ePub Requiem for Battleship Yamato (Bluejacket Books) by Yoshida Mitsuru in History

Review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Witness To The Destruction Of War!By Anthony AccordinoIn April of 1945; the world's largest Battleship. the Yamato; set sail for the Japanese Imperial Navy; on one last desperate attempt to try and turn the tide in the battle of the pacific. On board was a young naval officer; Mitsuru Yoshida who wrote this riveting account of what basically amounted to a suicide mission for those on board. Mature; well beyond his years; Yoshida describes the pride of sailing and preparing for battle on the most powerful battleship ever built. A ship; whose nine 18 inch guns could fire a 3000 pound shell 30 miles; but he also describes the fear and depression; of those on board. Yoshida describes the feeling of impending death among the crew; as they were all too aware of the American naval might and airpower that awaited their final sortie in to open pacific waters. Several attacks; featuring 100's of American planes in each wave; relentlessly; pounded the ship with aerial and torpedo bombs; rendering the giant behemoth helpless in the water ; as her escort cruisers; met the same fate. Three thousand sailor's lost their lives on that ship; with most entombed within the ship sunken 430 meters below the ocean surface. Yoshida was on of the lucky ones. He lived to tell about this one sided sea battle; and his reflections about that fateful day; harbor no bitterness toward the enemy; but bitterness toward war. He lost many friends on that ship; but is grateful to have survived. He was one of the few survivor's who lived to tell about that fateful battle; and his first hand account is one of the great documents of maritime battle. The book has some revealing photo's of the yamato being built; as well as several photo's of the ship under attack and final moments before sinking. Mitsuru Yoshida died in 1979; but left behind this important tale of wasted youth; heroism; and what amounts to the greatest manhunt in American naval history.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A deeply personal bookBy R. HeatonThis book is a personal remembrance of the time; the place and the people this young Japanese navel officer experienced in those few days toward the end of the second world war. Some reviewers mentioned that this book lacked details of the battle. Of course; being such a junior office; he would have no details as to the actual battle. And if he did; it would be out of place in this relating of his deeply personal experience. I would guess that in the original language; it would almost be a poem. The translation hints to the lyricism; but something is lost in the translation. Still this is a moving recount of the last great Japanese battleship; on a doomed mission to stop the US from advancing to the Japanese homeland. There are other shorter accounts of this event; but none so introspective as this. The author asks himself the questions that all who have been in combat and who are responsible for others lives ask themselves. And as many before and after him; he can only come up with his own deeply personal answers; that others may fully identify with; question or not fully understand. It is a book to be read slowly and contemplatively; not one read and done.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Humility; Heroism; Fanaticism?By RichardThough a relatively short book; I have not finished reading it yet (it is very thick in detail and concepts that challenge pre-thought notions). Not exactly an historical text/novel; it's more of a human experience in an inhumane war; the war without mercy in the Pacific theater of WWII. There is also an excellent introduction by the translator. As a novice scale modeler; I became fascinated with the ship Yamato; the biggest; baddest battleship ever built. But; this led to something more interesting - the Japanese people themselves and their nation; The Yamato. Knowing the fate of the battleship Yamato; I wanted to know more about the Japanese culture that led to the end game of the war; including the "divine wind" Kamikaze attempts to change the fortunes of war. Fanaticism or heroism? Both? Requiem means "an act or token or remembrance". In that regard; this book may help develop Japanese and American narratives clouded in the fog of war.I finished reading this; and I am left with ambiguous feelings. First; as a son of an American Marine; the War was merciless and we kicked butt. Second; pathetic or sad. How did it come to that? Rhetorical of course; but let's consider other current "enemies". Japan is a valued partner today; and they are looking to change their pacifist constitution - I welcome their participation in global peace keeping.