Matome Ugaki

Matome Ugaki was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He commanded battleships through the Battle of Leyte Gulf. After Leyte, he was assigned to lead the Navy's component of air defense of the home islands, focused on kamikaze tactics.

At Leyte Gulf, he commanded a battleship division, and Force "A" of the First Striking Force while Admiral Takeo Kurita transferred from sinking flagships. Aboard IJN Yamato, he wrote

This is like losing a part of myself. Musashi, however, was the substitute victim for Yamato. Today it was Musashi's day of misfortune, but tomorrow it will be Yamato's turn. Sooner or later both of thes ships were destined to come under concentrated enemy attack. My sorrow over Musashi's loss knows no end, but when one conducts an unreasonable battle, such losses are inevitable. Should Yamato tomorrow meet with the same fate as Musashi, I will still have Nagato but there will no longer be a unit and my existence as division commander will be meaningless. As I had already made up my mind that Yamato should be my place of death, I firmly resolve to share the fate of the ship.

Immediately after the surrender of Japan, he joined a kamikaze mission, against Imperial orders. It is not known to have attacked U.S. units, which might have restarted the fighting; his exact place of death is unknown.