I believed him but, then again, he may well have been acting (they are all very, very good actors).
I still had one question for Naitō (the only question that really matters to me) & so I asked him then & there, ‘Were Allied prisoners ever used as experimental guinea pigs?’
Naitō vowed to me, ‘on the lives of his children, on the souls of his parents’, that no Allied prisoners were ever used as experimental guinea pigs. Again, I believed him & so I wrote in my own hand at the end of his document, ‘I have asked Or Naitō whether prisoners were ever used as experimental guinea pigs. He vows that this has not been the case’ and I signed it, Dr M. Thompson, Lt. Col.
I then took the document directly to the General himself. I must admit it was one of the most exciting moments of my life because this document was the breakthrough we needed. It was dynamite. The General & all his top men (Willoughby & Compton) were equally delighted with the document & my bluff. Of course, I knew now the hard work would really begin &, even though we had the names we needed (thanks to Naitō), there was still no guarantee that if we found these men they would talk to me. We were also worried about the Soviets scaring them all away. But I had a plan & I suggested to the General that we tell Naitō that no one involved in BW would be prosecuted as a war criminal, as long as they told us everything we needed to know. I felt this was the only way to make them all come out of hiding & start talking. The General & all the other guys agreed with me that this was the best way & the General himself said (& I quote), ‘Well, Tommy, you’re the man in charge of the scientific aspects of this investigation. If you feel you cannot get all the information, we’re not given to torture, then offer him (Naitō) that promise as coming from General MacArthur himself – and get that data!’ I must admit I felt very proud of myself!
So I immediately put the deal on the table to Naitō & I swear the Jap had tears of gratitude in his eyes as he thanked me.
Well, after all that, it has been plain sailing. I have been able to speak to all their top men & to get all their information.
As I write to you today, my report is being typed up. Once it has been checked & submitted, I believe I will be able to return home to you all, via Manila. Of course, I will wire you with my exact arrival as soon as it is confirmed through channels.
So, until that happy day, kiss George & Emily for me, and start dusting down the bunting as I will see you all soon!!!
With all my love, Murray.
*
Stamped SECRET
APO 500-Advanced Echelon
November 1, 1945
To: Colonel Harlan Worthley, Office of the Chief Chemical Warfare Service, Special Project Division, Gravelly Point, Washington, D.C.
Dear Colonel Worthley,
I am enclosing my finished report and I would like to take this opportunity to supply further background details about my investigation and how much of the information was gained.
On October 4, I received handwritten information from Lt. Col. Naitō, a Japanese medical officer. It was written in very poor English, difficult to understand, but I immediately realized these twelve pages were dynamite because the document lays out the organization of the Bóeki Kyüsuibü (Water Purification Unit) and admits that it had been engaged in BW. It also ties Ishii with the Unit and with BW and it even seems to tie in the Emperor (though Naitō denies it, of course).
Colonel Naitō stated that he was divulging this information, which was considered by the Japs as secret, only because he felt that the information would be developed later and that by an effort on their part to be truthful we would be more lenient with them. My request for the military to supply us with information on BW, according to Naitō, created consternation among the higher officials of the General Headquarters of the Japanese army. After much discussion and debate, it was decided by the General Staff to furnish us with the information requested. Naitō indicated that the chief of the Bureau of Medicine of the Japanese army and the chief of the Section of Sanitation and other technical personnel were in favor of furnishing