Author(s): M.G. Sheftall

History

This title is a poignant and powerful reminder of those kamikaze pilots who never completed their missions. In the last days of World War II, the Japanese unleashed a new breed of warrior. They were the Kamikaze, idealistic young men who believed that there was no greater glory than to sacrifice their lives in suicide attacks to defend their homeland. But, what of those men who took the sacred oath to die in battle and lived? Soon after the 9/11 attacks, ethnographer M.G. Sheftall was given unprecedented access to the cloistered community of Japan's last remaining Kamikaze corps survivors. The result is this poignant and timely glimpse into the lives and mindsets of former Kamikaze pilots who never completed their final missions. First published 2005.