Still Life with Woodpecker question!

[Hallogallo]

Hello Hello,

I have a rather obscure inquiry about something I read in SLWW.

In the interlude between chapers 17 and 18 (page 36 in my book), there is a
brief account that starts like this:

"Toward the wind-down of the second World War, an American flyer parachuted
from his burning plane to land in an isolated village near Japan's Inland Sea.
The villagers, devout buddhists..."

My hope is that someone out there can tell me if this is a true story or Tom's
heightened and creative imagination...I just want to know if it's fact or
fiction! Any comments or points in right direction are greatly appreciated...

much thanks,
King Max