Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 (The Pacific War Trilogy Book 3)

by Ian W. Toll

Some did not want to go. Gestures of defiance, overt and covert, became more common as the conflict wore on. Admiral Yokoi recalled attitudes ranging “from the despair of sheep headed for the slaughter to open expressions of contempt for their superior officers.”21 On the night before embarking on a last mission, the kamikaze squadrons held riotous bacchanals, guzzling sake and vandalizing their furnishings. A witness recounted one such scene: “The whole place turned to mayhem. Some broke hanging light bulbs with their swords. Some lifted chairs to break the windows and tore white tablecloths. A mixture of military songs and curses filled the air. While some shouted and raged, others cried aloud. It was their last night of life.”22 After taking off, mutinous pilots sometimes flew low over the quarters of their superior officers, as if to crash or strafe them. If they went on to fulfill their mission, the offense could not be punished.