CATEGORY

In the last days of World War II, the Japanese unleashed a new breed of warrior. They were the kamikaze-idealistic young men believing there could be no greater glory than to sacrifice their lives in suicide attacks to defend their homeland. But what of those men who took the sacred oath to die in battle-and lived? Soon after the 9/11 attacks, ethnographer M.G. Sheftall was given unprecedentedly intimate access to the cloistered community of Japan's last remaining kamikaze corps survivors. The result is a poignant and unforgettable glimpse into the lives and mindsets of former kamikaze pilots who never completed their final missions.