Jacob DeShazer
Jacob Daniel DeShazer | |
---|---|
Staff Sergeant | |
Unit | 34th Bomb Squadron |
Battles/wars | World War II * Doolittle Raid |
Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross Purple Heart |
Relations | Florence DeShazer (wife) Paul, John, Mark, Carol Aiko and Ruth (children) |
Other work | Missionary |
Jacob Daniel DeShazer (15 November 1912 – 15 March 2008) participated in the Doolittle Raid as a staff sergeant and later became a Christian missionary in Japan.
Early years
DeShazer was born on 15 November 1912 in
Doolittle Raid
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Corporal DeShazer, along with other members of the
The crews undertook practice carrier deck takeoffs along with extensive flying exercises involving low-level and night flying, low-altitude bombing, and over-water navigation. Their mission would be to fly modified
The unit formed to carry out the raid on Japan soon acquired the name, "Doolittle's Raiders", after their famous commander,
Japanese prisoner of war
After bombing
On his return to the United States, Staff Sgt. DeShazer was awarded both the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart for his part in the Doolittle Raid.
Missionary in Japan
During his captivity, DeShazer persuaded one of his guards to loan him a copy of the
DeShazer, the Doolittle Raider who bombed Nagoya, met Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, becoming close friends. (For That One Day: The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, translated by Douglas T. Shinsato and Tadanori Urabe.) [3] Fuchida became a Christian in 1950 after reading a tract written about DeShazer titled, I Was a Prisoner of Japan, and spent the rest of his life as a missionary in Asia and the United States. On occasion, DeShazer and Fuchida preached together as Christian missionaries in Japan. In 1959, DeShazer moved to Nagoya to establish a Christian church in the city he had bombed.[2]
Later life
DeShazer retired after 30 years of missionary service in Japan and went back to his home town in Salem, Oregon where he spent the last years of his life in an assisted living home with his wife, Florence. On 15 March 2008, DeShazer died in his sleep at the age of 95, leaving his wife and five children: Paul, John, Mark, Carol, and Ruth.[4]
Awards and honors
His decorations include:[5]
USAAF Bombardier Badge
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Distinguished Flying Cross | ||
Purple Heart | Prisoner of War Medal | Army Good Conduct Medal
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American Defense Service Medal | American Campaign Medal | campaign star
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World War II Victory Medal | Order of Yung Hui 5th class ( Republic of China )
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War Memorial Medal (Republic of China) |
Other honors
On 15 April 2008, the Oregon War Veterans Association (OWVA) nominated DeShazer for the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal noting his extraordinary impact on America as a war hero and for his heroic service to the people of Japan, where he is well known as a hero of peace and reconciliation. On 21 April 2008, the White House confirmed the nomination in a letter to OWVA's executive director, Greg Warnock. President George W. Bush's Deputy Director for Awards said that the DeShazer nomination for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's most prestigious civilian award, second only to the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor would be given "every consideration" by the advisory staff, who will provide the President with the recommendation. The medals are usually awarded on or near 4 July annually. About 400 Presidential Medals of Freedom have been awarded since its inception in 1945.
Warnock nominated Rev. DeShazer for the Congressional Gold Medal through Congresswoman Darlene Hooley's (D-Ore.) office in Salem, Oregon. In the official nomination letters Warnock wrote, "At this time in our history, we feel it is ideal to honor a man who was a genuine war hero, [but] who after his sacrificial service put on gloves of peace, and touched the entire world with grace and humility."
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ a b "Jake DeShazer". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
- ^ a b c d From Bombs to Something More Powerful .
Dealing with the day of Infamy, Cox News, 7 December 2000
Beyond Pearl Harbour, ChristianHistory.net, 8 August 2008 Archived 12 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine - ISBN 978-0-9846745-0-3.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (March 23, 2008). "Jacob DeShazer, Bombardier on Doolittle Raid, Dies at 95". The New York Times.
- ^ "Jacob DeShazer". Veteran Tributes. Retrieved Apr 22, 2020.
- Bibliography
- DeShazer, Jacob as told to Don Falkenberg. I was a Prisoner of Japan (Tract). Columbus, Ohio: The Bible Meditation League, 1950. (Out of print.)
- DeShazer, Jacob. Love Your Enemies, From Bombs to Bible. Seattle: Home Coming Chapel, 1972–73: Seattle Pacific College (now University SPU) (From the SPU Chapel Archives on iTunes 1), 1978–79.
- From Vengeance to Forgiveness: Jake DeShazer's Extraordinary Journey (DVD). Grand Rapids MI: Discovery House Publishers, 2007.
- "Alumni Magazine article." Seattle Pacific University.
- Watson, Charles Hoyt. DeShazer, the Amazing Story of Sergeant Jacob DeShazer: The Doolittle Raider Who Turned Missionary. Winona Lake, Indiana: The Light and Life Press, 1950.
Further reading
- Cohen, Stan, Jim Farmer and Joe Boddy. Destination: Tokyo: A Pictorial History of Doolittle's Tokyo Raid, 18 April 1942. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1992. ISBN 978-0-929521-52-7.
- "DeShazer's Biography." freemethodistchurch.org.
- Glines, Carroll V. The Doolittle Raid: America's First Strike Against Japan. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 2000. ISBN 978-0-88740-347-7.
- Glines, Carroll V. Four Came Home: The Gripping Story of the Survivors of Jimmy Doolittle's Two Lost Crews. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1996. ISBN 978-1-57510-007-4.
- Goldstein, Donald M. and Carol Aiko DeShazer Dixon. Return of the Raider: A Doolittle Raider's Story of War and Forgiveness. 2010. (Carol Aiko DeShazer Dixon is DeShazer's daughter.)
- Hembree, Charles R. From Pearl Harbor to the Pulpit. Akron, Ohio: Rex Humbard World Ministry, 1975.
- ISBN 978-1-891661-44-0. (Written by Doolittle's granddaughter)
- Nelson, Craig. The First Heroes: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid, America's First World War II Victory. London: Penguin, 2002. ISBN 978-0-14-200341-1.
- Prange, Gordon W., Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon. God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books Inc, 2003. ISBN 978-1-57488-695-5. (The best biography of Captain Mitsuo Fuchida's life, includes his life encounters with Jacob DeShazer)
- Further viewing
- Browne, Pamela K. "War Stories with Oliver North: Doolittle Raid". Fox News Network, 2002. (DeShazer is being interviewed throughout the documentary and the DeShazer and Fuchida story is told at the end.)
- "One Hour Over Tokyo: The Doolittle Raid". The History Channel, 2001. (DeShazer is being interviewed throughout the documentary and the DeShazer and Fuchida story is told at the end.)
External links
- Jacob Daniel DeShazer, 6584514, Staff Sergeant Bombardier Crew 16
- Jacob DeShazer: Member of the Doolittle Raid and a Prisoner of Japan
- Congressional Gold Medal Archived 2014-12-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Oregon War Veterans Association
- DeShazer Memorabilia and Anecdotes
- DeShazer's Mother Archived 2007-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
- Doolittle Tokyo Raiders
- Jacob DeShazer's personal testimony