fujisan-ni-noboru-hinode:Japanese Army commando and paratrooper, Captain Mitio Okuyama, seen as he d
fujisan-ni-noboru-hinode:Japanese Army commando and paratrooper, Captain Mitio Okuyama, seen as he departs for Okinawa in May, 1945.He commanded the Giretsu Kuteitai, an airborne special forces raiding unit of the Imperial Japanese Army, formed from volunteer paratroopers in late 1944 as a last-ditch attempt to reduce and delay American bombing raids on the Japanese home islands.On the night of May 24th, 1945, sixteen Ki-21 planes were dispatched for raids on American held airfields on Okinawa, each with 14 commandos onboard. Eight aircraft were assigned to Yontan Airfield, and four to Kadena Airfield, with four more aircraft in reserve. Four aircraft aborted the mission with engine problems, and four more were shot down in route, however five managed to crash-land at the US held Yontan airfield during the confusion caused by a diversionary attack by some 50 IJAAF and IJN bombers and fighters. The 69 surviving raiders, armed with Type-100 submachine guns and phosphorus grenades, wreaked havoc on US supplies and aircraft, destroyed 70,000 gallons of fuel, killed 5 American soldiers, permanently grounded 10 aircraft, and severely damaged 29 more, before being annihilated by the defenders. -- source link