“Memoirs of a Kamikaze” is the English translation of a book first published four years ago based on the experiences of a suicide pilot who embarked on seven missions and miraculously survived the war determined to honor his fallen comrades.
Released in September, the book recounts Kazuo Odachi s desire to “tell the truth about my comrades who died at the time.”
He says his testimony is “my way of consoling their souls.”
In postwar Tokyo, Odachi, 93, worked as a police officer and kendo teacher.
The book is based on accounts he told a former prosecutor, who became his friend through their shared love of kendo martial art, and a retired newspaper reporter. Odachi was 87 years old when he started talking about his war experiences.