Sub-Lieutenant Sabur Sakai ( , Sakai Sabur?, August 25, 1916 September 22, 2000) was a Japanese naval aviator and flying ace ("Gekitsui-O", ) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. When he attacked - followed by three other Zero fighters, he discovered that the airplanes were TBF Avengers because he clearly distinguished the top turret and the ventral machine gun. [9], During the air group's first mission of the battle of Guadalcanal, having just shot down Southerland and Adams, Sakai was seriously wounded in a failed ambush near Tulagi of eight SBDs, a mixed flight from Bombing Squadrons Five and Six (VB-5 and VB-6). The third day was 10 December Suddenly, a Japanese we saw that these planes were Japanese Army bombers on a routing flight, Sakai also decried the kamikaze program as brutally wasteful of young lives. Early in 1942, Sakai was transferred to Tarakan Island in Borneo and fought in the Dutch East Indies. Subscribe today! After a period as a Buddhist acolyte (during which he reputedly adopted a pacifist philosophy), he established a printing business. Sakai destroyed or damaged more than 60 Allied planes during World War II, mostly American. After completing his training the following year, Sakai was graduated as a Sailor Third Class (Ordinary Seaman) (). [22] The wound is described elsewhere as having destroyed the metal frame of his goggles and "creased" his skull, a glancing blow that broke the skin and made a furrow, or even cracked the skull but did not actually penetrate it. Inspired, Nishizawa is said to have come up with the idea of doing demonstration loops over the enemy airfield. It was not uncommon for the petty officers to Sakai and 43 other pilots of the Tainan Kokutai made aviation history on December 8, 1941, taking off from Formosa and flying 1,100 miles round trip to Clark Field in the Philippinesat the time the longest fighter mission ever attempted. Sakai was evacuated to Japan on 12 August, where he endured a long surgery without anesthesia. Please pass on our regards and inform them, that we will have a warm reception ready for them, next time they fly over our airfield". The men selected to fly in 1944-45 would not have been qualified He was one of the highest ranking Japanese pilots to survive the war and underwent an incredible battle for survival during the conflict. Get Direction. I thought this very odd - it had never happened before - and closed the distance between the two airplanes until I could almost reach out and touch the Grumman. a middle school for two years, a school I was later expelled the best great ships. [15] With Japan clearly losing the air war, he prevailed upon his superiors to let him fly in combat again. Saburo Sakai died of a heart attack in 2000, following a U.S. Navy formal dinner - where he had been an honored guest - at Atsugi Naval Air Station. Another reunion of sorts was arranged by Henry Sakaida, who identified the SBD gunners who had nearly killed Sakai over Guadalcanal. Samurai! It read "Thank you for the wonderful display of aerobatics by three of your pilots. His autobiography, Samurai!, ends happily with Hatsuyo throwing away the dagger after Japan's surrender, saying she no longer needed it. After returning from the Philippines, he flew in the East Indies and New Guinea, fighting Dutch, Australian and American aircraft. best center draft class; baga gymnastics award 4; cottonwood financial administrative services, llc. However, Sakai failed to do well in his studies and was sent back to Saga after his second year. Sabur Sakai was born on 25 August 1916 in Saga Prefecture, Japan. He then saw a blonde woman and a young child through a window, along with other passengers. After his discharge from the hospital in January 1943, Sakai spent a year training new fighter pilots. When he attempted to land at the airfield, he nearly crashed into a line of parked Zeros, but after circling four times and with the fuel gauge reading empty, he put his Zero down on the runway on his second attempt. He came from a family descended from a long line of Samurai, Japan's For four hours and 45 minutes Sakai navigated homeward, lapsing in and out of consciousness. (Sakai says in his book Samurai, that he did not attack any planes on this date or time, (Caidin) therefore making a mistake. The book states that on the night of August 14-15, 1945, the evening before Tokyos surrender, Sakai and an Ensign Jiro Kawachi intercepted a B-29 and shot it down. We took off and reached 19,000 feet when I saw a He was born into a family with an immediate affiliation to the samurai and their warrior legacies. Over the next four months, he scored the majority of his victories, flying against American and Australian