Internment of Enemy Aliens At A Lavish Resort
During the detention of the Axis diplomats at the posh West Virginia resort the rhythm of their lives continued as much as possible. There were several weddings, two European and one Japanese; a half dozen babies were born at the C & O Railroad hospital in Clifton Forge, Virginia, -- children who later could possibly claim U. S. citizenship if they so chose.
All internees ate together at the same hour in the hotel dining room, the Germans at one end and the Japanese at the other. The Japanese would be seated in a circle with the Ambassador at the center representing the "Rising Sun” surrounded by other members. Completely outside the circle were the maids, butlers and chauffeurs.
With the Germans seated at one end of the great dining room, special Japanese Peace Envoy Saburo Kurusu made a grand entrance escorted by the head waiter, (who, by the way was a naturalized German American citizen). Kurusu strode pompously across the highly polished pine wood floor to his table far from the Germans and abruptly stopped. "Where's the rug?” he cried out.
Surely, a person of his stature could not be expected to eat from a table positioned on a bare wooden floor. Whereupon the startled dining room staff quickly hustled around for a rug and soon brought in a 12 foot throw rug. Holding each corner they placed it on the floor and lifted the table onto the rug. Meanwhile, the other Japanese while waiting for their superior to arrive and be seated had to wait until Kurusu lifted his spoon before they could began to eat their soup which was now cold. That evening the Japanese envoy dined on breast of guinea hen.
April 18, 1942, brought welcome news to Americans throughout the nation and beyond. The news, on the other hand, brought dismay and disbelief to the Japanese. It was the day Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, in a B-25 bomber, along with 15 other aircraft (each with a 5 man crew and each with a range of 1,200 miles) left the pitching deck of the aircraft Hornet CV-8 to bomb Tokyo 400 miles away. The aircraft had been stripped of the top secret Norden bombsight which was replaced with a twenty cent aluminum protractor device with a sighting arm to make the bomb run.
While the damage was not severe within the Tokyo area but with a few bombers hitting Nagoya it was serious enough to spur Combined Fleet Commander Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto to resolve to eliminate the risk of another carrier attack and to seek out and destroy America's air-craft carriers which were absent at Pearl Harbor on the day of the attack. This decision led directly to the Battle of Midway six weeks later on June 4, 1942. This was the battle that turned the tide of the naval war in the Pacific as the Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga and Soryu were sunk and the Hiryu damaged. It was a Pacific "tipping point. “
Disclosure of the Tokyo bombing arrived at the hotel the following morning by way of the newspapers. Most of the Japanese stayed in their rooms upon learning of the sudden attack. However, a few did venture into the dining room only to be met with loud laughter from the Germans. Taunted unsympathetically, the Nazis would mimic the whistling shrill of falling bombs followed by a loud palm-slapping "bang” on the table. Repeated over and over by the Germans the table banging was always followed by boisterous and heckling laughter.
Two days later the Germans celebrated Hitler's 53rd birthday (1889). The Japanese remained in their rooms during dinner while the revelers enjoyed themselves with a riotous party where huge quantities of whisky and beer flowed freely. One waiter was heard to say, "It was a hell of a hall of hails. “By the time it was over the room was a mess with swastikas scrawled on walls and tablecloths as well as on the cushions of fine, ornate furniture. There was never any offer to meet the cost of repairing the damage.
On two occasions the large American Flag which hung over the hotel's en trance disappeared and a white table cloth with a large black swastika drawn on it was hung in its place. Needless to say it was quickly removed when discovered.
By contrast the Japanese never caused any destruction or commotion and were never rowdy.
There were several thwarted attempts to escape when two men heard a rumor that they would be leaving the hotel for repatriation back to Germany. Attacking a guard to escape from the hotel they later explained after they were caught that they "just didn't want to go back to Germany. “
In anticipation of their release and repatriation the internees started hording supplies of leather, canned goods, sugar, etc., which they hoped to take home. The luggage in the hotel store rooms were filled with such commodities which were in short supply in their home countries,
The U. S. Government paid the hotel $10 a day for each adult and $5 for each child and provided $2 a day per person to be divided among the 400 waiters, waitresses, bell hops, chambermaids, and others. This rate compared favorably with the Greenbrier's regular rates. It was estimated that the 525 Germans, the 330 Japanese and 237 Italians who replaced them cost the United States $9,000 a day and this did not include the cost of the huge contingent of guards to watch over them.
