Some interesting interviews of the 20th century are now streaming on various online services. Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, and Merv Griffin all interviewed the headliners of our time.
One such episode was on August 26, 1965 The Merv Griffin Show had two interesting figures of World War II.
Mitsuo Fuchida was the commander of the Japanese attack force during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He explained to Merv and the audience that there were no plans to occupy Pearl Harbor or the mainland USA, just diminish the naval capacity by destroying the ships docked there.
Frederick Ayer Jr was also a guest on the show. Ayer in 1941 was a young FBI agent who was following the traffic of the rumblings of war with Japan. General George Patton was Ayer’s uncle.
The thing I found most fascinating about the interview was how Ayer and Merv discussed how on the night of the invasion how there was a huge traffic jam in San Francisco going to the beach to watch the Japanese arrival!
Captain Fuchida agreed that dropping nuclear weapons saved lives. After the Japanese surrender during General MacArthur’s occupation, Fuchida met a street minister and turned his life over to Jesus Christ. Fuchida spent the rest of his life as a minister and as an author writing about the war. Fuchida died in 1976.
I did not link this interview because it will change to and from various streaming services. This was season 2 episode 79.
Nice!!!