Resized to 41% of original (view original)
Artist's commentary
On August 7, Showa 17 (1942), Flight Chief Saburo Sakai shot down one F4F, two SBD dive bombers during an attack escort over Guadalcanal, but afterward mistook an SBD for a fighter, approached it, and was shot by its circling machine gun.
He suffered a head wound with bleeding, but with extraordinary willpower, he returned alone to Rabaul.
In the background, concerned superior Lieutenant Sasai (white shirt) and Flight Chief Toshio Ota (left) are visible, along with the tail marking V-138 of his aircraft.
Leave a comment