Kamikaze
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	Takehiko Ena (left) talks with Shigeyoshi Hamazono (right) in front of Chiran Peace Museum of Kamikaze Pilots (October 16, 2005)

Wings of Defeat

This web page provides links to additional information related to the film Wings of Defeat (entitled Tokko in Japan). The documentary features interviews with four former kamikaze pilots and five survivors of the destroyer Drexler, which sank during the Battle of Okinawa after being struck by two kamikaze aircraft.

Wings of Defeat had its US premieres in New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., in March 2008, the same month the DVD was released in Japan. The US release of the DVD is planned for the last half of 2008. The DVD also contains a special feature entitled Another Journey, a documentary of the trip to Japan made by two Drexler survivors in July 2007. They met several former kamikaze pilots and visited two kamikaze-related museums.

Participants

• Zerosen ni kaketa otoko (Man who soared in Zero fighter) - Biography of Shigeyoshi Hamazono, veteran pilot who survived a dogfight on his kamikaze mission toward Okinawa
• Forever Grateful - Fred Mitchell's reminiscences about the sinking of the destroyer Drexler on May 28, 1945
• Tokkō no machi: Chiran (Special attack corps town: Chiran) - Book with story about Takehiko Ena's crash landing near Kuroshima
• Survival of Drexler Survivors Reunion Association - Includes stories of Drexler survivors Gene Brick, Duke Payne, Henry Christiansen, Joe Haas, and Fred Mitchell
• Censored Suicide - Story of First Lieutenant Hajime Fujii, leader of the kamikaze squadron from which two aircraft crashed into the destroyer Drexler
• Heiwa e no omoi (Thoughts toward peace) - Children's book that introduces five persons, including former kamikaze pilot Takehiko Ena, who have experienced war in ways that nurtured strong beliefs toward peace

Places

• Kuroshima Special Attack Peace Kannon - Monument erected on the small island where Takehiko Ena was stranded more than two months after his aircraft developed engine problems and crashed into the sea near the island
• Kokubu Special Attack Base Monument - Base from where Shigeyoshi Hamazono and Kazuo Nakajima made sorties on April 6, 1945
• Kushira Naval Air Base War Dead Memorial Tower - Base from where Takehiko Ena took off on kamikaze missions on April 28 and May 11, 1945
• Hyakurihara Naval Air Group Monument (Hyakuri Air Base) - Base where all four of the film's pilots (Takeo Ueshima, Takehiko Ena, Shigeyoshi Hamazono, and Kazuo Nakajima) trained for special attacks (tokko)
• Usa Special Attack Monument - Naval air base in northern Kyushu used for kamikaze pilot training
• Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots - Air base from where kamikaze squadron led by Hajime Fujii took off toward Okinawa. Visited together by Fred Mitchell, Gene Brick, Takehiko Ena, and Shigeyoshi Hamazono in Another Journey.
• Hotaru Museum - Museum director Akihisa Torihama explains in film the story of Hajime Fujii and his wife who committed suicide
• Yasukuni Jinja Yushukan and Kamikaze Pilot Statue - First place visited by Fred Mitchell and Gene Brick when they arrived in Tokyo in Another Journey
• Ibusuki Naval Air Base Remembrance Monument - Visited together by Fred Mitchell, Gene Brick, and Takehiko Ena in Another Journey

Other References

• Who Sank the Destroyer Drexler? - Investigation that concludes that two aircraft from the 45th Shinbu Squadron led by Hajime Fujii sank the destroyer Drexler
• Yokaren Museum - Oita, Bansei Tokko Peace Museum, Kanoya Air Base Museum, Tachiarai Peace Museum - Other museums included in film
• Kamikaze Diaries - Book by Professor Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, who is interviewed in film
• Historical Review: U.S.S. Drexler DD-741 - History of destroyer Drexler
• Tokkō hyōryū (Special attack drift) - Book with Shigeyoshi Hamazono's photo and quote

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