Marcus McDilda

Marcus McDilda was an American P-51 fighter pilot who was captured by the Japanese after the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

In Osaka, the Japanese military tortured McDilda in order to discover how many atomic bombs the Allies had and what the future targets were. McDilda, who knew nothing about the atomic bomb nor the Manhattan Project, "confessed" under torture that the U.S. had 100 atomic bombs and that Tokyo and Kyoto were next targets. His "testimony" included the following nonsense description of the science behind the A-bomb:

As you know, when atoms are split, there are a lot of pluses and minuses released. Well, we've taken these and put them in a huge container and separated them from each other with a lead shield. When the box is dropped out of a plane, we melt the lead shield and the pluses and minuses come together. When that happens, it causes a tremendous bolt of lightning and all the atmosphere over a city is pushed back! Then when the atmosphere rolls back, it brings about a tremendous thunderclap, which knocks down everything beneath it.[1]

This "confession" led the Japanese to consider McDilda a "Very Important Person" and he was flown to Tokyo, where he was interrogated by a civilian in a pinstripe suit who claimed to be a graduate of CCNY. The interrogator quickly realised McDilda knew nothing of nuclear fission and was giving fake testimony. McDilda explained that he had told his Osaka questioners that he knew nothing, but when that was not accepted, he had to "tell the lie to stay alive". McDilda was taken to a cell and fed, and waited for his fate; but nineteen days later at Orimori PoW camp he was rescued by U.S. troops. The move to Tokyo had probably saved his life; after the dropping of the first A-bomb, fifty U.S. soldiers imprisoned in Osaka were beheaded by vengeful Japanese soldiers.

McDilda may either have told what he thought the Japanese wanted to hear; or he may have taken the opportunity to give misleading information to Japan's disadvantage. McDilda's false confession may even have swayed the Japanese leaders' decision to surrender.[2] This case may also question the effectiveness of torture, as the "confession" might have been counterproductive to Japan's intelligence-gathering.