Hideki Tojo (WL)

Hideki Tojo is a major antagonist in ''Warring Legends' World War II. ''He was a General of the Imperial Japanese Army, the leader of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and the 27th Prime Minister during much of World War II from 1941 to 1944.

Capture, Trial and Execution
After Japan's unconditional surrender in 1945, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur issued orders for the arrest of the first forty alleged war criminals including Tojo. Soon, Tojo's home in Setagaya was besieged with newsmen and photographers. Corporal Paul Korol, Private First Class John Potkul and Private First Class James Safford and two Office of Strategic Services Officers were sent to serve the arrest warrant on Tojo.

Two American war correspondents, Hugh Bailey and Russell Braun, had previously interviewed Tojo and were also present when they attempt to serve the arrest warrant. Inside, a doctor named Suzuki had marked Tojo's chest with charcoal to indicate the location of his heart. When American military police surrounded the house on September 11 1945, they heard a muffled shot from inside. Major Paul Kraus and a group of military police burst in, followed by George Jones, a reporter for The New York Times. Tojo had shot himself in the chest with a pistol, but despite shooting directly through the mark, the bullets missed his heart and penetrated his stomach.

Now disarmed with blood gushing out of his chest, Tojo began to talk, and two Japanese reporters recorded him murming. Tojo was arrested and underwent emergency surgery in a U.S. Army hospital. After recovering from his injuries, Tojo was moved to Sugamo Prison. While there he received a new set of dentures made by an American dentist. The phrase "Remember Pearl Harbor" had been secretly drilled into the teeth in Morse code. Tojo was tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for war crimes and found guilty. Tojo accepted full responsibility in the end for his actions during the war. Tojo was sentenced to death on November 12 1948, and executed by hanging 41 days later on December 23 1948.