Jacob Deshazer Born Nov.15 1912; died Mar.15 2008

A great story and a great man.

Graduated from Madras High School, Madras, Oregon in 1931. Enlisted on February 26, 1940 at Fort McDowell, California. Attended Bombardier and Airplane Mechanics Schools. Was captured by the Japanese after the Tokyo Raid and spent 40 months as a prisoner of war. Released on August 20, 1945 and separated from the service on October 15, 1945. Graduated Seattle Pacific College, Seattle, Washington, on June 7, 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in preparation for a life as a missionary. After completion of his missionary training, he returned to Japan on December 28, 1948 to fulfill the vision he had while a prisoner. Decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and the Chinese Breast Order of Yung Hui.​

Cpl. Jacob DeShazer, United States Army Air Corps, was a bombardier on the historic mission April 18, 1942 in which Gen. Jimmy Doolittle and his crew attacked Tokyo and turned the tide of the Pacific war. For the next three years, he paid a heavy price for his bravery as the Japanese beat, tortured and starved him as a "war criminal."
Why then did DeShazer, who spoke at Pearl Harbor Memorial Chapel May 18, spend the next 30 years of his life as a Methodist missionary in Japan?
The courage of Gen. Doolittle and his Raiders -- who did not expect to survive the bombing raid over Japan -- is vividly depicted in the motion picture "Pearl Harbor," which premiered May 21 on the flight deck of the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). DeShazer, 88, and his wife Florence were in Pearl Harbor for the premiere and to share how that "Date of Infamy" led to a chain of events that changed their lives.
DeShazer was subjected to unbelievable cruelty, including being forced to watch helplessly while one of his friends died of slow starvation. "My hatred for the enemy nearly drove me crazy," he said. "My thoughts turned toward what I had heard about Christianity changing hatred between human beings into real brotherly love. I begged my captors to get me a Bible, and when the emperor of Japan told them to treat us better, I got one."

http://www.doolittleraider.com/raiders/deshazer.htm