The Dignity of Danger: A Novel of the Pacific War
by Everard Meade
Burning Gate Press, 1993, 168 pages
This novel tries to weave together the battle history of an
American aircraft carrier with the story of the commander of one of Japan's
greatest battleships and his three sons. The Sussex, an Essex-class
carrier with nearly 3,000 men, gets hit by two kamikaze pilots and suffers
about 1,000 fatalities. Meade, an American who served on the staff of ComAirPac
(Commander Air Pacific Fleet) during World War II, attempts to present the
Japanese viewpoint through the battleship commander and his family, but the
Japanese characters' actions and feelings do not ring true. The author writes
in the Acknowledgements section that this book is an attempt "to imagine how
a handful of combatants may have felt." However, since Meade has very
little familiarity with Japanese culture and military history, his portrayals
of Japanese kamikaze pilots and military actions contain several inaccuracies.
The book has two parts, the first set in October 1944 and
the second in March 1945. The climax of Part 1 is the sinking of the battleship
Amato (slightly changed name of actual battleship Yamato), which
leaves the Philippines for Okinawa in order to divert Allied planes so kamikaze
pilots can be freed to make their suicide attacks. The actual sinking of the Yamato
occurred six months later in April 1945, when the Japanese Combined Fleet
headquarters ordered the world's largest battleship ever built to lead a small
number of ships from Japan on a suicide mission to attack Allied forces in
Okinawa. Part 2's action centers on two kamikaze attacks and one torpedo attack
on the Sussex, which manages to stay afloat but loses one third of its
crew. On the first page, Meade dedicates this novel to the officers and men of
the Franklin, the aircraft carrier whose story has many parallels to
that of the Sussex. A conventional Japanese dive bomber, not a kamikaze
plane, dropped two bombs on the Franklin on March 19, 1945, which
resulted in over 700 men killed.
Two sons of the Amato's commander join kamikaze
units, but they hold different views toward making a suicide attack. When the
older son Kenishi volunteers for the first unit formed in the Philippines, he
feels honored to defend his country and Emperor, but at the same time he yearns
for a longer life. He expresses disappointment when assigned to observe the
attacks of the others in his unit and return to base to report results. Later
when he learns Americans shot down the unarmed plane of the Admiral who created
the first kamikaze unit, he expresses a desire for vengeance. As Kenishi flies
on a mission to make his own suicide attack, he also wants to avenge the death
of his father when the Amato sank, but his desire wavers as he remembers
the happy times he spent with his girlfriend. The author's portrayal of
Kenishi's feelings toward death seems consistent with the mixed thoughts of
many kamikaze pilots who desired to defend their country but also wanted to
continue living. However, the pilots usually did not express a specific desire
for retribution even though the enemy had killed family members or friends.
Even though many kamikaze pilots hated military discipline
and did not wish to die, very few had the extreme attitude demonstrated by
Niki, the youngest son of the Amato's commander. Niki entered Army pilot
training school, and he was ordered to volunteer to join a kamikaze unit. The
author gives the impression that Navy pilots volunteered freely for suicide
missions, whereas Army pilots were forced to join the kamikaze corps. The real
story is not so clear, since many Army pilots enthusiastically volunteered to
do whatever was needed to defend their homeland, and some Navy pilots were
pressured by their superiors and peers to volunteer. Niki has a strong desire
to escape, and on his suicide mission he manages to divert his plane and bail
out over land in the Philippines. In contrast, nearly all Japan's kamikaze
pilots tried to complete their missions, although a few stories are told of pilots
who returned to base with mysterious engine problems.
Meade's novel has several major shortcomings. Many Japanese
names appear to be invented ones, such as "Colonel Butto," which also
can be considered insulting. The novel uses many navy acronyms with no
explanation (e.g., DFC, LSO, IFF, CIC). The book's places and times are vague,
so sometimes the action becomes difficult to follow. For instance, the story
shifts abruptly from Okinawa to the Philippines in a couple of places with no
explanation for the change in location (pp. 132, 165). The book has few
historical details, and some details provided are inaccurate. For example, the
girlfriend of one kamikaze pilot was a medical student at Tokyo University,
even though coeducation there did not start until after the war. The novel
introduces many characters, but they are not developed in depth to allow a
reader to understand their motivations.
Although the idea of a fictional story presenting both
American and Japanese views of kamikaze attacks seems promising, The Dignity
of Danger will not hold a reader's interest and does not succeed in its
depiction of Japanese characters.
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