10/25/2026
Today in American history, the first organized kamikaze attacks struck the U.S. Navy during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, a desperate tactic unveiled as Japan’s naval air power faltered. Eighty-two years since that grim debut, the moment remains a turning point: it signaled how fiercely Japan would try to halt the American return to the Philippines—and how costly the road to victory would be. Off Leyte, pilots in explosive-laden aircraft dove at carriers and destroyers, sinking es**rt carrier St. Lo and damaging others, forcing the Navy to rethink defense with tighter combat air patrols, layered radar pickets, and new proximity-fused anti-air shells.
A detail many don’t know: early kamikaze sorties were not purely improvised zeal—they were planned “Special Attack” units formed under Vice Adm. Takijirō Ōnishi, who believed only sacrificial strikes could punch through American defenses. The tactic inflicted real losses, but it couldn’t alter the strategic tide. Leyte opened the door to liberating the Philippines, severed Japan’s oil lifelines, and hastened the war’s end. We remember the sailors who fought through the fire—and the human cost on all sides.
