Japanese Navy Warrant Officer Kenji Yanagiya, 1943. Yanagiya piloted an escorting fighter when Isoroku Yamamoto was shot down. He was the only Japanese pilot from that flight to survive the war.Portrait of Matome Ugaki, 1940sShugaku HommaAdmirals Isoroku Yamamoto and Matome Ugaki, Rabaul, New Britain, Apr 1943
Japanese Navy Warrant Officer Kenji Yanagiya, 1943. Yanagiya piloted an escorting fighter when Isoroku Yamamoto was shot down. He was the only Japanese pilot from that flight to survive the war.Portrait of Matome Ugaki, 1940sShugaku Homma's painting of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, 1943Admirals Isoroku Yamamoto and Matome Ugaki, Rabaul, New Britain, Apr 1943
P-38G Lightning “Miss Virginia” after a belly landing at Fighter Strip #2, Kukum, Guadalcanal, Apr 1943. Days earlier, this plane, flown by Rex Barber, shot down the G4M bomber carrying Isoroku Yamamoto over BougainvilleIsoroku YamamotoCommander of the 13th Air Force Lt General Nathan Twinning (pith helmet) posing with some of the pilots from the Yamamoto mission, 19 Apr 1943. Lt Rex Barber is at far right next to mission commander Maj John Mitchell.The men of the 347th Fighter Group who flew the mission to intercept Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. The photo is single frame of a movie taken on Kukum Field, Guadalcanal on 19 Apr 1943, the day after the attack.
P-38G Lightning “Miss Virginia” after a belly landing at Fighter Strip #2, Kukum, Guadalcanal, Apr 1943. Days earlier, this plane, flown by Rex Barber, shot down the G4M bomber carrying Isoroku Yamamoto over BougainvilleIsoroku Yamamoto's final photograph, taken shortly before he was shot down and killed, Rabaul, Apr 1943Commander of the 13th Air Force Lt General Nathan Twinning (pith helmet) posing with some of the pilots from the Yamamoto mission, 19 Apr 1943. Lt Rex Barber is at far right next to mission commander Maj John Mitchell.The men of the 347th Fighter Group who flew the mission to intercept Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. The photo is single frame of a movie taken on Kukum Field, Guadalcanal on 19 Apr 1943, the day after the attack.
The three survivors of the Yamamoto mission attack section, Captain Thomas Lanphier (section leader), Lieutenant Besby Holmes, and Lt Rex Barber at Kukum Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 19 Apr 1943.Wreck of G4M bomber whose crash killed Admiral Yamamoto, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Apr 1943The ashes of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto arriving at Kisarazu, Japan aboard battleship Musashi, 23 May 1943The state funeral of Isoroku Yamamoto, Tokyo, Japan, 5 Jun 1943, photo 1 of 2
The three survivors of the Yamamoto mission attack section, Captain Thomas Lanphier (section leader), Lieutenant Besby Holmes, and Lt Rex Barber at Kukum Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 19 Apr 1943.Wreck of G4M bomber whose crash killed Admiral Yamamoto, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Apr 1943The ashes of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto arriving at Kisarazu, Japan aboard battleship Musashi, 23 May 1943The state funeral of Isoroku Yamamoto, Tokyo, Japan, 5 Jun 1943, photo 1 of 2
Painting United States Army Air Forces Major John Mitchell, circa 1944. Major Mitchell planned and led the Yamamoto mission on 18 Apr 1943. Note the Navy Cross ribbon on his uniform shirt awarded for the Yamamoto mission.United States Marine Major Alva B. “Red” Lasswell, one of the Navy’s best cryptanalyst-linguists, relaxing with his pipe in Hawaii, 1944-45. Lasswell decrypted the message leading to the Yamamoto mission in 1943.Associated Press war correspondent J. Norman Lodge, circa 1945. Lodge wrote a detailed account of the Yamamoto mission of 18 Apr 1943 that had some significant ramifications.
Painting 'Death of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto' by Sergeant Vaughn A. BassUnited States Army Air Forces Major John Mitchell, circa 1944. Major Mitchell planned and led the Yamamoto mission on 18 Apr 1943. Note the Navy Cross ribbon on his uniform shirt awarded for the Yamamoto mission.United States Marine Major Alva B. “Red” Lasswell, one of the Navy’s best cryptanalyst-linguists, relaxing with his pipe in Hawaii, 1944-45. Lasswell decrypted the message leading to the Yamamoto mission in 1943.Associated Press war correspondent J. Norman Lodge, circa 1945. Lodge wrote a detailed account of the Yamamoto mission of 18 Apr 1943 that had some significant ramifications.
Grave of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Tama Cemetery, Tokyo, Japan, 13 July 2017Graves of Admirals Heihachiro Togo (nearest), Isoroku Yamamoto (center), and Mineichi Koga (furthest), Tama Cemetery, Tokyo, Japan, 13 July 2017
Grave of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Tama Cemetery, Tokyo, Japan, 13 July 2017Graves of Admirals Heihachiro Togo (nearest), Isoroku Yamamoto (center), and Mineichi Koga (furthest), Tama Cemetery, Tokyo, Japan, 13 July 2017
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"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us... they can't get away this time."

Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, at Guadalcanal


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