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Speaking of Japan's kamikaze team, I believe many people have heard that it is cannon fodder under Japanese militarism, fighting with opponents to the end in the way of suicide attacks.
These carefully selected fanatics all went to the battlefield with a mortal mentality, but there was only one person, who was very desperate, cleverly avoided being killed by the explosion every time he went out on a mission, and saved his life nine times in a row, becoming a legend in Japan.
And he eventually lived to the age of ninety-two, survived two emperors, and was nicknamed the most meticulous kamikaze member.
This unusual pilot is named Yuji Sasaki, and let's step into his legendary life together.
Keep awake kamikaze pilots
Sasaki was born in Hokkaido, Japan, in 1923, with twelve siblings, the sixth oldest of twelve siblings, and how he became a pilot begins with his childhood.
At that time, Japan was vigorously expanding abroad, and domestic military construction was also in full swing.
Old Japanese photos
There are many planes circling around Sasaki's house every day, and when he was a child, Sasaki's favorite thing to do was to come to the back mountain to watch an airplane fly freely in the sky.
Since then, he has planted a wish in his heart to fly around the world when he grows up.
At the age of seventeen, Sasaki was admitted to the Japanese Military Academy and began to study flying professionally.
When he walked into this school full of anticipation, he found that in addition to flying knowledge, there were also many crazy behaviors of the Japanese army.
Sasaki's heart wavered, but in the face of his dream since childhood, he decided to bravely become a pilot, and just like that, he questioned the so-called Japanese militarism while studying hard to graduate.
Just when Sasaki was confident that he wanted to show his skills in the sky, he found that Japan had fallen into the embarrassing stage of war.
It turned out that since 1944, the Japanese combined fleet, known as the "third navy in the world", has suffered several defeats one after another, and has long since lost its former glory, and in order to continue to respond to US attacks, Japan had to shift its focus to special offensive operations.
At that time, the commander of the Japanese fleet, Taki Jiro Onishi, had always firmly followed the path of militarism, and in order to go head-to-head with the US military, he even formed a daredevil attack team, adapted from the Japanese Zero fighter.
The mission of these fighters is to carry explosives weighing up to 250 kilograms and rush to the US aircraft carrier in a decisive way, even if they eventually die, they must stop the US attack and save the current defeat.
Taijiro Onishi
In this context, the Japanese army continues to train these pilots who dare to charge and form this kamikaze agent team that is not afraid of death, and Sasaki is also in their planning.
Unlike other pilots who have long been brainwashed by militaristic ideas, Sasaki has always maintained the ability to think independently, and Sasaki also has doubts about the purpose of organizing and promoting the national interests above all else, and forgetting death for the sake of the country.
When other pilots respected the leader and obeyed orders, Sasaki dared to stand up and question the leader's words, which inevitably brought him retaliation, but in the face of such a threat, Sasaki did not compromise, but protested by hunger strike.
And the reason why he can remain a maverick in the kamikaze team is that in addition to his own personality, there is also the same backbone leader he has encountered.
The leader, Iwamoto Masatomi, objected without saying a word after learning that the country was training pilots so that they could send them to die.
But it was clear that he had no say in this matter, so he had to find another way and began to teach his pilots to cherish their lives.
He often said to his team members: "If one day you fly a plane to carry out a mission, remember to throw all the bombs on the plane to complete the mission, don't fight to the death with your opponent, and return home at the right opportunity, this is a qualified Japanese pilot." ”
Hearing this, many pilots let out disdainful laughter, they all seemed to put their lives on the line, they only wanted to serve the military country, and death was already a doomed end for them, so they did not think about the day of return.
Looking at these pilots who were poisoned by militaristic ideas, Iwamoto Masatomi shook his head and felt helpless, only Sasaki, who listened to his advice very seriously, kept nodding in agreement.
Sasaki had wanted to follow this like-minded captain all the time, only he could protect himself, but unfortunately, Iwamoto Masatomi was killed in a battle, and Sasaki's team had no leader, so he had to announce its disbandment.
Subsequently, Sasaki and other teammates were placed in other kamikaze squads, and without the protection of their leaders, they would finally face the cruelty of war.
