Redemption

On December 7, 1941, at 7:49 a.m., Commander Mitsuo Fuchida led 360 Japanese fighters in a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, where the entire American Pacific fleet was anchored. Fuchida’s radioed message, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” signaled the start of the assault, which destroyed five battleships and severely damaged 14 others. It was a triumphant moment for Fuchida but a tragic one for America, with 2,300 lives lost in the attack—a day that would forever be known as a day of infamy.

One of those deeply affected by Pearl Harbor was Sergeant Jacob DeShazer. Devastated by the attack, he volunteered for a dangerous mission under Col. Jimmy Doolittle to bomb Japan, hoping to strike back. The mission was successful, but DeShazer’s B-24 bomber ran out of fuel, and he was forced to bail out over enemy territory. He was captured and spent the next 40 months as a prisoner of war, enduring torture and witnessing the brutality that claimed the lives of many of his fellow prisoners. Desperate for hope, DeShazer asked for a Bible, where he encountered Jesus’ words on the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” This moment transformed him. In his darkest hours, DeShazer found strength and purpose in choosing to love his enemies. After the war, he returned to Japan, spreading the love and forgiveness of Jesus to a broken nation.

Meanwhile, Fuchida, disillusioned and bitter after Japan’s defeat, found himself in Tokyo in 1948. There, an American handed him a leaflet written in Japanese that read, “I WAS A PRISONER OF JAPAN.” Intrigued, Fuchida read it, and his curiosity about Jesus and Christianity grew. Days later, he found a man distributing Japanese Bibles. Opening one, he found the same words that had changed DeShazer’s life. Fuchida was struck, realizing that Jesus’ forgiveness extended even to him, a man responsible for so much death.

The two men, once enemies, became friends, and Fuchida, the man who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, later became an evangelist, spreading the message of Jesus’ redemption across the world. Jesus continues to transform lives, offering forgiveness and redemption to all.