The Last Zero Fighter

by Dan King

Firsthand accounts from interviews conducted in Japan with five WWII Japanese Naval aviators. All are veterans of the pivotal battles of the Pacific War including; USS Panay, Nanking, Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, Rabaul, Port Darwin, Indian Ocean Raid, Ceylon, Midway, Guadalcanal, Marshall Islands, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Kamikaze in the Philippines, the home defense and the dropping of the atomic bomb.

The book is 348 pages includes 78 photos (many from the veterans' own albums), 9 original maps and illustrations.

Includes an introduction to the Japanese pilot training system for both officers and enlisted men.

Each pilot is followed from the time he joined the navy until war's end. They explain in their own words; why they joined the navy, what they thought about the war, about the aircraft they flew, how they felt about their friends and their former adversaries.

The interviews were conducted firsthand in their own language by KING who is a linguist and Pacific War historian who spent 10 years living in Japan.

Genres: History, World War II, Aviation, Nonfiction

462 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 11, 2012

Reviews

[carl theaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tokko-tai -- I didn't know the meaning of this phrase and
neither did the Japanese pilots when they first heard it.
They were shocked when they learned it meant crashing your bomb
laden plane into an enemy ship.

In the 'Last Zero Fighter' there are a variety of phrases for
the more familiar expression 'Kamikaze'. Despite depictions of
those fanatical swarms, the pilots couldn't make much sense of
having experienced pilots kill themselves, but followed orders.

A group of kamikazes usually had a fighter escort, part
of whose job was to report on the hits on ships. Ironically,
the fighter pilots would sometimes report a hit when there
was none, so their fallen friends would not have seemed to
have died so uselessly. Delighted with the success, those
in charge would order more attacks.

There's much more to 'The Last Zero Fighter' than Tokko-tai.
There are five fascinating contemporary interviews with pilots
who survived the war in the Pacific, some from China to Pearl
Harbor to Midway and onward.

Stories like these have been available for some time from the
war in Europe, however they are a rarity from the other side
of Pacific. Author Dan King became proficient in Japanese and
set about to interview these men in their final days, some have
passed away in just the last couple years during publication.

Along with the dramatic moments is plenty of info on routine
tasks; taking off from a carrier, days first ride in an airplane
(a rare item in 1930s Japan), life in flight training school,
practice torpedo runs, routine duty. All a great look
into life as a Japanese Naval aviator.

There are 30 pages of photos and several maps.

Dan King promises more books from his various interviews
of Japanese veterans.

Purchased this book at the National Museum of the
Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated with the WWII era and have read the books and watched the movies about it. This book by Dan King, The Last Zero Fighter, was one that hooked me and kept me reading it. Dan King is an American who is fluent in Japanese. This allowed him to conduct his own interviews with many Japanese WWII pilots about their experiences. There have been other similar books done by Japanese authors in Japanese that may have been translated. But Dan's language ability allowed him special access to these unique individuals. The book starts with the war of aggression in China, through the Pearl Harbor attack, and other familiar campaigns. As with American WWII veterans, the Japanese veterans are dying at an increasingly rapid rate and some of those he interviewed are gone now.

He has very thoroughly researched the background of the strict training regimen they went through and then presents each of five pilot's stories from their early interest in flying through post-war life in Japan. Dan King conducted dozens of interviews so there are additional book(s) in the works. This was a fascinating and well-documented perspective from former enemies, many of whom had respect and admiration for the US and Americans, including some who had spent time here before the war.

From reading books by or about American and allied pilots and now The Last Zero Fighter, it appears that fighter pilot brains ARE wired differently from the rest of us even across different cultures. I must share this warning - when you get to the references section, Dan has provided a huge list of more related reading. Having spent just over three years in Japan with the US Air Force 1969-1972 and having studied the language myself, I have a great appreciation for Dan King's accomplishment with the interviews and writing of this book.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a untold (at least on this side of the Pacific Ocean) of the Japanese Air Force during World War 2. Mr King has a intimate knowledge of the Japanese culture due his work for over two decades with Toyota. The author interviewed and befriended many former fighter pilots who fought against us during the war. Among the people interviewed was the last surviving pilot who was in the attack on Pearl Harbor. All of these men are now in their 90's and time has given them a perspective that helps to perpetuate the common bond all who serve feel. In the end they were, like those they fought against, warriors who wanted to protect their family, homeland and way of life.

