I came across this article.
To tell the truth: In the case of Ace pilot Saburo Sakai (1916-2000).
"A mother and a daughter of DC4 over Java"
On February 5, 1942, we took off Balikpapan in Borneo to raid Malang Air Force Base in Java. It was about 450 miles away long-range attack that could never be done by any Allied fighters at that time.
When we were flying over Java Island, I spotted a reconnaissance seaplane on the left front. I was better at spotting enemies than anyone else in my unit. No sooner I told the commander "I will shoot down that plane'' than left the formation for a while to shoot it down with my one shot. Recalling this scene, I still think that I should not have shot down that plane because it was so weak. However, it is also true that I had to shoot it down as long as it was an enemy military aircraft because that was our job.
I was several minutes away from our formation. I chased them with full throttle to join. However, when I looked to the front left, I had found a black spot in the distance. It was a flying object. "Okay, there is something again. I'm busy today," and chased the flying object at maximum speed.
When I got closer, it was confirmed not a military aircraft but a popular DC4 passenger plane. I thought that I had caught a bothersome guest. "What should I do..." I thought. It looked a plane in which VIPs were trying to escape to Australia from the island of Java which was then about to fall. Therefore, I decided to direct it to our base in Balikpapan rather than shooting it down.
I positioned my Zero in front of the plane and, pulling out my pistol which was equipped for suicide from my waist, tried to force it to the left turn repeatedly shoving pistol in the direction of Balikpapan. I opened the windshield and turned around. I saw a DC4 pilot looking at me at a distance of about 15 meters.
I flew for a while with the plane thinking "Well, what should I do?" and then the DC4 using the clouds skillfully flew away into the thicker clouds repeating zigzag flight at full speed. . . . So I wrote in my old book "Saburo Sakai's Air Combat Records" but that was not true. Why had I written like that? It was still the fifth year after the end of the war and Japan was under the occupation by MacArthur. I didn't want to have trouble, so I wrote as though I had failed to catch the DC4.
To tell the truth, I slowed down the speed to check what kind of people were on board. I took position close to the right tail plane to look in the windows and I was to be stunned. In the fifth window counting from the rear, a 25 or 30 year-old blond woman was holding a 3 year-old look blond girl tightly. I also saw another couple of similar parent and child in the next window. They seemed to be praying, "God, help!!"
When I saw them, they had reminded me of Mr. Martin's wife and daughter of the English class in my junior high school days at Aoyama Gakuin. It was impossible for me to shoot down this plane anymore. I wanted them to keep flying somehow. I immediately took position in front of the plane again and looked back at the cockpit to shout "Go!"
The plane probably flew to Australia via Coupon base in Timor. If the plane reached safely in Australia, the tiny girl would be around 53 year-old now. Her mother would be nearly 80. If any chance, I frankly would llike to meet them again...
Source: LA international (Feb. 1995)
Saburo Sakai in a restored Zero circa 1966
Source: Glory and Tragedy of Zero Fighter (1966)