Saburō Sakai
During this same engagement, Saburō Sakai, leading the second section in Sasai's squadron, sustained grievous injuries from the return fire of carrier-based bombers he had mistaken for Wildcats. After a few days in the hospital, Sakai was informed that he would be returning to Japan for eye surgery. The evening before his departure, Sasai bade him farewell at his bedside, giving him his tiger-head belt buckle and saying to him, "Please go back to Japan and please come back to Rabaul!"