Hayakazu Ichimachi

Hayakazu Ichimachi - 1936 prior to joining the Imperial Navy

(Thanks to: Becky Kato Applegate, Kazue’s daughter)

Kazue and her brothers lived with our our great grandparents, Jirozaemon & Tsuru Ichimachi. Since there wasn't enough money to send two kids to high school, it was decided that Hayakazu would join the Navy and finish his

education that way. My mother (Kazue) is proud that he worked his

way up the ranks in good time and was a flight instructor by the time the war started. He worked on two ships, both aircraft carriers I think: the

Akagi and the Kongo (unless there's another ship starting with a K). The Akagi was destroyed in Midway and perhaps the Kongo was, too. Actually, we are not 100% positive that Hayakazu died in Midway because my father had a

conversation with my grandfather, who said that Hayakazu died August 23, 1942 - and that date coincides with Guadalcanal.

My mother and grandfather did not know of Hayakazu's death until AFTER the war. One of the first letters to come was written by Mitsuru Fukuman to your (Jim’s) grandparents. In it, he listed all the soldiers who had died in the war that they knew. Auntie Li brought her parents to Gene Nishinaka's house where, if I remember correctly, is where my mother was living temporarily (my mother said, "Good thing, too, because she was a GOOD cook!"), and your grandparents broke the bad news to her.

This portrait was always on my grandfather's mantle.