fujisan-ni-noboru-hinode: Japanese Navy pilot Lieutenant Zenji Abe posing in front of a A6M2 Zero fi
fujisan-ni-noboru-hinode: Japanese Navy pilot Lieutenant Zenji Abe posing in front of a A6M2 Zero fighter aboard Akagi, early 1942 Fresh from the navy flight school, Abe was assigned to the carrier Soryu and flew many missions in the Pacific war. He participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor and later took part in raids on Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians, as well as battles in the Indian Ocean, Australia and the Pacific. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea on June 19, 1944, Abe flew a one-way, long-range attack mission off the carrier Junyo. He made a forced landing on the island of Rota, between Saipan and Guam, and lived in a cave on the island until the end of the war, when he was taken prisoner and held for 15 months until he was repatriated to Japan. -- source link