The father prepared for the funeral, but the son returned safely
In November 1944, Sasaki received his first mission notice, and he was silently prepared in his heart, but he was not ready to die, but ready to return safely.
Shortly before Sasaki's mission, the young captain officer led 24 of his team members on the first death mission, and they flew their planes to the US aircraft carriers and cruisers, and the final result can be imagined, 25 people were spared, all killed.
Later, in order to promote their spirit, the officers told other pilots about the names they had given their planes when they were alive.
Those planes that they regard as treasures carry their beautiful visions, some called "Chaoyang" and some called "Cherry Blossom Mountain", and now, they no longer have the opportunity to see the sunrise and see the cherry blossoms in their hometown.
Many pilots were moved by their deeds, and they all showed admiration, secretly vowing in their hearts to become "heroes" like them, only Sasaki, who only thought about how to avoid being injured on the battlefield.
Before leaving, Japanese officers would prepare a sumptuous dinner for the pilots who were about to return, and in this way bid farewell to them.
Although Japan was already economically depressed at that time, they still carefully prepared a table of good wine and food for these pilots who were about to die in battle.
"Let's toast these warriors!" The Japanese officers intended to boost morale, took up their glasses and drank them, and although the pilots present were very apprehensive, they had to fire arrows on the strings, so they had to get drunk so as not to give birth to other ideas.
Only Sasaki sat calmly on the side, thinking about other things.
The mission arrived as promised, and Sasaki and the rest of the team flew their respective planes towards the US military base.
As soon as the kamikaze plane departed, the chief of staff, who was watching from afar, asked his subordinates to arrange for the list of these pilots to be sent to the newspaper office to report the news of their sacrifice and heroic sacrifice for the country, and at the same time, the chief of staff also ordered people to send the pilot's death notice and corresponding pension to the family in advance.
These pilots have been put on the death list by the country from the moment they set off, and perhaps they are still fighting fiercely against the US military in the air, and the country has begun to prepare for their funerals and sing the praises of their deeds.
When Sasaki's father received the news of his death, he couldn't help but burst into tears with emotion.
At that time, Japanese people believed that it was a glorious thing to die for the Japanese emperor, and when he saw Sasaki's name published in the newspaper, his father was very proud to show off to his neighbors and planned to hold a grand funeral for his son.
Just as the old man was talking about various funeral matters and promoting his son's spirit of sacrificing his life for the country, an embarrassing news reached Sasaki's house.
After the army was confirmed, Sasaki did not die in battle, but returned to the army unharmed.
Just as the old man was confused and asked what was going on, the Japanese chief of staff looked at the unscathed pilot in front of him, and he was also stunned.
He remembered the news he had released and the pension he had paid to his family, and for a moment he didn't know how to deal with this person who had returned alive.
Then, Sasaki gave a plausible reason: because the sea fog was too big during the battle, he could not find his target, so he had to return first and then make plans.
The chief of staff wanted to say something, but in the end, he stopped talking, and now the pilots who went out with Sasaki have died in battle, and even if Sasaki's statement is different from the reality, it cannot be confirmed.
And now that the news of Sasaki's death in battle has been released, this matter naturally cannot be publicized, and after some thought, the chief of staff decided to let Sasaki go to war again, and the last time did not die, this time the martyrdom is also justified.
"Can't die" pilots
In order to ensure the smooth progress of the mission, the Japanese chief of staff also specially arranged reconnaissance aircraft to observe Sasaki's combat situation in real time.
Not only that, in order to strengthen Sasaki's determination to die, the chief of staff also specially promoted him to an official position to stimulate Sasaki's fighting spirit.
Just when the chief of staff thought that everything was foolproof, only waiting for the news of Sasaki's death to come back from the front, he did not think that Sasaki once again walked into the flight base alive.
This time, the reason given by Sasaki was that the plane had malfunctioned and could not perform the mission normally, and he had no choice but to return home.
The chief of staff was already furious at this time, he originally wanted to find a reconnaissance plane to confront him, but he did not expect that the reconnaissance plane had already been blown up by the US military, and Sasaki's words were once again dead without proof.
The helpless chief of staff had to arrange for Sasaki to go to war for the third time, and this time, he secretly vowed in his heart that he must martyr Sasaki, otherwise he would not be able to explain to the Japanese emperor.
