Question: At which rank did the American author, military historian, illustrator and painter, born in 1913, who survived the surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States finally retire?

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The Imperial Japanese Navy fielded naval paratroopers during World War II.  The troops were officially part of the Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF or "Rikusentai").  They came from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Yokosuka SNLFs.  The 2nd Yokosuka took no part in any airborne operations and became an island defensive base unit.  They were under the operational control of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS or "Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Koku Hombu").  "Rikusentai" paratroopers should not be confused with the Imperial Japanese Army paratroopers, known as "Teishin". The bombing of Chongqing (, Japanese: 重慶爆撃 , from 18 February 1938 to 23 August 1943) was part of a terror bombing operation conducted by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the Chinese provisional capital of Chongqing, authorized by the Imperial General Headquarters. William Francis Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill AFC, AFRAeS, (24 September 1893 – 30 December 1965) was a Scottish peer and record-breaking air pioneer who was later shown to have passed secret information to the Imperial Japanese military before the Second World War.  Educated at Eton, he began his career as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps and then served in the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force during the First World War.  In 1921, Sempill led an official military mission to Japan that showcased the latest British aircraft.  In subsequent years he continued to aid the Imperial Japanese Navy in developing its Navy Air Service. The Aichi Kokuki KK AE1A Atsuta (Japanese:アツタ or 熱田) was a Japanese licensed version of the German Daimler-Benz DB 601A 12-cylinder liquid-cooled inverted-vee aircraft engine.  The Atsuta powered only two models of Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) aircraft in World War II.  The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) used the same engine (manufactured by Kawasaki as the Kawasaki Ha40) to power its Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien" (Allied reporting name "Tony") fighter.  The IJNAS's Atsuta and its IJAAS cousin, the Ha-40 were based on the engine that powered Germany's Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighter. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, on the morning of December 7, 1941.  The attack, also known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor, led to the United States' entry into World War II.  The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI, and as Operation Z during its planning. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (大日本帝國海軍航空隊 , Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Kōkū-tai ) was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.  The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Yokosuka B4Y, (Navy Type 96 Carrier Attack Bomber), carrier torpedo bomber was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1936 to 1943.  The B4Y replaced the Mitsubishi B2M2 and was the last biplane bomber used operationally by the Imperial Japanese Navy.  The Allied reporting name was "Jean". Dr. Cornelius Cole "Corney" Smith Jr. (July 18, 1913 – April 27, 2004) was an American author, military historian, illustrator and painter.  A survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was an officer in the United States Marines during World War II and retired at the rank of Colonel. A Kōkūtai (航空隊 ) was, during World War II and in the Imperial Japanese Navy, a type of aerial combat unit, similar to the Air Groups in service in the other armies and navies of the time (called "Group" in the British Royal Air Force, "Gruppe" in the German Luftwaffe, "Groupe" in the French Armée de l'Air etc.).  Although belonging to the Imperial Navy the Japanese Kōkūtai could be based at land or on board naval aircraft carriers and were constituted by hundreds of men and aircraft (that latters were distributed in smaller units called Hikōtai, the equivalent of squadrons).  For example, the famous 343 Kōkūtai (a fighter group, divided in three Hikōtai) was based at land while the 652nd Kōkūtai (a bomber group) was carrier-based.  As in general in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, most pilots and aircrew members of a Kōkūtai were non-commissioned officers. The Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau (海軍航空本部 , Kaigun Kōkū Hombu ) of the Ministry of the Navy of Japan was responsible for the development and training of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service.  In 1941 it was headed by Vice-Admiral Katagiri and was organized as follows:

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Dr. Cornelius Cole "Corney" Smith Jr. (July 18, 1913 – April 27, 2004) was an American author, military historian, illustrator and painter.  A survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was an officer in the United States Marines during World War II and retired at the rank of Colonel. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, on the morning of December 7, 1941.