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Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadets

This was for the college students drafted into the war by the Gakuto Shutsujin

who were interested in the Air Corps. The 1st term entered in October 1943,

the 2nd in December 1943, and the 3rd in June 1944. They were made into

Second Lieutenants in one year, half a year earlier than planned. One sixth of the

entire Okinawa Tokko of the Army was made up of these 312 cadets.

Pilot Training Schools

This was not an institution belonging to the Army, but belonged to the Ministry of

Communications. However, the content was almost the same. There were

twelve of these schools and the students were separated into the regular course

and flight training course. Students of fourteen to fifteen years old entered the

regular course. After three years of regular education, the students received one

year of flight training which the students of the flight training course had

completed. To enter the flight training school from the beginning, an educational

background of more than Middle School graduation was required. 108 of the

graduates died in the Okinawa Tokko.

Appendix Two

The 72nd Shinbu Squadron

Many of the Kamikaze pilots mentioned in the Essay were pilots of the 72nd Shinbu-tai

of the Imperial Army. The following are pilots of the squadron:

Title Name Age at Departure

Captain:

First Lieutenant Mutsuo Sato 24

Sergeant Nobuyoshi Nishikawa

Sergeant Kazuo Arai 21

Corporal Yukio Araki 17

Corporal Tsutomu Hayakawa 19

Corporal Kairyu Kanamoto

Corporal Atsunobu Sasaki

Corporal Kaname Takahashi 18

Corporal Mineyoshi Takahashi 17

Corporal Masato Hisanaga 20

Corporal Toshio Chizaki 19

Corporal Takamasa Senda 19

This squadron was formed on January 30, 1945 as the 113 Educational Flight Corps,

then was transformed to the 23rd Rensei Flight Corps. On March 30, 1945, the same

unit was renamed the 72nd Shinbu Squadron. (Shinbu refers to the squadrons of the

Imperial Army which made the suicide attacks by aircraft.) They were stationed in

Heijo, what is now P'yongyan of North Korea. From March 25, 1944, they were in

Kagamihara, Gifu prefecture for about one month. Before the mission in May, the unit

returned to Kyushu, and stayed in Metabaru, for a few days, and flew over to Bansei

Air Base. Their attack was first planned to be made on May 20, 1945, however it was

postponed to May 27, 1945 due to rainy weather.

Of the twelve pilots, three did not depart for the suicide attack. Corporal Atsunobu

Sasaki was killed by an American P-51 on May 2, 1945 in China. On the same day,

Sergeant Nobuyoshi Nishikawa was injured, and could not take part in the mission.

The aircraft of Kairyu Kanamoto malfunctioned on the day of their mission, and could

not take off. The remaining nine made their mission from Bansei Air Base at 6:00 a.m.,

May 27, 1945.

Appendix Three

The Research Method

The first time I learned of this topic was in August, 1992. It was the time when I went

with my parents to Japan and visited manmuseums and talked to many people whose

age varied from12 to 60 and they have told me many stories about war.

There, a great number of primary sources and photographs were displayed, which

made me even more interested in the topic.

Since the summer of 1992, the collection of information started, with no academic

purpose. In 1993, the book Rikugun Saigo no Tokko Kichi by Shichiro Naemura

was published. This book was about the Kamikaze pilots who departed from Bansei

Air Base.

That summer of 1993 was crucial to my interest in the Kamikaze pilots. First, I visited

Chiran Tokko Heiwa Kaikan again on August 21, and looked in more detail at the

letters, diaries and photographs of the pilots. The photographs were extremely inspiring

in a sense, since in none of them were the pilots showing an expression of fatigue, or

regret. Most of them were smiling.

On the same night, I decided to spend the evening at "Tomiya Ryokan" which is what

used to be the small restaurant Ms. Tome Torihama ran during the war, and which the

Kamikaze pilots used frequently. There were several photographs of the Kamikaze

pilots remaining there. Mr. Yoshikiyo Torihama, the grandson of Ms. Tome Torihama,

talked to me about many episodes concerning the last evening the pilots visited the

restaurant.

Since May 1993 I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to organize my thoughts

and information on this topic.

This essay was extremely interesting and, above all, meaningful for me. The

members of the older generation who I interviewed encouraged and supported me

tremendously.

Appendix Four

The following are those who have supported and encouraged my research for the

Extended Essay: (in alphabetical order)

Mr. Seiichi Araki

Mr. Tadamasa Itatsu

Ms. Itsuko Kai

Mrs. Masako Kai

Mr. Kyoichi Kamei

Mrs. Fusako Manabe

Mr. Ryo Matsunaga

Mr. Shiniro Nagao

Mr. Tadashi Nakajima

Mr. Glenn Scoggins

Mr. Tohshio Senda

Mr. Yasuo Takahashi

Mr. Yoshikiyo Torihama

Mr. Akira Yamami

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