In 1943 the United States military began to plan one of the most dramatic secret missions of World War II Its code name was Operation Vengeance Naval Intelligence had intercepted the itinerary of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet whose stealth attack on Pearl Harbor precipitated America’s entry into the war Harvard-educated Yamamoto was a close confidant of Emperor Hirohito and a brilliant tactician who epitomized Japanese military might On April 18th the U S discovered he would travel to Rabaul in the South Pacific to visit Japanese troops then fly to the Japanese airfield at Balalale 400 miles to the southeast Set into motion the Americans’ plan was one of the most tactically difficult operations of the war To avoid detection U S pilots had to embark on a circuitous 1 000-mile odyssey that would test not only their skills but the physical integrity of their planes The timing was also crucial: the slightest miscalculation even by a few minu