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Kurusu, Ryō

Date of birth:
January 8th, 1919 (Chicago/Illinois, United States)
Date of death:
February 17th, 1945 (Fussa, Tokyo)
Mentioned on:
Yasukuni War Shrine
Nationality:
Japanese (1868-1945, Empire)

Biography

Major (posthumously) Ryō Kuusu is credited for 1 air victory. Kuusu mainly served as test pilot. He was killed in an accident while trying to intercept an Allied air raid on Tokyo. It is presumable that he was accidently killed by the propellor of another pilot named Lt. Ryozaburo Umekawa. The unofficial version is that he was either lynched by a mob after crashlanding or (according to the Army) died of his wounds after landing his plane on the base. He's the only American-Japanese person who's commemorated in Yasakuni Shrine.

Army career:
1940: Kawanishi Aircraft
1941: Imperial Japanese Army Air Academy
July 1941: Second Lieutenant (Shōi)
1941-1945: Army Air Test Centre at Fussa

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Sources