Kamikaze Letters

[gumbyk]

There is a move by Japan to have the letters sent home by kamikaze pilots preserved with international heritage status.
BBC News - Remembering Japan's kamikaze pilots

 

[vikingBerserker]

I think that is excellent, I'm not sure why some people are so upset about this.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I think that is excellent, I'm not sure why some people are so upset about this.

I agree. It is part of their history. These pilots were soldiers like any other.

 

[parsifal]

this is a no brainer. They need to be preserved

 

[pbehn]

I remember growing up seeing footage of the Kamikaze attacks and thinking those people were different to us (British). But I think in the same situation that allied pilots would have done the same. Many missions performed by the RAF had such a high loss rate that death before a tour was completed was almost certain. A short while ago I read that the Kamikaze attacks were statistically more effective than others. I imagine that the Japanese pilots had seen so many loses that they were resolved to being killed eventually, some BoB pilots had the same feeling likewise in Bomber command and those guys were all volunteers too. Any way the archive should be kept in my opinion its part of history.

 

[Shinpachi]

I knew that news last month and my frank impression and wonder was if they would have wanted to be spotlighted even after death.
If I had been one of them, I would have wanted to be left alone.

Anyway, not bad news. Thanks for sharing, gumbyk!

 

[Gnomey]

this is a no brainer. They need to be preserved

Agreed. But as shinpachi said above me I can see where they are coming from.

I knew that news last month and my frank impression and wonder was if they would have wanted to be spotlighted even after death.
If I had been one of them, I would have wanted to be left alone.

Anyway, not bad news. Thanks for sharing, gumbyk!

 

[N4521U]

If put on display, let's hope they are not taken "out of context", as some would, and have. Making them look like fanatics. The viewer needs to know in advance they were doing what they knew was their "duty" to their country.

They do need to be preserved. Any, and all documents need preservation.

just sayin

 

[Shinpachi]

I agree, Bill, and I wouldn't have wanted my private letter to be displayed in public even if my family agreed.
That looks too much.

 

[Totalize]

I saw a documentary on the Kamikaze and one of the motivators for volunteering was peer pressure. Many didn't really want to go to their deaths but seeing their comrades volunteering, especially their close friends do so and die in the process caused them to step forward for this kind of duty.