Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto - 1884 - 1943
 

ADMIRAL ISOROKU YAMAMOTO - 1884 - 1943
Written from Research by Steven Mago

Papua New Guinea is deeply stepped in war history and among the many important historical events that took place during the war era is the historical shoot-down of Japanese war hero, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto by American fighter planes near Buin, Bougainville on April 18th 1943.

Next year will mark the 60th year of the downing and ultimate death of Yamamoto who, despite the loss of Japanese in WWII, is still regarded highly by the Japanese people as their greatest war strategist and hero. A museum dedicated to Yamamoto’s life can be found at his birthplace at Nagaoka City, Japan. The museum houses one of the wings of his plane, which was taken to Japan in controversial circumstances.

When I worked for the Arawa Bulletin between 1985 and 1987, I first reported an attempt that was being made at the time by a Japanese individual to smuggle the wing out of Bougainville. One of Arawa Bulletin’s biggest stories uncovered the attempted smuggling of the wing.

Just who was Yamamoto and why is his place wreck in Buin the most important relic in WWII history in relation to Japanese expansion in the Pacific? Put simply, Yamamoto was the brains behind the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7 1941.

Yamamoto aboard his flagship, Nagato.

Also, until Yamamoto’s death, the Japanese were looking comfortable to complete their mission to claim the South Pacific in their empirical expansion plans which were to include Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines. These regions at the time either had resources or were places of strategic importance.

Yamamoto was the Japanese strategist who was counted on to plan many of the attacks that ensued. At the time of his death, he was 59 and next year’s anniversary year would have seen Yamamoto at 119 years old, if he was still alive.

Born in 1884, Yamamoto’s original family name was Takano but was later changed through adoption. Yamamoto was a graduate from the Japanese Naval Academy in 1904. He sustained an injury from action during the Russo-Japanese War.

He also studied at Harvard University and he also served as a naval attaché to the United States in 1925-28. In the late 1920s and during the 1930s, he held a number of important positions, many of them involved with Japanese naval aviation.

Admiral Yamamoto commanded the Combined Fleet before the outbreak of the Pacific War and was responsible for planning the attack on Pearl Harbor and most other major operations during this time. His scheme for eliminating the U.S. fleet as a major opponent led to the June 1942 Battle of Midway in which the Japan lost naval superiority in the Pacific.

1988 reunion of surviving American members of the Yamamoto attack mission.

Despite this loss, Yamamoto’s naval career continued as Combined Fleet commander during the Guadalcanal Campaign. It was from their base at Henderson’s Airfield in the Solomon Islands that U.S. army air force planes waged their campaign and mission to kill Yamamoto. His Mitsubishi (Betty) Bomber was intercepted in an aerial ambush near Buin and shot down.


Today, what remains of Yamamoto’s wreck lies in thick jungle in Buin and for over 10 years, has rarely been visited by Japanese war pilgrims because of the conflict on the island.

6. Yamamoto’s wreck site in Buin (Photo by Lucas Kawage of Kundu Holidays and Tours) :

But interest in the wreck site has returned following the normalcy returning to Bougainville and many elderly Japanese and Americans who have an emotional attachment to the war, and particularly Yamamoto’s history are eager to visit the island and pay homage and tribute to Yamamoto’s “grave”.

When he was shot down, Yamamoto had been flying to Buin from the Japanese headquarters in Rabaul and the American aerial attack team flew from Henderson’s Airfield in what is now Honiara, Solomon Islands.


P-38 Lightning similar to the two that shot down Yamamoto :

To this day, controversy still surrounds the claim as to who actually shot down Yamamoto. The two pilots who have claimed credit for accomplishing the mission were Tom Lanphier and Rex Barber.
Ends…/


Mitsubishi (Betty) Bomber similar to Yamamoto’s plane :

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