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Kamikaze pilot receives sortie orders
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The webmaster for this Japanese site explains on his self-introduction page
that he wishes to remain anonymous because the topic of "kamikaze"
still seems to provoke the image of militarists. He remains unidentified so as
to not cause trouble with relatives, friends, and work associates. His goal for
the web site is "to pay respect to the brave men who sacrificed their lives
for country and family."
The best features of this site are the English
section and the message
board. Very few Japanese sites on kamikaze have information in English, but
this web site has English translations of many pages. The translations contain
minor errors, but they can be easily understood. The site has several letters
written by kamikaze pilots to allow readers to understand their opinions and
emotions. The message board has more postings than any other Japanese site
related to special attack forces. The postings include many thoughtful comments
on topics such as modern-day terrorism, wartime experiences of relatives, and
recently published books. The message board started in June 2000, and there have
been over 1,600 postings from October 2001 and October 2004. Most postings are
in Japanese, but there are also a few comments posted in English.
A few other large Japanese
web sites on special attack forces provide readers more detailed and extensive
information, but this web site's easy-to-navigate pages provide one of the best introductions to the
topic of Japanese kamikaze. The webmaster continues to add to the site's
contents, but the rate has been rather slow since 2003. A reference page gives
publication information and shows the covers of books related to special attack
forces. Individual web pages have documentation of sources, mostly information
previously published in books.
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