{"product_id":"memoirs-of-a-kamikaze-a-world-war-ii-pilots-inspiring-story-of-survival-honor-and-reconciliation","title":"Memoirs of a Kamikaze: A World War II Pilot's Inspiring Story of Survival, Honor and Reconciliation","description":"\u003cb\u003e**Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) Winner**\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn incredible, untold story of survival and acceptance that sheds light on one of the darkest chapters in Japanese history.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book tells the story of Kazuo Odachi who--in 1943, when he was just 16 years-old--joined the Imperial Japanese Navy to become a pilot. A year later, he was unknowingly assigned to the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps--a group of airmen whose mission was to sacrifice their lives by crashing planes into enemy ships. Their callsign was \"ten dead, zero alive.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy picking up \u003ci\u003eMemoirs of a Kamikaze\u003c\/i\u003e, readers will experience the hardships of fighter pilot training--dipping and diving and watching as other trainees crash into nearby mountainsides. They'll witness the psychological trauma of coming to terms with death before each mission, and breathe a sigh of relief with Odachi when his last mission is cut short by Japan's eventual surrender. They'll feel the anger at a government and society that swept so much of the sacrifice under the rug in its desperation to rebuild. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOdachi's innate \"samurai spirit\" carried him through childhood, WWII and his eventual life as a kendo instructor, police officer and detective. His attention to detail, unwavering self-discipline and impenetrably strong mind were often the difference between life and death. Odachi, who is now well into his nineties, kept his Kamikaze past a secret for most of his life. Seven decades later, he agreed to sit for nearly seventy hours of interviews with the authors of this book--who know Odachi personally. He felt it was his responsibility to finally reveal the truth about the Kamikaze pilots: that they were unsuspecting teenagers and young men asked to do the bidding of superior officers who were never held to account. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book offers a new perspective on these infamous suicide pilots. It is not a chronicle of war, nor is it a collection of research papers compiled by scholars. It is a transcript of Odachi's words.","brand":"Tuttle Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51944080081127,"sku":"9784805315750","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0449\/4075\/5096\/files\/imageloader_df2d6d15-0718-4645-8a69-f5b05d9913d5.jpg?v=1775352078","url":"https:\/\/arvidabookco.com\/products\/memoirs-of-a-kamikaze-a-world-war-ii-pilots-inspiring-story-of-survival-honor-and-reconciliation","provider":"Arvida Book Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}