How to ensure that Sasaki does not return home, the chief of staff finally came up with a way to arrange another pilot to track Sasaki in real time, and if he escaped, he would kill him directly.
Unexpectedly, the pilot, named Captain Okuhara, was hit by an American bomber before he could complete his mission, and became the one who really died on the battlefield.
At that time, Commander Okuhara's plane and Sasaki's plane were very close, and when the chief of staff learned that a Japanese plane had been shot down, he mistakenly thought that Sasaki had finally been killed, and he breathed a long sigh of relief and was about to get up to celebrate, but he did not expect that the news of Sasaki's return came from ahead.
Appearing in front of him again and again, the chief of staff jumped to his feet in anger, he couldn't wait to directly take out his pistol and kill Sasaki, so as to give the country an explanation, but what little reason still existed told him to continue to let Sasaki go to battle, not believing that he had an immortal body.
Sasaki led the other pilots to awaken
In the fourth operation, the chief of staff arranged for six fighters to monitor Sasaki's situation, and even Sasaki himself beat a drum in his heart, believing that his hope of survival was slim.
But when he was about to approach the American aircraft carrier, the fighters behind him were lined up, signaling Sasaki to return to the Japanese base, although Sasaki was shocked, but in order to survive, he immediately turned the nose and returned to the base camp, this time, he no longer came back alone, and the six fighters behind him all returned unharmed.
The chief of staff obviously could not believe the facts in front of him, and repeatedly asked the reason, and several people replied in unison: the clouds at sea were too thick to see the target clearly, so they had to come back first to avoid losing their lives in vain.
It turned out that these pilots saw that their companions who had been used as cannon fodder had disappeared from this world since then, except for being published in the newspaper as a sign of encouragement, and only Sasaki remained alive and strong.
They also finally realized that the Japanese government did not take their lives seriously at all, and the fate of these pilots was written from the beginning, becoming a consumable of war from the moment they set sail.
So, they decide to resist and fight this inhumane act in their own way, they save Sasaki and at the same time themselves, which is the awakening of self-consciousness in the special forces.
In the fifth operation, Sasaki was still lucky to save himself, and for fear of being punished, he did not dare to return directly to the base camp, choosing to land at another airport.
The moment the chief of staff saw him again, he already somewhat calmly accepted such a result.
Then, in the sixth flight operation, Sasaki not only did not be killed, but also accidentally blew up an American ship, which was a great contribution to the Japanese flying team.
Therefore, this time, Sasaki was proud to return to the secret service and was commended by the Japanese government, and even the chief of staff, who had always rejected him, could only congratulate him helplessly.
In the seventh and eighth operations, Sasaki found various reasons to excuse himself, and his story began to spread in Japan, making those who were persecuted by militaristic ideas and only wanted to martyr their country begin to think about the meaning of doing so.
What Japan did in World War II was inherently unjust, and those heavily brainwashed Japanese, with a passion for becoming a tool for the Japanese emperor to realize his ambitions, now Sasaki's story has inspired them a lot, and many people have begun to reflect on whether their patriotic actions really have meaning.
The most meticulous pilot lived to ninety-two
On December 18, 1944, Sasaki flew his last mission, this time, Sasaki simply did not even look good, flew around the sky and turned back.
Subsequently, Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were bombed by the American atomic bombs, and the whole country was plunged into chaos.
In August 1945, Japan announced its surrender, and Sasaki finally said goodbye to his career as a pilot and happily returned to his hometown.
Taijiro Onishi
After the surrender of Japan, the mastermind of the kamikaze team, Taki Jiro Onishi, committed suicide, and the members of the special forces who were once respected by the Japanese were also reversed by 180 degrees after the war.
Many Japanese believe that they are a disgrace to Japan, and when they return to society, they will be blinded by the world and will never find a normal job again.
Sasaki, with his intelligence and alertness, returned to his hometown to remain anonymous and lived an ordinary life, until he died in 2016 at the age of 92.
The kamikaze had impure motives from the beginning of its creation, and Sasaki's ability to keep a clear head in a group of fanatical "patriotic" elements and not exchange his life for so-called honor can be regarded as a clear stream in Japan.