The pilot takes a deep breath and prays. He
sights his target and banks hard to the left. The engine roars under the strain
of gravity. The target is lined up, the pilot pushes down on the flight stick, the
plane dives towards the ocean below. Wedged in between the metal ring of the tachometer
is a picture of the emperor of Japan, clutched tightly in the pilot’s hand is a piece
of cloth with his family name embroidered on it. A feeling of calm washes over him as the
battleship gets closer, and closer, and closer. Less than a year prior the Japanese soldier sits
in a large barracks with a bunch of his comrades. They are playing cards and smoking
cigarettes. A veil of smoke fills the air as the soldiers enjoy some downtime
after a campaign on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The soldier has
fought in several battles for the emperor, his duty is to defend Japan against the
Allied threat. He wears a freshly wrapped bandage around his shoulder where an enemy
bullet lodged itself in the last battle. A high ranking officer enters the barracks.
All of the men immediately stand at attention. The commander walks up to the Japanese soldier
and hands him a plain white envelope. In it is a folded piece of paper. The soldier takes out
the paper and reads it. It is a letter directly from the emperor. The letter asks the question:
“will you serve your country as a kamikaze pilot, and bring glory to Japan?” Below these
words are three options: volunteer willingy, volunteer, or no. However, there is really
only one option that any soldier can choose, unless he wants to bring dishonor
upon himself and his family. The soldier checks the “volunteer willingly”
box and hands the envelope back to the officer. The other soldiers congratulate him as he is
about to make a great sacrifice for his country. He will be a hero. The soldier packs his
possessions into his standard issue tan sack and follows the officer out of the barracks. He is
put on a transport to be taken to the closest air base where he will be trained by the Japanese air
force. The entire trip the soldier thinks about what lies ahead. He thinks about the honor that
being a kamikaze pilot will bring to his family, the sadness of not seeing his mother again, the
pain of being engulfed in a fiery explosion. But to die for one’s emperor is a privilege. The newly recruited kamikaze pilot reaches the
air base where he will be trained. He stands in a row of soldiers with the same determined look on
their faces. He wonders if this is just a facade, or does every one of the kamikaze pilots
believe in doing the will of the emperor for the glory of Japan, even if it costs them
their lives? The soldiers stand at attention. The commanding officer announces that they are
about to be in the presence of greatness. It will be a privilege that so many others in the country
dream of. They are about to meet the emperor. Emperor Hirohito rides down the dirt road on a
white horse towards the newly recruited kamikaze pilots. The sun reflects off of his medals and
sword, the horse gallops in a steady cadence reminiscent of the beats of a war drum. Hirohito
stops just in front of the line of men. The soldiers look upon the emperor, their eyes wide,
trying to keep their resolve even though they are filled with admiration and awe. Emperor Hirochito
tells the kamikaze pilots that it is their duty to bring honor to Japan. He is requesting their
service personally. This is a special request, because the emperor is the embodiment of
the country. He is practically a deity. Hirohito leaves and the soldiers are left with
their thoughts. They are put through training and tests to teach them the basics for flying a
plane before the more technical training begins. The soldier has learned from talking to the other
kamikaze recruits that, like him, many of the kamikaze pilots went to Japan’s best universities
before the war. The emperor isn’t just sacrificing the lower classes to the war machine, instead,
some of the most intelligent people in the country are being put into planes loaded with explosives
and ordered to give their lives for Japan. The soldier sits in a classroom with old wooden
desks and chairs. The officer at the front of the room teaches lessons around suppressing
fear, and other troublesome emotions. The soldier is to maintain a clear head and do his
duty, that is it. There is no need to worry, or be nervous, because this is the kamikaze
pilot’s destiny. There is nothing more important than serving the nation. The officer
explains that even if the soldier were to die, it is for a worthy cause, and will be the ultimate
fulfillment of duty. The lesson ends with the officer commanding the kamikaze pilots in the room
to carry out their mission, or do not return. The soldier wonders if by some miracle he were to
survive his mission, what should he do next? His commanding officer just gave him the order
not to return, so if he survives can he go home? Weeks of training go by and the soldier
is no longer considered a recruit. He is now a kamikaze pilot, and will be given
his final mission soon. Before his final flight across the Pacific Ocean the kamikaze pilot
is asked to write a letter to his parents. It will be delivered when his mission is
completed. He sits silently looking down at the blank piece of paper. He takes a deep
breath and writes seven words that will be delivered to his mother and father upon his
death, “I have brought honor to our family.” The kamikaze pilot folds the piece of paper and
places it inside the envelope. On the way out of the barracks he hands it to his commanding
officer. He looks out across the airfield. The tarmak radiates heat, the
smell of gasoline fills the air. Mechanics work on engines as soldiers help
mount the explosives to the kamikaze planes. The roar of engines is deafening. The airfield
is a conglomerate of older plane models. These previously retired planes
are now used for one thing; getting loaded with extra fuel and explosives,
and flown into the side of Allied targets. The kamikaze pilot walks towards his
aircraft. It is an old fighter plane with a rusty propellor and chipped paint across
the fuselage. He runs his hand along the wing, thinking about how this will be the last
time he stands on the ground of his homeland. Soon he will be in the air, and then
sent to whatever comes after this life. The pilot grabs onto the warm metal railing of the
ladder leading to the cockpit. He climbs halfway up and turns his head to watch his comrades
running to their aircrafts and preparing to take off for their final mission. He feels a
sense of duty, but also a pain in his heart that he will never be able to have a family of his
own. He releases a sigh and continues to climb. The kamikaze pilot swings his legs over the side
of the cockpit and slides into his seat. The flight stick is a little wobbly, and the glass on
several of the dials is cracked. This plane must have been retired years ago, maybe even before
the war had started. He slides the canopy over his head, enclosing himself in the cockpit. The canopy
glass has become murky from oxidation and time. The kamikaze pilot looks out at the airfield one
last time. He pulls out the choke and signals to the mechanics to start the engine. They pull
down hard on the propeller, nothing happens. The pilot cranes his neck to look at the mechanic.
