Battle Line: Okinawa
Produced and directed by Sherman Grinberg
Written
by Jack Lyman and N.H. Cominos
Time-Life Video, 1963, 25 min., Video
Each week two antagonists of World War II recreated a moment
in history during the 1963 television series Battle Line. Two frontline
soldiers gave their viewpoint each week of one of the great battles or one
particular aspect of World War II, while the narrator told the history with
archival footage. In 1991, Time-Life Video released 36 episodes of this classic
documentary series in 18 videocassettes. This series succeeds brilliantly in
presenting the human emotions of the combatants, the dramatic tension of armed
conflict, and an accurate historical record of the events.
The episode Okinawa relates the experiences of Naval
Ensign Mitsuo Saeki, a fighter pilot who flew an escort plane on kamikaze
missions during the Battle of Okinawa, and Lieutenant Hunter Robbins, a
communications officer on the destroyer Hugh W. Hadley. On May 11, 1945,
two kamikazes damaged the Hadley so badly that it played no further part
in the war. Robbins received a Bronze Star for his part in saving trapped
seamen aboard the Hadley after being struck by kamikaze planes. The Hadley
had 28 killed and 67 wounded that day (Warner 1982, 256), but the destroyers Evans
and Hadley together on one of the picket stations shot down 37 Japanese
planes.
This show presents the kamikaze pilots in a realistic,
positive light. Robbins says, "You hated to see them coming, but at the
same time you couldn't deny the courage of these pilots" [1]. The narrator
near the end explains, "As wild-eyed and fanatical as the kamikaze concept
of war appears, it's the only chance the Japanese have left" [2]. Saeki
tells the sad story of his farewell conversation with a friend from the same
prefecture about to depart on a kamikaze mission. The friend refused a treat
from Saeki with the response that he wanted to keep fit for the mission, and he
said he had no last message for his mother since she already knew. He died
three hours later. Saeki explains that every kamikaze pilot was spiritually
prepared for death, but he emphasizes that the important thing was to make each
death count.
The documentary's script accurately covers the history of
kamikaze operations during the Battle of Okinawa. Although the episode Okinawa
focuses on kamikaze attacks on ships near the island, the show also covers the
landing on Okinawa by American troops and their progress in the three-month
battle for control of the island. In additions to film clips of Japanese planes
attacking ships and the damage caused by the crashes, this video also includes
a good deal of Japanese footage of pilots prior to departure.
This exceptional, moving documentary gives viewers a glimpse
into the feelings of two individual combatants who fought during the Battle of
Okinawa.
Notes
1. At 1:10 in the episode
2. At 22:05 in the episode
Source Cited
Warner, Denis, Peggy
Warner, with Commander Sadao Seno. 1982. The Sacred Warriors: Japan's Suicide
Legions. New York: Van Nostrand
Reinhold.
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