Isahaya Naval Air Group Monument
Isahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture
The front side of this cube-shaped monument has engraved the name of Isahaya
Naval Air Group Monument. In March 1944, the airmen in Isahaya were designated as a detachment
of the Omura Air Group. In March 1945, the Isahaya Air Group became independent
from the Omura Air Group.
The monument's left-hand side gives the history of the Air Group and the
monument's erection:
This place was originally established in 1939 as an airfield connected
with the Pilot Training School for the Ministry of Communications and
Transportation. In the
midst of the former World War, it was taken over by the Navy. Day and night
the Navy carried out construction to greatly expand the airfield through the
great sacrifice and devoted cooperation of local people. This is the site of
the Isahaya Naval Air Group, which spent tumultuous days as it went from
training pilots to having an important role by providing kamikaze [1]
crewmen
for the 5th Air Fleet. The Air Group also played an active part as an
operational unit and protected our country in a time of crisis.
With the end of the war, those wings disappeared. Now, as the years have
passed, there is no longer anything left to remember the Air Group.
We war comrades consulted together and erected a monument here through
donations from comrades throughout the country. Filled with remembrance for
those protectors who gave their lives with patriotic pure hearts and with
prayers for eternal world peace, we desire to honor the great achievements
of our predecessors so they will never be forgotten and to pass this on
forever to future generations.
May 27, 1973
The back of the monument has engraved the names of about 60
contributors and states that 350 other persons also made contributions for the
monument's erection. The right-hand side of the monument lists the 13 members of
the monument erection committee.
Note
1. The Japanese word here is tokkō,
which means special attack. The Navy's Special Attack Corps that carried out
suicide attacks against Allied ships was named Kamikaze.
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