BIG SIX)

General Korechika Anami, Minister of War
Baron Admiral Kantaro Suzuki, Prime Minister
Shigenori Togo, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Admiral Soemu Toyoda, Imperial Navy Chief of Staff
General Yoshijiro Umezu, Imperial Army Chief of Staff
Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai, Minister of the Navy

IV. SENIOR JAPANESE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

Genki Abe, Home Minister
Naoto Kobiyama, Minister of Transportation
Shunichi Matsumoto, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hiromasa Matsuzaka, Minister of Justice
Hisatsune Sakomizu, Chief Cabinet Secretary
Hiroshi Shimomura, Director of the Cabinets Information Bureau
General Hideki Tojo, former Prime Minister

V. IMPERIAL JAPANESE ARMED FORCES OFFICERS

Field Marshal Shunroku Hata, Commander, 2nd General Army
Major Saburo Hayashi, War Minister Anamis Adjutant
Lt. Colonel Michinori Shiraishi, Staff Officer of 2nd General Army
Lt. General Masao Yoshizumi, Director of Military Affairs Bureau,
Ministry of War

VI. MINISTRY OF WAR, IMPERIAL GUARDS DIVISION, AND OTHER UNIT OFFICERS INVOLVED IN COUP ATTEMPT

Colonel Okikatsu Arao, Chief of the Military Affairs Section, War Ministry
Major Kenji Hatanaka, Military Affairs Section, War Ministry
Lt. Colonel Masataka Ida, Military Affairs Section, War Ministry
Lt. Colonel Masao Inaba, Military Affairs Section, War Ministry
Major Sadakichi Ishihara, Staff Officer of the Imperial Guards Division
Major Hidemasa Koga, 1st Imperial Guards Division
Captain Yasuna Kozono, Commander, 302nd Air Corps, Imperial Navy
Captain Takeo Sasaki, Commander of the Yokohama Guards
Lt. Colonel Jiro Shiizaki, Military Affairs Section, War Ministry
Lt. Colonel Masahiko Takeshita, Military Affairs Section, War Ministry
Captain Shigetaro Uehara, Imperial Air Academy

VII. 1ST IMPERIAL GUARDS DIVISION

Colonel Toyojiro Haga, Commander, 2nd Regiment, 1st Imperial
Guards Division
Colonel Teisaku Minami, Commander, 7th Infantry Regiment,
Imperial Guards Division
Colonel Kazuo Mizutani, Chief of Staff, Imperial Guards Division
Lt. General Takeshi Mori, Commander, Commander, 1st Imperial
Guards Division

VIII. EASTERN DISTRICT ARMY

Major General Tatsuhiko Takashima, Chief of Staff of the Eastern
District Army
Lt. General Shizuichi Tanaka, Commander, Eastern District Army

IX. JAPAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION (NHK) OFFICIALS

Hachiro Ohashi, Chairman, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)
Morio Tateno, Japan Broadcasting Corporation Broadcaster
Nobukata Wada, Japan Broadcasting Corporation Announcer

X. OTHER

Professor Kiyoshi Hiraizumi, Tokyo Imperial University

XI. ALLIED OFFICIALS

Joseph Stalin, Secretary General, Soviet Communist Party
Vycheslav Molotov, Soviet Foreign Minister
Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese Nationalist Leader
Winston Churchill, British Conservative Party Prime Minister
Anthony Eden, British Conservative Party Foreign Secretary
Clement Attlee, British Labour Party Prime Minister
Ernest Bevin, British Labour Party Foreign Secretary

XII. CREW OF THE BOOMERANG

1st Lieutenant Carl Schahrer, Aircraft Commander
1st Lieutenant John Waltershausen, Pilot
1st Lieutenant Dick Marshall, Bombardier
Technical Sergeant Hank Gorder, Flight Engineer
1st Lieutenant Rich Ginster, Radar Operator
1st Lieutenant Tony Cosola, Navigator