Teen Kamikaze pilots

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

'Their pillows were soaked with tears': Teenage girls whose job it was to look after and wave off Kamikaze pilots describe torment of Japanese airmen waiting to die

The girls, known as Nadeshinko (left) after the cherry blossom branches they used to wave the men off, said the pilots (right) always smiled as they took off, but suffered a secret emotional trauma. Often, after taking part in the farewell ceremonies, the girls would return to the bunkhouse to change their bedding only to find their pillows soaked in tears. The Nadeshinko, some as young as 14, also suffered themselves, having to befriend the men before they took off, knowing they would never return. (Inset, Chino Kuwashiro, 86, a former Nadeshinko who has spoken of her experiences.)