“The SACRED
WARRIORS”Japan's
Suicide Legions.
- By Denis Warner and Peggy Warner with Commander Sadao Seno JAMSDF (Ret.). Imperial
Japan had become a shogunate dominated by the ancient samurai code of
honor––that it is better to die than to surrender. And during World War II
only Japan would try to stave off defeat by creating a fanatical suicide
squad known as the "Divine Wind." Author Denis Warner, a war correspondent
aboard a ship that suffered two kamikaze onslaughts, and Commander Sadao
Seno, assigned to command a midget submarine toward the Pacific war, bring
to life this fascinating, behind-the-scene account of Japan's "special
attack forces." They tell the story of Admiral Onishi, a drinker and gambler
who found himself directing young pilots to certain death; Lieutenant Seki,
obedient and loyal but filled with torment, who blazed Onishi's suicide
trail in the sky; Commander Zenji Orita, who
launched the first manned torpedo (called
Kaiten's) on its path to destruction; and many others who thought
death a small price to pay for the glory of Japan. Events are vividly retold
through interviews with veterans from both sides, including those who
launched kamikaze attacks and those who survived them. 1982 Hardback
with dust jacket. 370 pages, 26 B/W photographs, 4 maps, 2 diagrams, 17 page
appendix and an index. Rare and hard to find!
