Tadamichi Kuribayashi Biography
(General)
Birthday: July 7, 1891 (Cancer)
Born In: Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Tadamichi Kuribayashi was a Japanese military general who had served in the ‘Imperial Japanese Army.’ He was known for his contribution as the commander of the Japanese forces during the Battle of Iwo Jima, which was part of the Pacific War of World War II. Born into a samurai family, Kuribayashi initially aspired to be a journalist but later joined the ‘Imperial Japanese Army Academy.’ He worked as an officer in the United States and Canada. Although he knew that the comparatively weak Japanese army was no match for the advanced U.S. army, he led his forces to attack the enemy army through the “silent” charge, instead of the loud "banzai" charge. He launched attacks from tunnels and caves and tried to inflict as much damage as possible to the enemy forces. However, the Japanese army lost eventually. Kuribayashi is believed to have died in action during the final attack, while many sources also believe he could have possibly committed suicide. He has a memorial shrine in Tokyo and is still remembered by his countrymen as a valiant military general.