Mr. King recently spoke in Topeka to overflow crowds. His book was well recieved. I reccomend this book to any lover of history. Especially if you enjoy hearing stories of how things really were for those participated.

[Kaito Kanazawa · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I had very low expectations of this book, maybe it was because of the 25 dollar price, maybe because of the misleading title in contrast of the contents. Nonetheless, I didn't keep my hopes up for this book and I put it aside after reading a few Japanese books, one of them being one of my favorite books so far. Putting that aside, this book live up to my low expectations. That being a three out of five stars. Simply put, it's average. I felt as I was reading a textbook that was written in a format of a narrative.
Or to be more specific, five narratives. These stories come from the experiences of five Japanese pilot's of the second world war.
The first one being Kaname Harada. To be honest, he was nothing "special", in my opinion, but I think his stories, and the ways that they were displayed, represented the majority group of the Japanese fighter pilots of world war two, also including events like Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, and more.
Next are the stories by Isamu Miyazaki. His stories represent the Japanese air force as the whole, presenting lots of information on the events and stories of other more well known (dead) pilots of the war. Isamu's landing stories were especially interesting as he retells his (at least three) emergency landings (one on a ship and the other two in water).
Third is Haruno Yoshino, who was a bomber of the war. The majority of his chapter of the book centered around the life as a bomber in the Japanese air force.
After Haruno comes Toshimitsu Imaizumi, who was the most interesting out of the five for me. His part of the book went in depth into the lives of him as a fighter pilot, unlike to the more broad views of Kaname. It was from his section some of the more memorable moments in the book had emerged for me. I particularly enjoyed a short story of him and his pet monkey, Saburo. I you were expecting to read awesome recollections about a Japanese pilot flying the famous (or infamous depending on who you ask) Zero fighter, this is the chapter to read
Finally there is Tomokazu Kasai. He is known as, "The youngest Japanese Navy ace of the war" and that is how this final chapter goes. We get some more insight on the lives of the youngsters of the war, who were, in a way, tricked into joining the navy with all the slogans and one of my favorites, the cool looking uniforms. Anyway, he has more of a sad recollection of events, since from my observations, he hasn't been in any winning battle.
So those were my thoughts and general impressions of the book. Quite frankly, I don't think it's worth the 25 dollars but I'ts probably because of the misleading title. Really shows how you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover.

[Kenichi Fujiwara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Zero Fighter By Dan King is about how the Japanese used the Zero for strategic missions from a Japanese point of view. I really liked this book for three main reasons.
The first reason is that instead of getting a view of WW2 from an American [which I already have read a lot from them] you get a point of view from Japanese because Dan King can speak Japanese. When it comes down to war stories,you usually get the winner of the war point of view, but in this case, even though he is still an American, Dan King is a fluent Japanese speaker, and was able to communicate with Japanese aviators of WWII to understand more deeply of Japanese perspective: it was new and less biased.
The second reason is that it explains the tactics that they took and many things that I never knew from the books that are by an author who got the perspective of an Americans point of view. For example, one of the books that I read from an American author was that in Pearl Harbor attack, there was a third wave of planes coming in to attack. But then when I read The Last Zero Fighter, Dan King wrote that there was no third wave of planes which would of been better.
The third and last reason is that the author would put very brave,sad,and happy things in the book. For example. On page 218 which the heading is named "Ema Downs Two Hellcats", it shows that when there was going to be an air raid and everyone ran for cover, Ema bravely ran for his zero rather than running for cover. When he takes off and goes to fight the four US F4F Hellcats, he gets right into the air and starts fighting finally when he downs two Hellcats and damages the other two he chases them off. But when Ema doesn't come back, everyone thinks he is dead so they turn back when suddenly someone shouts," there he is!", and everyone is happy and cheering. Also when Imaizumi went for a scouting mission and found a group of brand new F4F Hellcats; instead of attacking them he just looked at them and watched them in envy and comparing them to their worn out Zero's he turns back.
I would give this book a 5 out of 5 and I would recommend this book to people who have already read about WW2 war in the Pacific from and Americans view and wants to read a book about WW2 war in the Pacific from a Japanese point of view.

