Kamikaze

USS Reno fighting the fires on the USS Princeton

1 February 1942 is the earliest mention of a Kamikaze attack, but it was more likely an opportunist rather than a planned event. The USS Enterprise was damaged by the crashed plane. Admiral Takijiro Onishi did not create the Special Attacks Groups (Tokubetsu Kogeki Tai) until 19 October 1944, and gave them the title of Kamikaze after the ‘Divine Wind’ that scattered the Mongol invasion of Kublai Khan in 1274 and 1281.

Adm. Takijiro Onishi

These men volunteered mainly out of a sense of duty, generally university students, in their 20’s, being taught to “transcend life and death… which will enable you to concentrate your attention on eradicating the enemy with unwavering determination…” — an excerpt from the Kamikaze manual kept in their cockpit. Three times as many men volunteered as the number of planes available and experienced pilots were rejected. They would prepare for their fate by writing letters and poems to their loved ones. Each pilot received a “thousand-stitch sash” which was a cloth belt that 1,000 women had sewn one stitch as a symbolic union with the Kamikaze. A ceremony would be held and a last drink to give him a “spiritual lifting” and the toast – “Tennoheika Banzai!” (Long live the Emperor!) before take-off would seal his destiny.

Kamikaze receiving his sortie orders

Their initial mission was to attack the Allied shipping around the Philippines. 21 October 1944, the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, the cruiser HMAS Australia was hit by a Kamikaze carrying a 441 pound bomb – it did not explode – but it killed 30 crew members. Four days later, the ship was hit again and forced to leave for repairs.

Shinbu kamikaze, 1945

During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, antiaircraft fire was unable to stop a bomber from getting in and the 1000 lb. bomb went through the flight deck of the USS Princeton. 25 October, Lt. Yukio Seki led five Zeros, with bombs on their wings, to fly below radar aimed at Admiral Sprague’s fleet. Two of the planes were shot down by the gunners on the Fanshaw Bay.

Kamikaze commander, Lt. Yukio Seki (why the life preserver?)

During the following months, over 2,000 planes were used in attacks and other suicide equipment was added. The Kaiten, a manned torpedo with a 3,000 lb. warhead; Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka “Cherry Blossom” rocket bombs, bakas – flying bombs and the Shinyo, which was a one-man exploding motorboat.

At Iwo Jima and Okinawa during February through May 1945, the Kamikaze wrecked havoc with the Allies and sailors did not take long to nickname them “devil divers.” Such prestigious names as USS Saratoga, Enterprise, Franklin, Bismark Sea and Hancock were hit. The destroyer, Laffey was bombarded by 20 aircraft at once.

The idea of the Special Attack Groups was not a widely accepted concept back home in Japan. Just as parents in the Allied countries, they prayed their sons would return when the war ended – being a Kamikaze eliminated that hope and on 17 July, being a part of these units was no longer voluntary.

The nickname “Zero” was basically the term for every Japanese fighter, but the Kamikaze’s “flying coffin” was the Mitsubishi A6M2. It had a maximum speed of 332 mph and a range of 1,930 miles. It had a wingspan of 39 feet and was 29′ 9″ long and then modified to accommodate a heavier payload. Several thousand of these had been put in reserve in anticipation of an invasion on the Japanese mainland, which never happened.

On the eve of the Japanese surrender, Takijiro Onishi ended his own life. He left a note of apology to his dead pilots – their sacrifice had been in vain.

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Farewell Salutes –

Crissie Glendinning – born in Monticello, GA; US Marine Corps Women’s Reserves, WWII

Joseph B. Love Sr.. – Ellenwood, GA; US Army Air Corps, B-17 flight engineer, WWII

Jerome Martin Bronfman, DDS – W. Orange, NJ & Boca Raton, FL; US Army 1942-44, WWII and 1951-53 Captain in the Dental Corps, Korean War

Joseph Samuel Tarascio – Stuart, FL; US Navy, WWII

James Joseph Heaney – Salt Lake City, Utah; US Army Military Intelligence Specialist

Michael George Malinowski – Boynton Beach, Florida; Vietnam War ( gpcox met him many times)

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New Zealand Coast Watchers – update

After publishing my coast watcher’s post, I located this information – The 17 New Zealand coast watchers beheaded by the Japanese on 15 October 1942 were first located by a priest who found their bones in one grave and skulls in another; he re-buried them. The American organization, History Flight, assisted New Zealand in relocating the gravesite. Seventy years after their tragic deaths, a memorial service was held and the last surviving coast watcher, Jack Jones, placed the first wreath on his friend’s memorial in tribute to their sacrifice.

Jack Jones pays tribute

The first wreath

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resources: US history.org; “The Pacific War” by John Costello; “The Pacific War: Dad by Day” by John Davison; Wikipedia; the Palm Beach Post