Following the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese pilot Shinegori Nishikaichi crash landed on the Hawaiian Island of Ni’ihau, which had mistakenly been labeled as uninhabited by Imperial Japanese planners. Nishikaichi managed to convince two Japanese-Americans on the island to help him escape, and the three took two locals, Ben Kanahele and his wife Ellen hostage. The two managed to overpower their captors and, despite being shot multiple times, Ben eventually beat Nishikaichi to death with a rock.
Ben Kanahele was honored with the Medal for Merit and Purple Heart for his actions. The incident also fueld anti-Japanese paranoia in the U.S. military and government and is considered a major factor for why the U.S. eventually greenlit a program to put citizens of Japanese-American citizenry in concentration camps.
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Following the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese pilot Shinegori Nishikaichi crash landed on the Hawaiian Island of Ni’ihau, which had mistakenly been labeled as uninhabited by Imperial Japanese planners. Nishikaichi managed to convince two Japanese-Americans on the island to help him escape, and the three took two locals, Ben Kanahele and his wife Ellen hostage. The two managed to overpower their captors and, despite being shot multiple times, Ben eventually beat Nishikaichi to death with a rock.
Ben Kanahele was honored with the Medal for Merit and Purple Heart for his actions. The incident also fueld anti-Japanese paranoia in the U.S. military and government and is considered a major factor for why the U.S. eventually greenlit a program to put citizens of Japanese-American citizenry in concentration camps.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ni%CA%BBihau_incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ni%CA%BBihau_incident)