Mikawa's leadership and moral contradiction

Gunichi Mikawa is worth studying as a commander without turning him into a hero. His operational judgment in the Guadalcanal campaign and willingness to challenge wasteful orders reveal a capable, sometimes unusually independent officer. The same career is implicated in the killing of civilians aboard Akikaze, although the surviving evidence cannot conclusively establish who gave the order. His useful tactical and institutional lessons cannot be separated from command responsibility.