Читать книгу Memoirs of a Kamikaze - Kazuo Odachi - Страница 9

FOREWORD

This book was first published in Japanese in July of 2016 and quickly received considerable attention from the media. Although there have been hundreds of novels, documentaries and movies about the Kamikaze, this book is unique. Involved with the Kamikaze Special Attack operation from its inception until the very end, this is a story of young man who joined the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service aged 16 and was still only 18 when Japan accepted unconditional surrender.

The author kept silent about his harrowing experiences for nearly 70 years, but finally decided to share them in the twilight years of his life. Lucky to have survived, he became a highly respected policeman who never forgot his dead comrades. This book also tells a fascinating story about an important constant in his long life. The author started the martial art of Kendo as a child and still practices actively in his nineties.

Young men and women from many countries were sent to the front and a countless number of them ever came home. The Kamikaze Special Attack Corps may seem akin to extremist suicide bombers who terrorize the world today. It is my hope that the reader will come to view the young Kamikaze pilots who crash-dived into enemy targets as honorable soldiers who selflessly and valiantly sacrificed their lives for their nation and its people. Such martyrdom is surely no different to the sacrifice made by any soldiers caught up in the tragic cauldron of war.

Millions of combatants and civilians on all sides lost their lives in the Second World War. Strong bridges of friendship have since been constructed between former foes, but we must never forget that these bonds are built atop a foundation of bones of those whose lives were ended violently and prematurely.

I hope that this book further augments an understanding of history as seen through the eyes of a young man who somehow lived through the horror, and that it will transcend concerns of nation and generation, reminding us of those who never lived to enjoy a peaceful life after the war.

—Shigeru Ohta