The article posted on the right was written by an unnamed journalist who wished to discern fact from fiction as to what was expected from Kamikaze pilots. After spending almost an entire year in Occupied Tokyo, he read numerous reports on the topic, both military and civil. The PR blather fed to the Japanese public did state that a willing death was expected of them, but was surprised to find that many (not all) of the pilots were given parachutes (seldom used). His research revealed that the Kamikaze corps was hastily assembled and was composed of the lousiest pilots they could lay their hands on.
“USS Defense (AM 317), after a suicide had crashed [into them] reported : ‘Wreckage was all over the decks, most of the pilot was on the flight bridge, and his parachute hung from the yardarm.'”
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