2013 -- H 6114

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LC02583

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N

HONORING 2ND LT. ROBERT E. THORPE FOR HIS HEROISM DURING WWII

     Introduced By: Representatives Martin, Gallison, Abney, Newberry, and Fox

     Date Introduced: May 14, 2013

     Referred To: House read and passed

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     WHEREAS, In the words of famed newscaster Tom Brokaw, “When the United States

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entered World War II, the U.S. government turned to ordinary Americans and asked of them

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extraordinary service, sacrifice, and heroics"; and

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     WHEREAS, World War II was the most destructive conflict in history. It cost more

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money, damaged more property, killed more people, and caused more far-reaching changes than

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any other war in history; and

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     WHEREAS, A resident of Cranston, 2nd Lt. Robert E. Thorpe enlisted in September of

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1942, shortly after graduating from Cranston High School.  He was commissioned on August 30th

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of 1943, and became a World War II pilot.  He had flown 17 missions during his first month in

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action before being captured when his P-47D Thunderbolt was hit by small arms fire during a

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strafing run on the Japanese garrison at Wewak on May 27, 1944; and

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     WHEREAS, Managing to survive by using a drifting log to get to shore after ditching his

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failing plane in the waters off Kairiru Island, New Guinea, 2nd Lt. Thorpe was captured by a

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Formosan civilian unit and marched across the island to the 27th Japanese Special Naval Base

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Force, which was under the command of Rear Admiral Shiro Sato; and

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     WHEREAS, The unit commander ordered his senior staff officer, Captain Kiyohisa Noto,

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to take charge of the prisoner, who in turn instructed Lt. Commander Kaoru Okuma to interrogate

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2nd Lt. Thorpe: and

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     WHEREAS, Despite the 1929 Geneva Convention agreement, which provided for

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humane treatment of prisoners of war, atrocities still occurred.  Prisoners were instructed to give

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captors only their name, rank, and military serial number. According to the Geneva Convention

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agreement, captors were allowed to question prisoners but were not allowed to use force or

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brutality to extract military information; and

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     WHEREAS, Following Military Law to the letter, 2nd Lt. Thorpe refused to provide his

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captors with any information beyond his name, rank, and service number.  This infuriated Lt.

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Commander Okuma; and

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     WHEREAS, 2nd Lt. Robert E. Thorpe endured multiple beatings, physical and mental

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torture, and multiple gun shots, and was finally mutilated and beheaded by his captors.  Months

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later the Providence Journal described the execution of 2nd Lt. Thorpe as “one of the most

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revolting crimes uncovered by the war crimes investigators.”  The article further stated that

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“Assassins of Local Flyer Now on Trial in Japan”; and 

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     WHEREAS, After the war had ended, the five officers involved in the execution of 2nd

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Lt. Thorpe went on trial on June 22, 1948, in Yokahama, Japan.  Four of the officers were

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sentenced to life in prison while Lt. Commander Okuma was sentenced to hang.  Only one of the

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original sentences received by the five convicted war criminals,  Lt. Commander Okuma's

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execution, was ever carried out; and

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     WHEREAS, In the aftermath of the trial, transcripts describing the horrible truth about

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the brutalities surrounding the death and the location of the burial site of 2nd Lt. Robert E.

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Thorpe were sealed and remained secret as Walter Thorpe, his father, began a campaign to have

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his son's remains returned to Rhode Island; and

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     WHEREAS, Sadly, wars often necessitate the unnatural act of a parent burying their

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child.  Even more heart-wrenching is when a parent cannot carry out or find any peace through

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this final act of closure and love.  Walter and Nora Thorpe, 2nd Lt. Robert E. Thorpe’s parents,

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died believing that their son's remains were unrecoverable and all records pertaining to the search

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and recovery of their son were closed; and

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     WHEREAS, Through the Freedom of Information Act in 2007, Ken Dooley, an author,

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and a close friend of 2nd Lt. Thorpe’s brother, Gill, obtained a record of the court martial.  

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Although the facts brought out during the trial of 2nd Lt. Thorpe’s captors produced descriptive

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details of where the 2nd Lt. was buried, to this day, his remains lie unclaimed in an unmarked

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gravesite on Kairiru Island; and

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     WHEREAS, Throughout American history our nation has been propitiously blessed with

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so many of her citizenry willing to serve their country at moments of great peril.  These brave

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soldiers were and are prepared to risk all and many have made the ultimate sacrifice in order to

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protect our precious freedoms and liberties; and

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     WHEREAS, The heroism of the World War II generation embodies the personification of

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what makes our country so glorious.  In return for their honorable service, we, as individuals and

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as a country, have a debt and an obligation to fulfill to the men and women serving in our

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military.  We owe this young man, 2nd Lt. Robert E. Thorpe, who gave so much to his country

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and received so little in return, our gratitude, our acknowledgement of his sacrifice, and our best

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efforts to bring him home to his family and his country; now, therefore be it   

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

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Providence Plantations hereby respectfully requests the Governor to honor 2nd Lt. Robert E.

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Thorpe posthumously with the Rhode Island star and the Rhode Island cross for his extraordinary

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heroism in the service of our nation during WWII; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this House hereby urges the Graves Record Administration to re-

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investigate and bring the remains of 2nd Lt. Robert E. Thorpe home; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to The Honorable Lincoln Chafee, the Rhode

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Island Congressional Delegation, Maj. Gen. Kelly K. McKeague, Commander of the

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Joint/POW/MIA Accounting Command, the Providence Regional Office of the U.S. Department

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of Veterans Affairs, and Nancy and Gill Thorpe.  

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