Shigematsu Sakaibara
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Shigematsu Sakaibara (December 28, 1898 - June 19, 1947) was a naval commander from Imperial Japan. He commanded the Wake Island garrison during World War II until it fell to the Americans.
After the battle of Wake Island, Sakaibara was appointed commander of the garrison there and, fearing an American attack, forced the Americans prisoners of war there to build fortifications against submarine attacks.
On October 5, 1943, aircraft from USS Yorktown bombed Wake Island. Believing that an invasion would soon follow, Sakaibara ordered that the 98 prisoners be taken out to the beach and executed by machine-gunning. One prisoner escaped, but was tracked down and beheaded by Sakaibara.
A year later, Sakaibara was promoted to Rear Admiral. In 1945, he was forced to surrender to the American attack he had constantly feared was coming. He had good reason to fear; after the war he was executed for war crimes.