Island Air
©Copyright 1997, Carroll Williams
 

       Flight Petty Officer Tanaka Kobayashi looked down on the scene with a profound sense of horror. His Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero Sen fighter was the last airplane off the flight deck of the carrier Akagi. Seconds later, an American SBD Dauntless dive bomber lobbed a one thousand pound bomb into the collection of airplanes, fuel hoses, and bombs scattered about the flight deck of Admiral Nagumo's flagship. A flaming inferno erupted. The same fate gripped the Carriers Hiryu, Kaga, and Soryu. June 4, 1942, American aviators broke the back of the Imperial Navy. They destroyed the entire carrier force of Admiral Yamamoto's Midway Island offensive.

Tanaka's mission was to help drive away the American attackers. Zero fighters swirled amid American dive bombers. The carriers were lost. His home was consumed in flames. He had no place to land. Tanaka's thoughts ran the gamut from loathing to cold unrelenting fear.

Fifty caliber rounds sliced through his right wing. Tanaka instinctively rolled his aircraft left. "Where is the enemy, where is the enemy?"

A Grumman F4F Wildcat dove past Tanaka's Zero fighter. Wildcats from the Carrier Yorktown were flying protective cover above the dive bombers. Ensign Gary Halstead pulled back on his stick and tried to regain some altitude. His airspeed dropped off precipitously. He was unable to catch Tanaka's Zero.

Tanaka turned his airplane away from the carnage. His only thought now was to fly toward the nearest land. "Midway. I'll have to fly to Midway. I will have to avoid enemy airplanes all the way in and ditch near the beach. Maybe I can swim ashore without getting killed. It's worth a try."

Tanaka's luck ran out a few miles from the burning carriers and many miles short of Midway. His Zero fighter lost precious fuel from holes in the right wing tank. One instant the Nakajima Sakae engine was cranking out its full 925 horse power and the next instant it fell silent.

Instinctively Tanaka pushed the stick forward to maintain air speed. From the deepest recesses of his memory his flight instructor's voice returned loud and clear. "On engine failure, get your nose down and keep it down. Make only shallow turns if needed. Adjust air speed with the pitch attitude of the airplane. Its all you've got. Do not stall the aircraft. A stall will kill you."

Nearing the sea, Tanaka flattened out his glide angle and opened the canopy. The Zero fighter hit like a skipping stone. The airplane rose into the air for a few seconds and then dropped hard. Sea water rushed over the windshield and filled the cockpit. "I'm alive! I've Got to get out."

Tanaka Kobayashi swam away from his sinking airplane. He quickly shed most of his clothing to make swimming easier. He turned just in time to see the rising sun emblem on a wing tip slip silently into the Pacific.

High overhead, Ensign Halstead pitted his F4F Wildcat in mortal combat against a swarm of Zeros. The Wildcat was rugged and potent, but could not turn with the Zero. Twenty millimeter cannon rounds ripped through his engine cowling. Thick black smoke filled the cockpit. Gary Halstead opened the canopy, released his harness, and dove over the side.

Rushing air was all he could hear. He pulled his parachute rip cord smartly away from his body. White nylon streamed heavenward. Whump, his parachute blossomed fully open. Gary watched his Wildcat plunge downward trailing smoke. It disappeared suddenly in a giant spray geyser.

Approaching the water, Gary released his parachute harness and dropped like a rock. He was under water for what seemed like an eternity. Inflating his life vest, he popped to the surface and sucked in precious air.

As he rose and fell in the ocean swells Gary caught sight of another person in his vicinity. The other man was about fifty yards away and swimming in his direction. Perhaps it was a squadron mate from the Yorktown.

Gary extracted the small life raft from his survival pack and inflated it. Climbing onto the raft he paddled in the direction of the other flyer. Drawing near the other man Gary could not believe his eyes. He raised himself up on his knees. With his right hand he unsnapped his shoulder holster and drew out the forty-five caliber pistol. Tanaka Kobayashi looked at Gary Halstead with horrified disbelief.

