9 years ago
4
Kamikaze survivors debunk stereotype in stories of sacrifice
The pilots filed into the room and were presented with a form that asked if they wanted to be kamikaze. It was multiple-choice, and there were three answers: "I passionately wish to join," ''I wish to join," and "I don't wish to join." This was 1945. Many were university students who had been previously exempt from service, but now Japan was running out of troops.
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I remember taking a course in university about Japan during WWII, and the professor was all about debunking common myths about Japan and its people during the war. One aspect that stuck with me, was reading testimony from Japanese soldiers and civilians to show that not all of them were loyal zealots willing to die fighting - which is a common myth used to justify why the US dropped the atom bomb. Similarly, I also remember reading documents showing that the US government was possibly trying to send a message to the USSR before meeting not to fuck with us by dropping the bomb first.
I went to the memorial parks and also epicenters (I swear it's called something else as the explosion was above ground) at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When you go through the memorial museums you walk out a changed person. War sucks, what was done sucked. There can be arguments back and forth for why it had to be done and so on, but in the end it was wrong.
Very interesting read. Thanks for sharing.
P.S. I like your avatar.
Umm thanks I guess :-)