In June 1942, as part of the Japanese Midway operation, the Japanese attacked the Aleutian islands, off the south coast of Alaska. Tadayoshi Koga, a 19-year-old flight petty officer first class, was launched from the Japanese aircraft carrier "Ryūjō" as part of the 4 June raid. Koga was part of a three-plane section. His wingmen were Chief Petty Officer Makoto Endo and Petty Officer Tsuguo Shikada. Koga and his comrades attacked Dutch Harbor, shooting down an American PBY-5A Catalina flying boat piloted by Bud Mitchell and strafing its survivors in the water. Three successive attacks killed the PBY's crew. Koga was then killed when his damaged aircraft crash-landed on the island of Akutan.