Over the Pacific Ocean near Okinawa

April 6, 1945

The engine of Jiro Makoto’s Japanese A6M Zero blared loudly inside the cockpit, but it was the cold air that always bothered him most. He shook off the concern of his bodily temperature and reminded himself why he was flying.

The war was not going well, and the Americans continued to advance island-by-island to Japan. The Imperial commanders had decided sometime last year to send out wave-after-wave of Kamikaze pilots.

Their mission was to purposefully crash into the American warships. He was simply one of hundreds of pilots who were destined to sacrifice their lives to save the Japanese Empire.

Jiro was not afraid. He knew that this effort could save thousands of Japanese lives, and he gladly volunteered for the mission.

He peered down through the cockpit window and saw them. The American Destroyers were on picket duty, and he salivated at the opportunity to damage or even sink one. He glanced through the window on the other side of his cockpit and saw his wingman began his nosedive.

Instinctively, he evaluated the trajectory and began his run. The large American vessel grew in size as he approached it, and his speed continued to increase.

At the last moment, he smiled to himself before his plane exploded into the front of the enemy warship.