CRUELTY ALLEGED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20919, 20 October 1942, Page 4

CRUELTY ALLEGED

AMERICAN AIRMEN BOMBING OF TOKIO EXECUTION THREAT (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyrijtlit,.) (2 p.m.) LONDON. Oct. 19. •‘American airmen captured on Apr ; l 18 in the United States bombing raid on Tokio have been punished,” says the Tokio radio. “The punishment has been imposed in accordance with military law for their failure to observe the principles of humanity.” The radio added that Japan will execute or severely punish airmen taken prisoner who are found to have committed cruel or inhuman acts in attacks on Japanese or Japanese-heid territory. “During the investigation, the American airmen who have been captured said that it was proper for them to deliberately bomb Japanese hospitals schools, and civilian homes,” added the radio. “The army, therefore, has severely dealt with these Americans.” Official Washington reports of the raid on April 18 stated that all the raiding planes returned and that only military objectives were hit. Tokio claimed that nine, of the raids were shot down and that bombers landed on a school and a hospital.