pilots based at Port Moresby. The hard work paid off. Over the next four months, he scored the majority of his victories in flying against American and Australian pilots based at Port Moresby. We received the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor were Zeros, but were U.S. Navy Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters. and his Doctor responded "Yes, you can sleep while forehead by a bullet which almost blinded his right eye and from the Naval Academy at Eta Jima, petty officers from the fleet, for a long mission to Guadalcanal. (see bottom of page). saburo sakai daughter. I assisted in the destruction of one bomber that His autobiography, Samurai!, ends with Hatsuyo throwing away the dagger after Japan's surrender and saying that she no longer needed it. pressure was considered the best medicine for correcting "mistakes" He ignored his orders, flew ahead of the pilot, and signaled him to go ahead. On a patrol with his Zero over Java, just after shooting down an enemy aircraft, Sakai encountered a civilian Dutch Douglas DC-3 flying at low altitude over dense jungle. Commander Tadashi Nakajima encountered what was to become a famous double-team maneuver on the part of the enemy. Southerland parachuted to safety. Stunned and disoriented, he instinctively pulled back on the stick and was lost to sight by friend and foe. Caught in a crossfire, Sakais Zero took several hits. On 7 August, word arrived that U.S. Marines had landed that morning on Guadalcanal. This was The bomber pilot was Captain Colin Kelley Jr., who remained at the controls so his crew could bail out. The treatment Photo courtesy of Dariusz Tyminski. When asked about Japan's eventual surrender, he responded: "Had I been ordered to bomb Seattle or Los Angeles in order to end the war, I wouldn't have hesitated. Actually, Sakais eager friends made high-speed passes at the Wildcat, overshooting with excess momentum. Among the fighter pilots was Japanese air ace Saburo Sakai. ", "V-173, a Mitsubishi Zero A6M2, flown by Sakai during summer of 1942. I knew this was my greatest It became an instant classic and is still in print today, well after his death. I received an email from journalist Kjeld Duits who wrote -"I was actually one of the Dutch reporters working with Mr. Sakai to set up a meeting between him and the woman for a Japanese TV program. The soldiers picked up the note and delivered to the squadron commander. Local civilians have recycled and repurposed war material. Sakai was promoted to Sailor Second Class (Able Seaman) () in 1936, and served on the battleship Haruna as a turret gunner. I was over Java and had just shot down As education was always taken very seriously in Japan, he quickly Both aircraft returned to their base at Yontan Airfield, Okinawa. In any Hollywood war movie, the Japanese fighters appears as hysterical and . Sakai flew missions the next day during heavy weather. dropped our empty external fuel tanks, and we swept in with guns blazing. ", We had already Then the people in the plane saluted. Unable to see out of his remaining good eye due to blood flowing from the head wound, Sakai's vision started to clear somewhat as tears cleared the blood from his eyes and he was able to pull his plane out of the steep seaward dive. and signaled him to go ahead. In August 1944, he was promoted to ensigna record-breaking 11 years from enlistment to commissioning. On 7 August, word arrived that US Marines had landed that morning on Guadalcanal. This was in May 1933. [20] Believing it to be another group of Wildcats, Sakai approached them from below and behind and aimed to catch them by surprise. patrol on that day. of his basic training. uncle that worked for the Ministry of Communications who offered to When a recruit passed out they'd throw cold water Sakai not only flew again, however, he returned to combat. Rather than follow meaningless orders, in worsening weather and gathering darkness, Sakai led his small formation back to Iwo Jima, preserving the aircraft and pilots for another day. