Dogfight over Tokyo: The Final Air Battle of the Pacific and the Last Four Men to Die in World War II

“another instance of the dedication and sacrifice made by our Greatest Generation. All of those who flew that last mission were just following order despite their misgivings that it was superfluous. It is indeed heartbreaking that those four young men were never able to demonstrate their full potential and live the lives they deserved.”

Author John Wukovits isn’t just known for his expertise on the Pacific Ocean phase of World War II but also for finding and writing about those little known and unknown incidents which never make it into the history books. In this case, he has written about the final combat mission by United States naval aviators against the Japanese in what turned out to be the last day of the war prior to their acceptance of the surrender terms offered by Allied political leaders.

That is what makes this incident such a tragedy. No one wants to be the last person killed in a war, particularly when one knows or is reasonably sure that the end is near and peace is at hand.

It was bad enough that Admiral William “Bull” Halsey had already guided his fleet through not one but two typhoons, resulting in vessel and personnel loss and damage, but he was also to come under fire for ordering the mission in question despite the fact that the Japanese were reeling from the effects of the two atomic weapons used against them at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and essentially on the ropes at that point.

Halsey decided to keep up the pressure, just in case, and that resulted in the decision to launch the mission that resulted in the final United States combat aviation losses in the Pacific.

This book is not just the account of that mission but also includes the personal stories behind the four men lost and the history of their unit, Air Group 88. Like many growing up in the era of the Great Depression, they became enamored of flying and, with a war on and the country threatened, wanted to do their bit for the war effort.

Wukovits details how the men comprising this unit came together, their early lives, training, the planes they flew and their assignment to the USS Yorktown (CV-10), the Fighting Lady. Having arrived in theater in early summer 1945, their initial missions against the Japanese gave them the combat experience they needed, whether or not they happened to obtain their hoped-for dogfight against Japanese pilots.

The experience they received, as it turned out, was primarily against Japanese anti-aircraft (AA) fire over the targets they engaged as their foes were husbanding what aircraft, pilots and fuel they had remaining for the anticipated United States invasion of Japan, scheduled for late 1945 and a second wave in early 1946.

Not surprisingly, they also experienced combat losses of their own from, losses which brought home the reality of war as well as that of their own mortality. Yet they followed orders and went out on missions despite the realization that the war could end any day.

Ironically, the dogfight they had dreamed of came on the last day of fighting and was unexpected and unanticipated by them. After having completed their mission and getting low on fuel and ammunition, they were attacked, and outnumbered, by Japanese planes, resulting in the loss of four young lives for which Halsey was censured by at least the survivors of Air Group 88 and their families back in the States.

For those families who received no remains nor confirmation of their loved one being killed in action, it was an agonizing wait for information from the Navy, information that was generally sparse and sometimes not even forthcoming. For one fiancée, it was a life which would never be. For that aviator’s mother, it was a remaining lifetime spent hoping for the miraculous return of her son from Japanese custody, prison camp or even a deserted island.

The author is to be commended for his research in government and military documents, archives, war diaries, and reports to put together this unfortunate and tragic story. Also employed are interviews, letters and other communications with survivors and family members. His descriptions of combat actions, weaponry, and aircraft are accurate and informative.

This publication is another instance of the dedication and sacrifice made by our Greatest Generation. All of those who flew that last mission were just following order despite their misgivings that it was superfluous. It is indeed heartbreaking that those four young men were never able to demonstrate their full potential and live the lives they deserved.