Japan's Last Pearl Harbor Airmen Dies, Aged 106

Monday, September 30, 2024

Masamitsu Yoshioka, who has died aged 106, was a navigator and bombardier in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was thought to be the last survivor of those who attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941.

Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 07:30 PM | 8 COMMENTS | permalink

When Admiral Nagumo, leader of the carrier battle group, announced that they were heading for Hawaii, "the blood rushed out of my head," Yoshioka recalled. "I knew that this meant a gigantic war and that Hawaii would be the place where I would die."

Comments

Oops. Headline should refer to "Airman," not "Airmen."

#1 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2024-09-29 06:53 AM

From the WaPo obit (www.washingtonpost.com):

During an interview in 2023, Mr. Yoshioka was asked if he had visited Hawaii after the war. No, he replied.
"If I could go, I would like to," he added. "I would like to visit the graves of the men who died. I would like to pay them my deepest respect."

#2 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2024-09-29 07:30 AM

This thread is a reminder to reread "At Dawn We Slept," the gold standard, exhaustive account of the attack on Pearl Harbor, abridged from 12 volumes. The author interviewed both American and military personnel from Japan who planned or participated in the attack, and goes through a chronological timeline before, during, and after the Sunday morning attack on Pearl Harbor.

At Dawn We Slept
www.penguinrandomhouse.com

#3 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2024-09-29 08:41 AM

Great book.

#4 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2024-09-29 10:30 AM

The fleet that attacked pearl harbor also bombed Darwin, Australia.

#5 | Posted by sentinel at 2024-09-29 10:57 AM

Busy boys. That was part of a very big push. But, as Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto understood, almost certainly doomed in the longer run. He tried to let his hawkish contemporaries understand the problem.

" Should hostilities once break out between Japan and the United States, it is not enough that we take Guam and the Philippines, nor even Hawaii and San Francisco. To make victory certain, we would have to march into Washington and dictate the terms of peace in the White House. I wonder if our politicians, among whom armchair arguments about war are being glibly bandied about in the name of state politics, have confidence as to the final outcome and are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices. "

And then, when his view did not prevail, he did as he was trained to do: he planned - and planned well - for war. Fascinating guy.

#6 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2024-09-29 12:37 PM

Part of me wants to say --- you buddy for shooting at my granduncle.

But part of me wants to thank all the Japanese attackers who were quick to denounce the 9/11 hijackers as cowards for seizing a civilian craft and attacking civilians.

I'm going to assume he was one of those spoke out and hope he finds eternal peace.

#7 | Posted by Tor at 2024-09-30 10:23 PM

Dude lived long.

#8 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-30 11:46 PM

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