Members of the 441st CIC arrived in Tokyo in 1945 and occupied the building formerly occupied by the Japanese Military Secret Police - the Kempei Tai.  Thanks to 441st member Carl Diehl for this invaluable history:

"My name is Carl Diehl  and Credential/Badge  number was 5822, turned in on 16 March 1953. This old Agent just discovered your great site this a.m.  Graduated from Fort Holabird in class B-130, 25 January 1952.  Was assigned to the 441st in Japan.  Went to Headquarters that were formerly the Japanese Secret Police Headquarters (Kempi Tai) where they held and executed some of Doolittle's men. You could look out the windows in the back of the building and see posts that the men had been tied and executed. Across the street was the Imperial Palace.  Spent the next year in the Sasabo field office in Kyoshu.  We also had a sub-office (house) in Nagasaki where we spent quite a bit of time as we were working on Korean re-patriots still held in Japan from the Japan /Korean war. Also spent some time aboard merchant ships in Sasebo Harbor that were suspected of smuggling war material to North Korea. We did find some very interesting material like mortar bases made in Pennsylvania and Madsen sub-machine guns being sold to the North Koreans by Sweden. Many other "war" raw materials were found.

I don't remember how many of the Doolittle pilots were shot behind the Kempi Tai headquarters building, but I think it was on the order of 3 or 4. I may be able to find a picture. I know I took one of the marker on the site. Lots of memories of the year I spent in Japan. We worked on many cases of Korean "re-pats", and as I said before, cargo in our Sasebo harbor since the U.S. did have an embargo on many goods to Korea. Since its been many years, it won't cause a problem to tell you of at least two legal items that were being shipped to Korea. One was Wildroot Cream Oil Hair Tonic and the other was millions of phonographic records.  It took some time to figure it out, but the hair tonic contained glycerin that could be used in gunpowder and the records could be melted down for the vinyl.  We did stop those shipments.  Many interesting things went through our Sasebo office that was at a former Japanese Naval base area in Sasebo.  I will get some stuff out and send you the names of all of the officers and men in the office that I have references on. Our Commandant was a Major Moore and we had an Air Force officer named Captain Neighbors. Some more names: Sergeant Nicks, Sergeant Joe O'Connor, Sergeant Redford (file room) and Lieutenant Barrett of the Sasebo Field Office. Many more, and I will come up with their names shortly."

Carl Diehl
cddccopy@netzero.net

Carl Diehl's information about the execution of three Doolittle pilots is confirmed in Aviation History Magazine in a 1998 article entitled, "Strike against Japan" by C.V. Glines at:

http://www.thehistorynet.com/aviationhistory/articles/1998/03982_text.htm quoted below:

"Eight crewmen were captured by the Japanese, tortured, given a mock courtmartial and sentenced to die. Three of them were executed by firing squad; one died of malnutrition. The remaining four--George Barr, Jacob DeShazer, Robert L. Hite and Chase J. Nielsen-- survived 40 months of captivity, most of it in solitary confinement, and returned to the States after the war."