Edited by Gerald Boerner
Commentary:
After the Battle of Midway, where our Navy was able to destroy most of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s aircraft carriers, the Allied forces in the Pacific grew to dominate the Japanese forces. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval engagement of the Pacific war; it was also the advent of the Kamikaze attacks on our escort carriers and other men of war. This was one of the few direct fights between battleships of the two navys. The Kamikaze attacks were intended to sink as many enemy ships as possible. While our anti-aircraft guns were able to stop a majority of these attacks, sufficient numbers of these flying bombs acting as guided missiles under the control of the Kamikaze pilots. Many died, but offered their lives gladly in accordance with the Bushido Code that emphasized Loyalty and Honor.
Japanese Zeros and dive bombers were loaded with torpedoes, bombs, explosives, and full fuel tanks. The pilots were needed only to get the planes into the air and aim them at the deck of enemy ships, especially aircraft carriers. They were feared, just as the “Divine Wind” after which these Kamikaze pilots were named.
This tactic of human sacrifice bombers has found its full fruition in the conflicts in the Middle East. We are constantly reading of such bombing attacks by Palestinians against the Israelis. Our forces have also encountered such bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our military barracks in that part of the world have also been attacked, such as in Lebanon. What will stop this terrorism? Would giving the Palestinians a home land eliminate it? Doubtfully, but we need to continue searching for a solution to cultural and ethnic conflicts around the world.
But now it is time to get into our exploration of the Kamikaze pilots that terrorized our naval vessels from 1944 to the end of World War II… GLB
These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved[ 3197 Words ]
Quotations Related to Bombers:
“A large part of the problem, is that young people are being born into the world and growing up without much hope. And so, they become murderers, they become suicide bombers.”
— Arthur Hertzberg
“The more bombers, the less room for doves of peace.”
— Nikita Khrushchev
“Sure, you would lose more bombers without fighters, but, flying in formation, you could get the job done.”
— Stuart Symington