He reaches up, grabs the propeller, and pulls down again with all his strength. The engine roars
to life, the propeller turns for a few seconds and then the engine dies. Could this be a
sign? he thinks. He has heard stories of kamikaze pilots being ready to carry out their
missions, but their planes wouldn’t start. The older modeled aircrafts were stripped to
their bones so they could be loaded with more explosives, but very little work was put into
maintaining the plane’s engines or machinery. The kamikaze pilot sits in the cockpit.
He is filled with a mix of emotions. On the one hand if the plane doesn’t start he will
get to spend more time in the land that he loves. On the other, he will not be doing his duty to
that very country. It is an internal struggle that many kamikaze pilots have to deal with. Another
mechanic runs over to the plane with a wrench in his hand. The two mechanics begin frantically
working on the engine. The pilot watches as plane after plane takes off from the runway and flies
over the dark blue waters of the Pacific. Suddenly there is a deafening BANG! Smoke bellows out of
the engine, the propeller begins to turn. It turns faster and faster, the engine hums to life and
the pilot pulls back on the throttle. The engine is making a gurgling sound, and every minute or
so spews out black smoke, but the mechanics give the pilot a thumbs up and remove the parking
blocks from the tires. He is ready to go. The plane moves towards the runway. He
waits for the signal. When it is given he pushes the throttle to full. The engine
roars, smoke pours out of the exhaust pipes, the plane lurches forward, pushing
the pilot back against his seat. He pulls back on the flight stick and the
plane rises into the air. He moves towards his squadron and glides into place. They are
now airborne and flying towards their target. The fleet of ships they are going to intercept is
not too far off the coast of Japan. The time to contact is only a couple of hours. About halfway
into the flight the pilot watches as several of the planes in the squadron run into mechanical
problems and plummet into the depths of the ocean. Eventually the fleet appears on
the horizon. There are battleships, destroyers, and an aircraft carrier. They
look like little toys in an endless bathtub. The pilot grips the flight stick tighter. This
is it. This is what he has been trained for, and this is what the emperor demands. He
will finish his mission and bring honor to his family and country. The squadron of planes
begins to descend. There are bright flashes of light coming from the fleet of ships. The sky is
filled with explosions from anti-aircraft shells. The planes dodge and weave around
fiery shrapnel and clouds of smoke. The kamikaze pilots are almost directly above
their targets. Planes begin taking off from the aircraft carrier to try and intercept as
many of the kamikaze aircraft as possible. The Allied forces are well aware of the kamikaze
tactic by now, the more desperate Japan becomes, the more dangerous the war gets. They have been
planning and putting counter measures in place. However, if a single kamikaze pilot makes
it to his target, the damage can be immense. The pilot pushes his flight stick forward.
The plane goes into a nosedive. He looks to his left and sees one of the other planes
blown from the sky by an anti-aircraft shell. He looks to the right and sees a missile that has
been deployed from one of the larger aircrafts. He knows that inside this missile is a man and
tons of explosives. The pilot has been crammed inside the missle with no means of getting out
since the device was mounted to the plane back at the airbase. The kamikaze missile will free fall
for as long as possible, then, at the last moment, the pilot will engage the thrusters of the
missile and he will maneuver it into his target. The missile is slender and smaller than an
aircraft, therefore it is much harder to destroy. The pilot turns his head to look straight through
the cockpit windshield. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. The battleship he is flying
towards gets closer, and closer, and closer. During World War II Japanese kamikaze pilots
were revered as heroes by their country, and deemed an enormous threat by the United
States military. These pilots were willing to give up their own lives to serve their country.
The word kamikaze means “divine wind.” We know about how kamikaze missions were used by
the Japanese in battles like Pearl Harbor or at naval installations in the
Pacific from survivors of such attacks. We also know about the kamikaze pilot
experience from individuals who encountered mechanical issues with their planes and
were unable to complete their missions. By the end of World War II almost 4,000
Japanese pilots died in kamikaze missions. It is still disputed how effective these missions
were in terms of damage to Allied ships and bases. Kamikaze missions continued all
the way up until the end of the war when Emperor Hirohito announced Japan
was surrendering on August 15, 1945. Over the years the Japanese people have viewed
the kamikaze pilots with mixed feelings. Some saw them as heroes who were doing their
duty during a time of war, others saw their acts of suicide as shameful. Either way, the life of a
kamikaze pilot must have been a difficult struggle between giving up one’s life, and doing
their duty for the glory of the country. This was an internal battle waged within
each kamikaze pilot during World War II. Now check out “China vs Japan - Who Would
Win - Army / Military Comparison.” Or watch “The Attack on Pearl Harbor - Surprise Military
Strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Service.”
