Most students of WWII have heard of Kamikaze –Japanese for “Divine Wind”–who launched suicide air attacks against Allied ships. Fewer know the term Kaiten—meaning “Heaven Shaker”—the word given to the Kamikazes’ underwater counterparts. Tonight, on VBC Happy Hour, we welcome (live from Japan!) members of Kaiten Kenshokai, an organization made up of family members of suicide submariners. They will share the history of the Kaiten program and tell us why their fathers and grandfathers volunteered for it. Also joining us will be Mike Mair, author of the definitive history of Kaiten and son of an American sailor whose ship, the USS Mississinewa, was sunk by Kaiten in 1944.

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