This oral history project makes clear that there are things that we do not forget in this life. When I asked Mr. Gene Pfeifer what he would never forget about his experience in WWII, he shared with me that he would never forget the murder of the three airmen from his squadron VC-97. During a dangerous typhoon, three crew members of a torpedo bomber from Mr. Gene Pfeifer’s squadron went missing in action.

They were seen parachuting from their disabled plane, then captured by the Japanese. Mr. Pfeifer explained that it was not until the war crimes trial in Japan that they learned what had happened to the missing airmen. The three men were seen parachuting from their disabled plane, then captured by the Japanese, but no one knew at first what happened to the men. Lieutenant Vernon L. Tebo and airman Robert Tuggle were beheaded. Airman Warren H. Loyd was used for bayonet practice. Forty one members of Japanese forces that participated in the executions were tried and sentenced to death by the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal in November of 1947.

Seven of the Japanese personnel involved were hanged for their direct participation in the executions. The remaining 34 had their sentences consummated to incarceration in Sugano Prison. As long as Mr. Pfeifer lived, he would and could never forget the deaths of those three airmen.

“No Matter What Happens – Some Memories Can Never Be Replaced.”