[Dan King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firsthand Accounts assembled from personal interviews with WWII Japanese Naval Pilots who talk about growing up in Japan, why they enlisted in the Navy, and why they wanted to become aviators.

They share their experiences in China, and throughout the Pacific War. If you have relatives who fought during WWII in the Pacific you will enjoy reading about "the other side". There are some surprising and shocking revelations about how the Japanese selected and trained their pilots; and how they were treated after the war.

The author earned his college degree in Japanese and then lived in Japan for 10 years. As a result, he is possibly one of only a handful of historians in the US who can read and write the Japanese language that has thwarted English-speaking researchers and historians for decades.

The author writes from his own experiences in traveling to far flung places like Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Truk Lagoon, Saipan, Midway Atoll, Wake Island and other places that appear in the book.

[Michael Wiggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Last Zero Fighter" is a well-researched, well-written collection of accounts of several Japanese Naval pilots from the Second World War. I enjoyed reading about the Pacific War from different perspectives, even though mine remains more or less the same. The differences in personality and experiences made for rather different interviews and accounts throughout the book, which helped maintain my interest. Americans were fortunate to have fared as well as we did in this conflict against such brave, determined adversaries.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome collection of first hand stories of Japanese World War II pilots. The author is fluent in Japanese, so he is able to intimately interview these war survivors who have amazing tales to tell and able to ask follow up questions. To read a good narrative on a historical event is always a good learning experience, but you always learn more from first hand experiences. Some of these pilots lived through famous battles. One of the pilots was a zero pilot from Soryu during the Pearl Harbor attack. Another was a reconnaisance pilot from Kaga during the Battle of Midway, who witnessed when 4-5 bombs landed on the deck. Another was an air patrol pilot during the Doolitle Raid who said he saw the B-25s but thought those were friendly planes due to earlier briefing that the Japanese navy is testing a 2-engined aircraft that day. Some of these pilots later was reformed into Genda's famed 343rd Squadron of aces near the end of the war. This book is a treasure of heroic tales. Key lesson is wars are initiated by old men and fought by young men, don't fight wars.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The toxicity of Samurai values [which completely dominated Japanese culture until the 1890's and had many corrosive residual effects later on] propelled the Japanese to invade Pearl Harbor. The pretext for starting that war was mostly the refusal of the USA to sell oil to Japan . That's about it.
So national militaristic hubris led them down the road to doom. Mr. King, evidently a real Japanese savant, unfortunately glosses over the many infamous atrocities committed by the Japanese military when they come up in his narrative; preferring to focus on what are nonetheless fascinating vignettes of individual Japanese aviators as they reminisce about air battles. Pride and shame-based inhibitions have prevented any Japanese reporter from teasing out details of WW 2 aerial encounters first hand [since Japan lost the war it's been off limits]. Mr. King has skillfully & successfully ingratiated himself into Japanese culture to remarkably be trusted by first hand participants to share their stories.

[Lucian Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan King does his subject great justice.

King has done a fine job in demonstrating the Japanese views of the greatest struggle in the history ofthe Pacific War. I'm really looking forward to more accounts of his interview s with the survivors of the conflicts. His intimate knowledge of the language and culture give him a better ad advantage over other English speakers.

[Taw · Rating 3 out of 5]

The facts are really interesting, but the reading is very boring. I was expecting a lot more from this book, usually japanese accounts are great.

[RONALD GOVER · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reading

Brought a whole new vision to the war.I always thought in our prospective and not the Japanese. Glad they are finally doing it through their eyes.

[Jim Goff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other side of the war

Interesting first hand accounts of the training, and personal battle experiences. Also has very cool pictures that show the young men
And their different aircraft. Shows how luck played a big role in their
Survival. Shows how many men were not in agreement with the methods that the regime employed for war.