Letters from Yokohama: Major John Dickey and the Prosecution of Japanese Class 'B' and 'C War Crimes Mark Sweeney A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (History) Saint Mary's University Halifax, Nova Scotia © Copyright Mark Sweeney, 2008 9 June 2008 Examining Committee Dr. Kirrily Freeman Thesis Supervisor Dr. John Stanton External Examiner Dr. Rosana Barbosa Graduate Coordinator Dr. Blake Brown Examiner Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-44666-9 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-44666-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada Abstract Letters from Yokohama: Major John Dickey and the Prosecution of Japanese Class 'B' and 'C War Crimes Mark Sweeney John Horace Dickey was a fourth generation Haligonian lawyer who, after serving on the domestic front with the Canadian Army travelled to Japan as a part of the Canadian War Crimes Liaison Detachment - Far East. Dickey was involved in the prosecution of Japanese Class 'B' and 'C war crimes committed against Canadian soldiers that were captured after the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941. Class 'B' and 'C or 'minor' war crimes consist of traditional or conventional war crimes, "violations of the laws and customs of war," and crimes against humanity, "murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts.") These trials are important as they have been largely overlooked in favour of the Class 'A' trials, crimes against peace, at Nuremberg and Tokyo, and also allow for an investigation of the experiences of individual soldiers involved in both sides of the conflict. This study will broaden English language war crimes trials scholarship, and also make an addition to a growing body of historiography investigating Canadian involvement in war crimes trials. While the political impetus for Canadian involvement has already been well developed, analysing the experiences of individual prosecutors from a social history perspective allows for a better understanding of how the sentences and judgments were reached, and the context that the trials themselves were undertaken. 9 June 2008 Acknowledgments I would first like to thank Dr. Kirrily Freeman, my thesis supervisor, academic guide and life coach for her direction, patience and insight. I came running to her with a dusty box of letters and plenty of enthusiasm, and through her leadership and guidance this project gained direction, coherence and a depth which it never could have. Thank you. I would also like to extend my sincerest gratitude to the whole of the History Department at Saint Mary's. I have received guidance^ advice and inspiration from several individuals during my time at Saint Mary's and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to many. Of course, I never would have fallen into this project without Dr. Nicole Neatby and her Public History seminar, and would also like to extend thanks to Dr. Blake Brown and Dr. Rosana Barbosa for sound and frequent advice. A special thank you is also due to Dr. Bill Sewell for his countless recommendations and readings, and forcing me to consider Asian historical viewpoints when my first reaction was to stick closely to Canadian history. Special note is also due to Roderick MacLean and Jim Derby of The Army Museum in Halifax, as well as Miriam Walls from the Parks Canada library. These three have provided me with special access to the John Dickey Papers, and have been exceptionally cooperative and enthusiastic from the onset of this project. A final note of thanks must go to my family. My mother and father, Reg and Reeta Sweeney, sister, Ellen, and girlfriend, Adrienne, have been constant sources of compassion, guidance and confidence for me. Thank you all for helping me succeed in this endeavour, and for always offering support and love. Dedication To Dad, Reg Sweeney (1949-2007) Thank you for instilling confidence in me, and making me realize all I need to do is try. Abbreviations ,. i Photograph Credits i Note About Japanese Names i Introduction 1 PART I - Preparation Chapter I - Preparation, Departure, Procedure 20 Chapter II - Case Preparation and Investigation 35 PART II - War Crimes Trials Chapter III - Trial of Kaneko Takio and Uchida Teshiharu 73 Chapter IV -Trial of Yanaru Tetsutoshi 97 Chapter V - Trial of Fukami Kazuo 115 PART III - Life Outside the Courtroom Chapter VI - Socializing in Occupied Japan 128 Chapter VII-The Long Way Home.. 146 Conclusion 157 Appendix Biographical Information - John Horace Dickey 161 Japanese Bibliography from Library of Parliament 162 Charges and Specifications - Kaneko Takio 167 Charges and Specifications - Uchida Teshiharu 171 Charges and Specifications - Yanaru Tetsutoshi 173 Charges and Specifications - Fukami Kazuo 177 Bibliography 179 Abbreviations BCOF - British Commonwealth Occupation Force DEA - Department of External Affairs GHQ - General Headquarters IMTFE - International Military Tribunal for the Far East JDP - John Dickey Papers LAC - Library and Archives Canada NARA - National Archives and Records Administration NDHQ - National Defence Headquarters NSARM - Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management RRC - Royal Rifles of Canada SCAP - Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers UNWCC - United Nations War Crimes Commission WCAC - War Crimes Advisory Committee WG - Winnipeg Grenadiers Photograph Credits All photographs are used with the permission of The Army Museum, Halifax and belong to the John Dickey Papers, which were donated by Mrs. Dickey in 1999. The utmost gratitude must be extended to Joyce. Note About Japanese Names Japanese names, aside from those cited as authors of secondary sources, are given in the traditional Japanese order, with the family name preceding the given name. Figure 1 - John Dickey in action during the Yokohama War Crimes Trials Untitled, John Dickey Papers (Halifax: The Army Museum, 1999.6.1), folder 3.0 photographs. Introduction On 15 April 1946, a young lawyer and Captain in the Canadian Army, John Horace Dickey, stepped off a plane accompanied by a contingent of two Canadian barristers, two former POWs and two administrative members of the military who comprised the Canadian War Crimes Liaison Detachment - Far East. The Detachment had just finished a week-long journey which saw them travel from Ottawa to Washington, Washington to San Francisco via Kansas, and then island hopping the Pacific Ocean, stopping at Honolulu, Kwajalein, and Guam until reaching its final destination, Atsugi Airport, north of Tokyo. This arrival marked the beginning of John Dickey's legal experience in Japan, representing Canada as a Chief Prosecutor at the Yokohama War Crimes Trials under the auspices of the American Eighth Army and the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (S CAP).l John Dickey was born on 4 September 1914 in Edmonton, Alberta. His father, Horace Beaumont Arthur Dickey, the third in a line of prominent Nova Scotian lawyers, was killed during the First World War, at which time Dickey and his mother Catherine moved back to Nova Scotia.2 Dickey received his undergraduate training at Saint Mary's College in Halifax, graduating in 1936, only to move on to Dalhousie Law School, attaining his LLB, and graduating second in his class in 1940.3 Dickey passed the Nova Scotia Bar in the fall of 1940, and was quickly recruited by Halifax law firm MacDonald, Mclnnes, MacQuarrie and Pattilo where he worked until 1 For a biographical sketch of John Dickey, please see Appendix, page 161. 2 See Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (hereafter NSARM), MG 100, Vol. 234, #22, The Stewart Family Geneology, by C.S. Stayner. Dickey's legal lineage dates back to his great-grandfather, Robert Barry Dickey who was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1834 and was a Father of Confederation. 3 See "First of "Four Generations" In Law Families," The Mail-Star, 11 February 1965, and Harry Flemming, A Century Plus: Mclnnes Cooper & Robertson (Halifax: S.N.., 1989), p. 59. 2 volunteering for the Canadian Army in 1942. Dickey's military experience was best described as "an exercise in frustration,"5 as Dickey spent the majority of the war bouncing from domestic training ground to domestic training ground, holding postings in an artillery camp in Petawawa, Ontario, anti-aircraft training in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, an infantry posting in Brockville, Ontario and an eventual posting in preparation for Pacific service in Vernon, British Columbia where he spent the remainder of the war.