When 12 Japanese Bombers Attacked This American Base — Every Mechanic Grabbed a Rifle

A Japanese bomber belly-landed on the main runway at Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, on the night of May 24, 1945. It stopped a hundred meters from the control tower. Ten commandos climbed out carrying submachine guns and satchel charges. First Lieutenant Maynard Kelley — a twenty-two-year-old night fighter pilot pulling tower duty — grabbed his revolver, got in a jeep, and drove toward them alone. There was no infantry on Yontan that night. The men on the field were mechanics, armorers, and radar technicians. None of them had trained for a ground fight. Within minutes, they were in one — surrounded by their own burning aircraft and seventy thousand gallons of ignited fuel. This is the story of the night Yontan burned — told through the men who were standing on it. 🔔 Subscribe for more untold WW2 stories:    / @wwii-records   👍 Like this video if you learned something new 💬 What would you have done on that airfield with no weapon? Tell us in the comments. #worldwar2 #ww2history #ww2 #wwii #ww2records