Mandated Kamikaze Pilots

[Sara Newman]

I'm so glad that you brought this up! I was also both afraid of and somewhat impressed when I'd read about kamikaze pilots in the past. It was shocking to think that a nation of people would be more committed to winning than to living, but the forced conscription of these fighters really changed my view of things. Like you I'd thought that it was the will of the people to fight the war against the Americans to the bitter end, but learning that it was forced upon them really changed my perspective of this. This could be an interesting example to have students study when writing about or debating about issues of loyalty versus freedom or obedience versus rebellion.