Army Photographers & Kamikaze

[gwendy85]

Hi!

I'd like to ask a few more questions on WWII.

How were army photographers chosen (especially those during the Philippine campaign in 1941 - 1942)? Were these army photographers also soldiers? Professional photographers? Or simply soldiers given cameras? Were they required to fight or were they simply there to take pictures?

And for the Kamikaze pilots especially those launched within the Philippines, were they all veterans or were some rookie pilots? And how were they chosen? Of course, several volunteered, but I also read about pilots being given a piece of paper and told to mark O if they volunteer and X if not.

Can anyone clear me up on this? Thanks!

 

[Ewok85]

You would have to source this, but most kamikaze pilots were young, the youngest being 16, the norm being between 17 and 22. It was towards the end of the war, so experienced pilots were not as plentiful, and simply being able to fly was enough to be chosen for a mission.

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

A TORIKAI laboratory of Tokai University studies World War II.
Because, here, there are many documents,
Hear it in this laboratory.
サービス終了のお知らせ

 

[gwendy85]

Thanks for this, but I can't read the site. I can't read Japanese

Anyway, I think this info will work well for a character of mine, who's 16 years old. He enlisted himself sometime in 1944 so he can choose the navy but just as he learned to man a Zero, he was pulled off the navy and into the army. The problem is, I dunno how I'll get him to be a Kamikaze. That's why I want to know how they were chosen. I'm thinking he meets up with a few friends from the navy and they get talking about the Kamikaze and he decides to join in. Or an officer of the navy recognizes him and asks him to join.

Then, I also have this character, who enlists himself into the army in 1941 (after high school graduation) at age 19. His father had died an honorable death at the start of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War and he's sort of inspired. He also happens to have a penchant for photography, and his father's last gift was a camera. So, that's why I need the info about army photographers.

Hope u guys can help me on this. Thanks!

 

[Ewok85]

His unit is relocated to Kyushuu and he is "volunteered" to be a kamikaze pilot. If he is told that he must volunteer, he would, despite it being an order to start with.

That would be accurate and be able to force the story forward.

 

[gwendy85]

So how about army photographers? I read somewhere that some soldiers brought their own cameras, but were they allowed? Shouldn't they get a permit or something?