FBI Agent Morgan later reported to the Bureau's director that Ambassador Kurusu's secretary, had mentioned that "conditions in Japan were very bad even before December 1941, and that food was very scarce. At one time people could purchase large bunches of onions but now they could only purchase one onion at a time. Rice was scarce and they had to depend upon French Indo-China for supplies. There was food rationing, no meat was available for the general population and a shortage of gasoline for fishing boats limited the supply of fish. “
On April 29, 1942, barely a week after learning of the Doolittle raid, the Japanese met in the hotel auditorium in honor of Emperor Hirohito's birthday. Ambassador Nomura in addressing the assembled group described his previous contacts with the Emperor and said, "it is very regrettable that we Japanese have to celebrate the Emperor's birthday in enemy land. “
Having met the Emperor several times he discussed the conditions and organization of the Japanese navy with him. He mentioned, "In all his many visits to the palace, the Emperor was always punctual in his appointments; very thrifty in his house-hold much more than the people generally believe and he was very industrious and a hard working person in the affairs of State. “
"The dinner served the Emperor was a very simple meal much simpler than the Japanese at the Greenbrier are partaking every day. “
The Ambassador continued by saying "The Emperor was a very learned man, being well versed on all subjects of his conversations; that he was sacred as everyone knows and even children and older men are fighting for the victory of the homeland; that they must keep in mind that they are in a war and are now facing the critical stage of war and must prepare for things to come. “
He cautioned the detainees "You are eating too much and too well and will have a shock upon arrival in Japan at the food condition. “
He told them it was "very unfortunate, and they should remember regardless of the outcome the chances were strong that they would lose and that if they did they should begin preparing themselves for the future as there would be revolutionary changes. Young men should begin to study now. “
The group was informed that their departure from the United States was expected soon and that once aboard ship they were to obey the orders of the officers and seamen to assure their safety.
As the meeting drew to a close they rose, faced west in honor of the Emperor and sang the Japanese National Anthem, Kimigaya and the Emperor's song, Tenchositsu. During the meeting there were no disturbances or demonstrations among those in attendance of the celebration honoring the Emperor.
Agent Morgan also reported to the FBI Director that the First Secretary of the "former” Japanese Embassy stated, "It was a severe shock to both Nomura and Kurusu who felt they had lost face with all diplomats because of their presence at the U. S. State Department that Sunday, December 7, 1941 trying to make peace negotiations at the same time Pearl Harbor was being bombed. When they met Mr. Hull at the State Department around 2 P. M. who remarked about the distortion of facts and the infamous action on the part of Japan, neither of the Japanese diplomats knew what Hull was referring to and that the U. S. Secretary of State did not inform them of the bombing” but they knew something was wrong because of their reception at State. The diplomats did not learn of the attack until after they left the State Department and returned to their embassy.
Ambassador Nomura, being a former navy man mentioned to the FBI's agent stationed at the hotel, "the Japanese Navy had great respect for the American navy since it had received a great deal of experience in naval warfare from its maneuvers. No navy could be good if it stayed in its harbors and the United States Navy was always practicing. For this reason, and because of its number of ships, the Japanese Navy did not want war with the United States. However, the Japanese Government thought differently and since the Government passed on the policies, the Japanese Navy felt it would have to do the best it knew how. Therefore, the Navy realizing the strength and greatness of the American Navy deemed it would be wise to strike first and without warning in order to gain the initial advantage so as to make the navies of both Japan and the United States more equal. So when it was felt by Tokyo that there was nothing else to do but fight, the Japanese Navy used its best strategy in attacking Pearl Harbor without warning or without a declaration of war. “To be continued. December 7, 2007
This concludes the series to commemoration the 66th anniversary of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor published by Saipan Tribune. The series consisted of a little known facet of the conflict concerning the exchange of diplomats between Japan and the United States. The information presented by the author is based on declassified confidential memoranda of 1941-'42 prepared by FBI Special Agent Roy L. Morgan to J. Edgar Hoover.