Last of the Rising Sun
Masamitsu Yoshioka, the last of Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack force, has passed at 106.
He was an enlisted navigator/bombardier on a Kate from the light carrier Soryu. He dropped a torpedo into the target ship USS Utah (AG-19), the “Forgotten Ship of Pearl Harbor” and was remorseful over that action for decades after.
Via the Washington Post.
When Pearl Harbor came into view, black smoke was already rising from the U.S. ships hit by the first wave of Japan’s surprise attack. The crew of a Nakajima B5N2 torpedo bomber readied for its run.
The 23-year-old navigator and bombardier on board, Masamitsu Yoshioka, had practiced his part of the maneuver for months without knowing the mission. He was stunned when he was told his carrier group was part of a massive strike on American territory that included more than 300 Japanese warplanes. “The blood rushed out of my head,” Mr. Yoshioka recalled. “I knew that this meant a gigantic war.”
More here.
It is estimated that there are still around 19 American Pearl Harbor survivors.