1921 (Taisho 10) Monday, August 29 SEKI Yukio, who later became leader of the Kamikaze Tokkotai “Shikishima-Unit,” was born in Omachi Town, Nii County, Ehime Prefecture. It corresponds to the present Saijo City. My father Katsutaro was an antique dealer. He went from Omachi Elementary School to Saijo Junior High School (now Ehime Prefectural Saijo High School), and then to the Naval Academy in December 1938 (Showa 13). In 16 1941, he graduated from the Naval Academy. He is a 70 year graduate. In the same class was pilot Kanno Naoshi, also called the Ace of Shooting Down.
In 1943 (Showa 18), he was assigned to the Kasumigaura Air Corps. In January of the following year, she proposed marriage to Mariko, an older sister of a girl named Emiko WATANABE who came from Kamakura to comfort her, and got married in May. However, on October 25 of the same year, he led the first Kamikaze squadron, the Shikishima Squadron, and made a sortie to the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
There are some words that Yukio Seki is said to have told members of the press before leaving.
Japan is doomed. To kill an excellent pilot like me. I am confident that I can hit a 500 km bomb on the flight deck of an enemy aircraft carrier without hitting my body. I’m not going for the Emperor or the Japanese Empire. I’m going for my beloved wife. It’s imperative. If Japan loses, my wife may be raped by an American. I’m dying to protect her. die for one’s beloved.
The Shikishima-Unit, a Kamikaze strike force led by Yukio Seki, plunged into the U.S. fleet near Leyte Bay and sank the USS St. Lo.
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