On April 11, 1945, Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Setsuo Ishino, age 19, took off from Kanoya Air Base in Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture. He was piloting a Zero fighter carrying a 500-kilogram bomb with the mission of carrying out a kamikaze attack on American forces.
Ultimately, his plane struck the USS Missouri, plowing into its starboard side a little below the level of the main deck. Part of the plane was thrown onto the main deck in the crash while the rest of the wreckage fell into the water. Part of the plane, and Ishino’s body, were thrown onto the Missouri’s main deck.
The attack took place in the last stretch of a bitter war between America and Japan, and hatred between the two sides ran deep. But the Missouri’s commander, then Capt. William Callaghan, ordered that the young Japanese pilot be given a proper burial at sea in accordance with naval tradition.
American sailors sewed a Japanese flag and draped Ishino’s remains with it as they committed him to the deep. On Friday the USS Missouri Memorial Association marked the 80th anniversary of the event with a ceremony on the ship that brought Callaghan’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren to Hawaii along with dignitaries from Japan.
Mike Carr, president and CEO of the Missouri Memorial Association, said that after the burial “the crew of the USS Missouri returned to their stations, the battle still raging around them, but all carried with them in the memory of that day, a reminder that even in war there can be moments of grace, and that honor is not bound by the lines drawn between nations.”
Months after the attack, Japanese Emperor Hirohito would sign Japan’s surrender on the deck of that very ship. Over time, word of Callaghan’s show of respect to a fallen kamikaze pilot would spread, helping the two countries overcome hatred as they sought peace and worked to rebuild.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said, “Today, as we gather here, once enemies, now allies, we are reminded of how far we have come. This Moment of Remembrance stands as a testament to the power of reconciliation and the strength of peace. With the devastation of that day, Captain William Callaghan made an extraordinary decision, one that would echo through history.”
“Captain Callahan chose to respond not with hatred, but with honor and respect,” Blangiardi added. “This decision stands as a powerful reminder that even in the darkest moments of conflict, our shared humanity remains. That act of compassion continues to teach us that dignity and respect are not weakened by war; they are strengthened through understanding and forgiveness.”
In a keynote delivered by Callaghan’s grandson Carey Callaghan, he said of his grandfather that “his decision — controversial at the time, and maybe even today — was a humble one rooted in empathy, a sense of dignity and a vision of the future that was a part of who he was every day. … If this act of kindness and humanity is his enduring legacy, it is a good one.”
In September, dignitaries will again gather on the deck of the “Mighty Mo” to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which is — to date — still the most destructive conflict in human history. That anniversary approaches at a time where the world is again steeped in conflict, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East and tensions once again boiling in the Pacific — this time between America and its allies on one side and China on the other.
Hiroyuji Nuruki, mayor of the Japanese city of Minamikyushu in Kagoshima prefecture, said that “to build a peaceful world, we must examine, reflect on and share the history of past wars from multiple perspectives. We must also ensure that inhumane tragedies, like the kamikaze attack, never occur again by spreading this message worldwide.”