Gary raised the pistol with both hands. He took careful aim and squeezed the trigger. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Gary's target ceased swimming and lay motionless just below the surface. A trail of blood oozed from a massive bullet hole in his quarry's head.

Gary holstered his pistol. Reaching out, he grasped Tanaka by the arm and shouted, "Get into the raft before another one shows up." Tanaka glanced around. A few feet away floated a dead shark. It was long, very long.

The two men curled up in opposite ends of the life raft. For a while they just looked at each other. Finally, Tanaka spoke. "I'm most grateful to you for killing the shark." 

Gary responded, "I couldn't watch him eat you. He'd attract others. Then they would go for me. By the way, where did you learn to speak English?"

"I lived in Seattle for fifteen years. My dad was in business there. Where are you from?" 

"Well I'll be! I'm from Bellevue, Washington.  How on earth did you wind up in the Japanese Navy?"

"My family moved back to Japan in June, 1941, right after I graduated from High School. I learned to fly at Boeing Field. You know, King County Airport. I had over a hundred hours in the Waco biplane. 

My cousin Michio Kobayashi is a flight lieutenant in the Imperial Navy. He persuaded me to join the Navy and fly the Zero fighter. I wanted to honor my family so I enlisted in September, 1941. I qualified for carrier service in three months. I just missed going to Pearl Harbor. Today was my first combat. It looks like it may be my last."

"How could you bring yourself to fight Americans when you grew up in America? We were neutral until Japan attacked us without warning."

"Oh? The U. S. was anything but neutral. Your President Roosevelt cut off almost all trade between our two countries including vital petroleum. Your government interfered in our war with China. Your aviators trained the airmen who do combat with our Imperial Air Force in Chinese skies. All of this was done before our forces attacked your fleet at Pearl Harbor. How can you say America was neutral?"

Gary cut him short. "Listen. What do you hear? Over there, look..." A PBY Catalina flying boat droned toward them. Gary fired a flare into the afternoon sky. The PBY descended. It touched down on the sea a few hundred yards away and taxied slowly toward their raft. Sailors amidships opened a large plastic bubble and leaned out. They threw a line to the downed airmen as the PBY came skimming past. Gary and Tanaka grabbed the line and were pulled along side. The sailors leaned out and literally yanked the two men into the flying boat. As soon as they were inside the airplane, the pilot advanced to full throttle and got the Catalina airborne.

U. S. Navy Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat used for patrol and rescue.
click on photo for sound

A seaman quickly bound Tanaka's hands behind his back and tied his ankles together. When they reached Midway, the two rescued airmen were separated. Gary was taken to the base hospital for a check up. He last saw Tanaka Kobayashi sitting in the back of a Jeep between two Marines.

Ensign Gary Halstead did not return to duty aboard the Carrier Yorktown. His ship lay at the bottom of the Pacific. A Japanese submarine came upon the disabled carrier and finished her off with a torpedo attack. 

Gary joined a fighter squadron aboard the Carrier Enterprise. Tanaka Kobayashi's wartime career came to an end. Gary Halstead's wartime career was just beginning.

* * *

Aloha. Welcome aboard Island Air Flight 642 jet service from Honolulu to Kahului, Maui. Weather on Maui today, June 4, 1972, will be mostly sunny with a predicted high of 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Maui's famous north coast surf is presently running four to six feet. Terminal gate arrival time at Kahului will be 10:46 A.M. As we prepare for take off, please make sure that your seat back trays are stowed in the upright position and that all carry on luggage is either under your seat or in one of the overhead compartments. Your flight attendants today are Mike Moana, Barbara Johnson, Misha Tomonaga, and Sharon Williams. Our cockpit crew today is Captain Gary Halstead and First Officer Tanaka Kobayashi. Thank you for flying Island Air.  Aloha and Mahalo.

Island Air Boeing 737 parked at Kahului, Maui, June 4, 1972

End

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