USN:
Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless dive bomber flies an antisubmarine patrol (see depth charge on undercarriage) over the USS Washington en route to the invasion of the Gilbert Islands (Tarawa and Makin) 12 November 1943. The ship in the background is USS Lexington (CV-16), the aircraft's home carrier
An F6F Hellcat prepares to take off from USS Ticonderoga (CV-14), October 1944, while training in Hawaiian waters.
Kamikaze attack on the
USS Missouri (BB-63). About to be hit by a Japanese
A6M "Zero" kamikaze, while operating off Okinawa on 11 April 1945. The plane hit the ship's side below the main deck, causing minor damage and no casualties on board the battleship. A 40 mm quad gun mount's crew is in action in the lower foreground. The kamikaze on the photo has been identified as either Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Setsuo Ishino or Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenkichi Ishii.
At 2:42 PM on April 11, 1945, off the coast of Kikaijima Island, a Japanese fighter pilot in an A6M5c Zero launched a kamikaze attack on USS Missouri. Bill Obitz, a seaman at the time, recalled that the attacking plane approached at an extreme angle and estimated that it was 20 feet (6 m) above the water. Although struck by intense antiaircraft fire, the plane survived and struck the ship's starboard side at frame 169 below the main deck. While the impact of one of the plane's wings started a fire at 5-inch mount number 3, its 500-pound bomb did not detonate, so the damage was minimal. There were no American casualties, but the Japanese pilot died. Parts of the plane's wreckage and the top half of the pilot's body landed on board Missouri. The plane's wing was turned over to the crew to be cut up for souvenirs.
Despite protests from crewmen, who wanted the remains hosed over the deck, Capt Callaghan insisted that the young Japanese airman had done his job to the best of his ability, with honour, and deserved a military burial. Stephen Cromwell, a corpsman at the time, later recalled, "I was able to recover his body and I called up to the bridge to ask if I should throw it overboard ... Captain Callaghan said, 'No, when we secure, take it down to the sick bay, and we'll have a burial for him tomorrow.'" Ivan Dexter, another crew member, gave his account of events to Herb Fahr, recalling that the top half of the Japanese pilot's body was scattered over the deck, while the bottom half fell with the rest of the plane into the sea. What remained of the body was brought to sick bay for examination, and various Missouri crew took souvenirs from the clothing, including the helmet, scarf, and jacket. Following examination, the remains were placed in a canvas bag with dummy shell casings to weigh it down.
The following day, the Japanese pilot received a military burial at sea. An improvised Japanese flag, sewn by one of the ship's bosun's mates, covered the bag holding the man's remains. The ship's chaplain committed the body to the sea and the six pallbearers let it slide overboard, accompanied by a volley of rifle fire. Fahr wrote, "There was still much bitterness on the part of many in the crew, but now, the honourable thing was done." According to Lee Collins, visitor operations director for the Battleship Missouri Memorial, Callaghan said that the ceremony was simply a tribute to "a fellow warrior who had displayed courage and devotion, and who had paid the ultimate sacrifice with his life, fighting for his country."
