23 Facts About Kaname Harada

Kaname Harada was a Japanese flying ace of World War II.

Kaname Harada was credited with shooting down as many as 19 Allied aircraft between late 1941 and when he was himself downed in October 1942.

Kaname Harada became an anti-war activist in 1991 and remained a prominent speaker until late in his life.

Kaname Harada was born in the village of Asajawa in Nagano Prefecture on 11 August 1916.

Kaname Harada later transferred to the Navy's aviation branch, and graduated first in the 35th pilot training class in February 1937.

Kaname Harada was sent back to Japan in January 1938, and subsequently served in several training positions.

At the outbreak of the Pacific War, Kaname Harada was a Mitsubishi A6M Zero pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Soryu, which formed part of the 1st Air Fleet.

Kaname Harada escorted the aircraft which attacked the Australian port of Darwin on 19 February 1942.

Kaname Harada landed on the last surviving Japanese aircraft carrier, Hiryu, after Soryu was sunk by United States aircraft.

Kaname Harada was in the air at the time of Hiryus sinking later in the battle and was rescued by a warship after ditching into the sea.

In July 1942, Kaname Harada was reassigned to the aircraft carrier Hiyo.

American Grumman F4F Wildcats attacked this force, and while Kaname Harada probably downed a Wildcat, he was shot in the left arm and his aircraft was badly damaged.

Kaname Harada's plane crash-landed near the Japanese base at Rekata Bay on Santa Isabel Island, and Harada had to dig himself out from underneath the wreckage of his plane with his bare hands.

Kaname Harada was later returned to Japan on board a hospital ship.

One of Kaname Harada's arms was badly injured in the crash, which ended his career as a combat pilot.

Kaname Harada subsequently served as a flying instructor, and late in the war trained kamikaze pilots.

Kaname Harada said that he helped train pilots for the Mitsubishi J8M rocket plane that Japan was developing late in the war.

The number of aircraft Kaname Harada is credited with shooting down differs among sources; in 2011 Ikuhiko Hata, Yasuho Izawa and Christopher Shores wrote that he "was credited with nine confirmed victories", while in a 2015 New York Times article he said that he downed 19 Allied aircraft.

Kaname Harada continued as a principal of the kindergarten until his retirement.

Kaname Harada traveled to the United Kingdom and United States to meet some of the American and British airmen he had fought against, including the American ace Joe Foss who is believed to have been the pilot who shot down his plane.

Kaname Harada began giving public talks about his combat experiences and the need to avoid wars that year after overhearing young Japanese discussing the bombing which took place during the Gulf War as if it formed part of a video game.

In 2015, The New York Times reported that Kaname Harada, aged 98, was a "highly sought-after public speaker", who was motivated by a desire to pass on his experiences as a warning to the current generations of Japanese who he believed were unaware of the nature of warfare.

Kaname Harada was believed to have been the last surviving Japanese combat pilot who had taken part in the attack on the USS Panay and the attack on Pearl Harbor.