Last Letter of Flight Petty Officer 1st Class Masayoshi Nakahara
At 0748 on April 16, 1945, Flight Petty Officer 1st Class Masayoshi Nakahara
took off from Kanoya Air Base in a Zero fighter carrying a bomb and died in a
special (suicide) attack southeast of Kikaijima at the age of 20. He was a
member of the Jinrai Butai (Thunder Gods Corps) 7th Kenmu Squadron. He was from Saga Prefecture and was a member of the 17th Otsu Class of the Navy's Yokaren
(Preparatory Flight Training Program). After completion of training, he became a
member of the 721st Naval Air Group.
He wrote the following short final letter:
Dear All,
Smiling cheerfully, I will go to fall.
At a time when the situation has become grave, all of you please take good care of your health.
Farewell.
Masayoshi Nakahara
April 13
Later I will send to you photographs and other things from Tomitaka [1]
in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Letter translated by Bill Gordon
February 2018
The letter and biographical information on this page come from Kanoya Kōkū Kichi Shiryōkan Renraku Kyōgikai
(2003, 51).
Note
1. Tomitaka was a naval air base in the northern
part of Miyazaki Prefecture near the Pacific Ocean coast.
Source Cited
Kanoya Kōkū Kichi Shiryōkan Renraku Kyōgikai (Kanoya Naval
Air Base Museum Coordinating Committee). 2003. Kokoro no sakebi (Cries
of the heart). Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture: Kanoya Kōkū Kichi Shiryōkan
Renraku Kyōgikai.
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