Yukio Araki ( ja, 荒木幸雄, ''Araki Yukio'', March 10, 1928 – May 27, 1945) was a Japanese aviator of the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. As a

kamikaze pilot , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

and member of the

72nd Shinbu Squadron The of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force was formed on January 30, 1945, as the 113 Educational Flight Corps. On March 30 of the same year the unit gained its final name, the 72nd Shinbu Squadron. On May 25, 1945, the 72nd Shinbu Squadron depa ...

, Araki died on May 27, 1945 during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

when he flew his bomb-laden Mitsubishi Ki-51 to deliberately crash into the USS ''Braine''. It is speculated that Araki and one other pilot hit and damaged the ship, killing 66 of its crew. At 17 years old, Araki was one of the youngest kamikaze pilots.

Biography

Araki Yukio was born on March 10, 1928 in Miyamae, Kiryu,

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

. At the age of fifteen he joined the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service's Youth Pilot Training Program. In or around September 1943, he began training at the Tachiarai Air Base. After he graduated he started working at

Metabaru Air Field is a military aerodrome of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). It is located at JGSDF , in Yoshinogari, Saga Prefecture, Japan. On February 5, 2018 an AH-64D Apache The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin- turboshaft a ...

, and in 1944 he got work at Heijo (now known as

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

), Korea. On 27 May 1945, Araki took off from Bansei Airfield, at Bansei (now part of

Minamisatsuma is a Cities of Japan, city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is on the western (East China Sea) side of the Satsuma Peninsula. As of May 31, 2011, population data, the city has an estimated population of 39,012 with 18,711 households an ...

), Kawanabe District,

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

in a Mitsubishi Ki-51 on a ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

'' mission. At the age of seventeen, Araki is one of the youngest known ''kamikaze'' pilots. It has been speculated that his plane was one of two that struck the USS ''Braine'', killing 66 of its crew; however, the ship did not sink. Araki had been home in April 1945, and left letters for his family, to be opened upon the news of his death. The letter to his parents noted: :Please find pleasure in your desire for my loyalty to the emperor and devotion to parents. :I have no regrets. I just go forward on my path. Prior to his mission, and in accordance with the custom of the kamikaze pilots, Araki cut a lock of his hair and clipped his fingernails, which together were to be sent to his parents following his death. These were sent to his family for burial in a cemetery in Kiryu.

Cultural references

In 2004, Tsuneyuki Mori published Araki's biography, entitled ''Yuki Died at 17 in a Kamikaze Attack'' . Mori is one of Japan's most noted authors of books about the

kamikaze pilots , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to ...

and their world.Yuki Died at 17 in a Kamikaze Attack
from the Kamikaze Images website accessed on June 12, 2016.

References

External links

*
"Who Became Kamikaze Pilots, and How Did They Feel Towards Their Suicide Mission" by Mako Sasaki (1997, 36 pdfs)
makes use of Araki's diary and letters
Yukio Araki (1928–1945) Find a Grave Memorial
{{Authoritycontrol Japanese aviators Japanese military personnel killed in World War II Japanese military personnel who committed suicide Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II Japanese World War II pilots Kamikaze pilots People from Gunma Prefecture People from Kiryū, Gunma People of Shōwa-period Japan People of the Empire of Japan Suicides in Japan 1928 births 1945 deaths Imperial Japanese Army soldiers Child soldiers in World War II

Biography

Cultural references

See also

References

External links