Naka Nakai and the Girard Incident

On January 30th, 1957, 21 year-old William Girard of Ottawa, Illinois, fired a spent casing from an M1-mounted grenade launcher at a Japanese woman who was collecting scrap metal on a firing range. Naka Sakai, a 46 year-old mother of six, died from her wounds. [Source]

The Girard Incident (ジラード事件), as it became known, called into question both the nature of our military presence in Japan and Japan's ability to hold the U.S. to its own Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Should the U.S. "sell him down the river" to maintain good public relations, or retain jurisdiction to shield him from a potentially vengeful foreign court?

More importantly, though, the Girard Incident raised a question that remains with us even today: How do we treat members of our "in-group" when they do something wrong?

Should we show loyalty and protect them ("what about what the Japanese did at Pearl Harbor?") or abandon them to blind justice? Do we vilify the victims to protect our own self-image ("that was her own fault anyway"), or admit that a member of our group has committed an inexcusable crime? [Source]


In the Girard Incident, the U.S. relented and allowed Japan to conduct the trial. Girard was reduced in rank and given a three-year suspended sentence. But he was disavowed almost immediately by his peers. "On his way home to Ottawa in December, Girard was booed by other soldiers."

Today, we see this question playing out in the way Republicans have reacted to the January 6th Capitol insurrection. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) voted to impeach former president Trump for his role in inciting his crowd of protesters. In turn, fellow party member Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has pushed to oust Cheney from her leadership positions. The various factions in the intra-party conflict are answering this question of justice vs. loyalty through highly visible actions. [Source]

For me, the Girard Incident is cause for introspection. William Girard and I have several things in common. During my elementary school years, I lived near Ottawa. I have been in positions where I could have harmed Afghans who -- like Sakai -- were collecting brass on Army firing ranges. And now I work in Japan. I cannot dissociate myself from him.

Though I can easily disavow Girard's actions, I'm not sure how I would react in different, more intimate, circumstances. The issue of justice vs. loyalty is not an easy one.

Following the Girard Incident, both the Japanese and U.S. governments were able to appease their publics. Japan gained jurisdiction. Girard was able to avoid prison and return home. The U.S. honored its Status of Forces Agreement.

But the Sakai family did not see justice. Naka's husband Akikichi and his six children received $1,748.32 (less than $20,000 today) in consolation money for the death of his wife. He reply haunts me: "I do not thank you for it."

Photos:

1. Specialist Third Class Girard leaving the Maebashi District Court [Source]
2. Afghan boys collecting spent brass near Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, in October 2011
3. Me firing my M16A4 during my deployment.