Chapter SixteenIn the war-fevered early summer of 1945, air force inductee Hideo Kamada found himself involuntarily volunteered for patriotic duty in Admiral Onishi’s Special Attack Corps. At first he was surprised at being selected, considering his lack of training, but after thinking about it he recognized the symmetry guiding his fate: his home and parents had burned to ashes during a night-time raid on Tokyo a few weeks before. This would complete the fiery annihilation of his family.
Although not eager to see his life end, he also recognized that the pilots in the Special Attack Corps were performing a holy mission. Like the great storm that had destroyed Kublai Khan’s invading armada in 1281—the “Divine Wind” or k******e after which they were named—the Corps would sweep the enemy’s