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. his class back home, his new school proved to be out of his league. Sakai, who sent a daughter to college in Texas to "learn about democracy," made more than two dozen trips to the U.S. over the years, meeting many of the pilots he formerly tried to kill. I could not stay there any longer so I enlisted in the navy the first B-17 shot down during the war.". After a US Navy formal dinner in 2000 at Atsugi Naval Air Station at which he had been an honored guest, Sakai died of a heart attack at the age of 84. Sakai then served aboard the battleship Kirishima for one year. that I shouldn't kill them. Sakai sent his daughter to college in the United States "to learn English and democracy." Sakai visited the US and met many of his former adversaries, including Lieutenant Commander Harold "Lew" Jones (1921-2009), the SBD Dauntless rear-seat gunner (piloted by Ensign Robert C. Shaw), who had wounded him. On 24 June 1944, Sakai approached a formation of 15 U.S. Navy Grumman F6F Hellcat[citation needed] fighters which he mistakenly assumed were friendly Japanese aircraft. of Oita and Omura in Kyushu, and instrument flying was stressed heavily. With no other options, on May 31, 1933 at the age of 16, Sakai enlisted in the Japanese Navy as a Sailor Fourth Class (Seaman Recruit) (). The SBD crews reported being attacked by two Zeros, one of which came in from directly astern and flew into the concentrated fire from their rear-mounted twin 7.62mm (0.3in) .30 AN/M2 guns. Nishizawa drove him to a surgeon. village of Nishiyoka in the Saga prefecture on Kyushu island, Japan. Sakai was later quoted as saying that the B-32 mission was a provocation, and the Americans should have allowed the situation to settle down. [22], Likewise, although Japan had been defeated in the Second World War with great loss of life, Sakai serenely accepted that outcome: "Had I been ordered to bomb Seattle or Los Angeles in order to end the war, I wouldn't have hesitated. In August 1944, Sakai was commissioned an ensign (). Their ancestors were themselves samurai and had taken part in the Japanese invasions of Korea (15921598) but were later forced to take up a livelihood of farming after haihan-chiken in 1871. There she married an American, and gave Saburo two American-born grandchildren. Our orders Some were even The Japanese Zero pilots flying out of Rabaul were initially confounded by the tactic. so when one recruit screwed up they all paid. It made us tough as nails, and in battle this is often the decisive To the right is Saburo's autograph (left side of image) and Motto (on the right) as painted by him. Supposedly, on the night of 16 May, Sakai and his colleagues, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa and Toshio Ota, were listening to a broadcast of an Australian radio program, and Nishizawa recognized the eerie "Danse Macabre" of Camille Saint-Sans. any aircraft over Java. Ruffato, Luca and Michael J Claringbould. Sakai had 2864 aerial victories, including shared ones, according to official Japanese records,[1] but his autobiography, Samurai!, which was co-written by Martin Caidin and Fred Saito, claims 64 aerial victories.[2]. Saburo Sakai was born August 16th 1916 in the farming Additional reading: Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, by Mark Pattie; and Zero!, by Jiro Horikoshi and Masatake Okumiya. plane went - back to Holland. us during our attack. Sakai remarried and with his wife Haru had a daughter, Michiko, who was educated in America and married a U.S. Army officer. his book "Samurai", he kept writing and lecturing on leadership In 1935, he successfully passed the competitive examinations for the Naval Gunners School. an enemy aircraft when I saw a big black aircraft coming towards in disgrace. With his wingmen and fellow aces, he went from success to success, once even looping in formation over an Allied airfield. He considered ramming an American warship: "If I must die, at least I could go out as a samurai. Newspapermen from Holland came to $0.00. ", "REL/08378 - Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21 Zero Fighter Aircraft: Japanese Navy Air Force. The squadron commander was furious and reprimanded the three pilots for their stupidity, but the Tainan Kktai's three leading aces felt that Nishizawa's aerial choreography of the Danse Macabre had been worth it.[13]. Sakai produced the helmet he had worn on August 7, 1942, still bearing evidence of Jones marksmanship. Sakai flew one of 45 Zeros from Tainan Squadron that attacked Sabur Sakai was born on 25 August 1916 in Saga Prefecture, Japan. From that point on, Sakai was engaged in near-continuous combat. for the slightest perceived infractions. saburo sakai daughterdomenico catanzariti olives. a completely different world." that whole summer studying trying to catch up but it was futile. Period". US Marines flying Grumman F4F Wildcats from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal were using a new aerial combat tactic, the "Thach Weave", which was developed in 1941 by the US Navy aviators John Thach and Edward O'Hare. "This ship had sixteen-inch guns, the largest In Japanese culture, that was risky business, since criticism of superiors is seldom condoned. The woman reminded him of Mrs. Martin, an American who had occasionally taught him as a child in middle school and had been good to him. Peer
