Keizō Komura

Infobox Military Person
name= Keizō Komura
lived=25 June 1896 – 14 May 2000 [Nishida, "Imperial Japanese Navy".]
placeofbirth=Nakanojo, Gunma, Japan
placeofdeath=Tokyo, Japan


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1917-1945
rank=Vice Admiral
commands="Chikuma", "Fusō", "Musashi"
1st Carrier Division
unit=
battles=World War II
oattack on Pearl Harbor
oIndian Ocean Raid
oBattle of Midway
oBattle of Santa Cruz
oBattle of the Philippine Sea
o "Operation Ten-Go",
awards=
family=
laterwork=nihongo|Keizō Komura|古村啓蔵|Komura Keizō|extra=25 June 1896 – 14 May 2000 was a Vice Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

Biography

Komura was born in Nakanojo, Gunma prefecture. He graduated from the 45th class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1917, ranked 10th in his class of 89 cadets. As midshipman, Komura served on the "Iwate" and "Settsu". After his commissioning as ensign, he was assigned to the "Hizen" and "Suwo". He later served in various capacities aboard the battleship "Nagato", destroyer "Nire", cruiser "Izumo", "Hokaze", cruiser "Kako", and "Jintsu".

Komura graduated from the Naval War College (Japan) in 1929, and (with a promotion to lieutenant commander) assumed command of the destroyer "Kuretake", followed by the "Nametake" two years later. From 1932-1934, he was naval attaché to the United Kingdom. After his return to Japan, he served in various staff positions. He was promoted to captain on 15 November 1938.

Komura commanded the cruiser "Chikuma" during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Participating in naval operations in the Indian Ocean with the carrier task force, Komura took part in several battles including the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Santa Cruz.

Komura was captain of the battleship " Fusō" from December 1942 to June 1943 and "Musashi" from June until December 1943.

Komura was promoted to rear admiral on 1 November 1943. Appointed chief of staff of the First Task Force, Komura took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944. In October 1944, Komura assumed command of the 1st Carrier Division shortly before the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

On 16 November 1944, "Yahagi" was assigned as the flagship of Rear Admiral Komura's new DesRon 2. On 6 April 1945, Komura received orders for "Operation Ten-Go", to attack the American invasion force on Okinawa. "Yahagi" was ordered to accompany battleship "Yamato" from Tokushima for its final suicide mission against the American fleet.

At 1220 on 7 April 1945 the "Yamato" force was attacked by waves of 386 aircraft (180 fighters, 75 bombers, 131 torpedo planes) from Task Force 58. .

Recalled to Japan in May, Komura was stationed in Tokyo Bay as commanding officer of Yokosuka Naval District until 30 November 1945.

Komura lived on after the war to a very advanced age, and was 104 year old when he died in 2000. He was portrayed by actor Hirotaro Honda in the 2005 Japanese movie "Otokotachi no Yamato".

References

Books

*cite book
last = Feifer
first = George
year = 2001
chapter = Operation Heaven Number One
title = The Battle of Okinawa: The Blood and the Bomb
publisher = The Lyons Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-58574-215-5
*cite book
last = Hara
first = Tameichi
authorlink = Tameichi Hara
year = 1961
chapter = The Last Sortie
title = Japanese Destroyer Captain
publisher = Ballantine Books
location = New York & Toronto
id = ISBN 0-345-27894-1 — First-hand account of the battle by the captain of the Japanese cruiser "Yahagi".
*cite book
last = Skulski
first = Janusz
year = 1989
title = The Battleship Yamato
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location = Annapolis, Maryland
id = ISBN 0-87021-019-X
*cite book
last = Spurr
first = Russell
year = 1995
title = A Glorious Way to Die: The Kamikaze Mission of the Battleship Yamato, April 1945
publisher = Newmarket Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55704-248-9
*cite book
last = Yoshida
first = Mitsuru
authorlink = Mitsuru Yoshida
coauthors = Richard H. Minear
year = 1999
title = Requiem for Battleship Yamato
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location = Annapolis, Maryland
id = ISBN 1-55750-544-6 — A first-hand account of the battle by "Yamato"'s only surviving bridge officer.

External links

*cite web
last = Nishida
first = Hiroshi
authorlink =
url = http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px45.htm#r014
title = Imperial Japanese Navy
accessdate = 2006-12-08

Notes