Harry Fusao O'Hara MM (1891,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

– 1951,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) was a Japanese man who fought for the British in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, first as an infantryman, later as the first and, as far as is known, only Japanese pilot in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. He was also a journalist.

Early life and education

Born in Tokyo, he attended

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

, but dropped out and traveled to India, where he worked as a journalist for Japanese newspapers.

Military career

After the First World War broke out, he enlisted on 13 December 1915. According to his youngest daughter, Geraldine Reedijk, a sergeant wrote down his last name as "O'Hara" over his objections. He was assigned to the

34th Royal Sikh Pioneers The 34th Royal Sikh Pioneers was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1857, when they were raised as the Punjab Sappers. The regiment recruited the Mazhabi Sikhs and Ramdasia Sikhs of Punjab provinc ...

infantry regiment of the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

, which served on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. When the unit was transferred to Mesopotamia, O'Hara ended his brief stint with the unit and joined the 5th Battalion,

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

, of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

as a private on 24 December. He ended up in hospital three times in 1916: first for

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

(6–10 January) and twice for wounds received while on duty (7 August and October). On 6 January 1917, he was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

. He transferred to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

as an Air Mechanic, 2nd Class. He trained at the Royal Provincial Flying School,

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

, and upon becoming a pilot, he was promoted to sergeant, on 8 October 1917. In 1918, he was assigned to

No. 1 Squadron RAF Number 1 Squadron, also known as No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron, is a squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft. It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth. Th ...

, fighting in France. On 7 June 1918, he was hospitalised again, this time for a gunshot wound to the jaw. The war ended on 11 November 1918, and he left the RFC sometime in 1919.

Personal life

In September, he married Englishwoman Muriel M. McDonald. The O'Haras lived in London after the war. When the UK declared war on Japan in December 1941, following Japanese attacks on

British possessions The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

in the Far East, he became an

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...

; his daughter, however, does not recall him being interned.

Death

Harry Fusao O'Hara died in 1951 in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Hara, Harry Fusao 1891 births 1951 deaths British Indian Army soldiers Indian Army personnel of World War I Japanese military aviators Middlesex Regiment soldiers Royal Flying Corps soldiers World War I pilots Recipients of the Military Medal Japanese journalists People from Tokyo Waseda University alumni Military personnel from Tokyo