Mutsuhiro watanabe biography of william

Japanese soldier (1918–2003)

SergeantMutsuhiro Watanabe (Japanese: 渡邊睦裕, 18 January 1918 – 1 April 2003), nicknamed "the Bird" by his prisoners, was a Japanese soldier who served in several prisoner-of-war camps during World War II.

Infamous for his mistreatment of Allied prisoners of war, after the surrender of Japan in 1945 American occupational authorities classified Watanabe as a war criminal for his mistreatment and torture of POWs, but he managed to elude arrest and was never tried in court.

World War II

Watanabe served at POW camps in Omori, Naoetsu (present-day Jōetsu), Niigata, Mitsushima (present-day Hiraoka) and at a civilian POW Camp in Yamakita.

While in the military, Watanabe allegedly ordered one man who reported to him to be punched in the face every night for three weeks and practiced judo on an appendectomy patient.

One of his prisoners was American track star and Olympian Louis Zamperini. Zamperini reported that Watanabe beat