In September of 1944, 9 U.S pilots ejected out of their planes to the Japanese island of Chichi Jima.

 In September of 1944, 9 U.S pilots ejected out of their planes to the Japanese island of Chichi Jima. 8 of them were captured, executed, and cannibalized by Japanese soldiers. The sole survivor, future president George H.W Bush, landed far away from the island in the water, and was later rescued.

Following the incident, it was discovered that the captured airmen had been subjected to severe beatings and torture before being executed. The orders for their execution came from Lieutenant General Yoshio Tachibana. The gruesome act of cannibalism was not a result of lack of food or extreme conditions, but rather a deliberate act committed by the unit under Tachibana.

In the aftermath of the war, Tachibana, along with 11 other Japanese personnel, were tried in August 1946 in relation to the execution of U.S. Navy airmen and the cannibalism of at least one of them. Because military and international law did not specifically deal with cannibalism, they were tried for murder and “prevention of honorable burial”. Of the 30 Japanese soldiers prosecuted, four officers were found guilty and hanged.

The Chichijima incident was largely obscured from public knowledge for years, with one lawyer involved in the episode remarking, “The Navy didn’t want people back home to know that their sons were eaten.”. 

The incident was later detailed in the best-selling book “Flyboys: A True Story of Courage” by American author James Bradley. The book not only recounts the incident but also alleges that the Japanese soldiers engaged in cannibalization-for-sustenance of living prisoners over the course of several days, amputating limbs only as needed to keep the meat fresh.