"What is it?"
Ensign William Kayhen from the aircraft carrier [Saratoga] put down the knife and fork in his hand after hearing this, chewed the juicy steak, and asked.
All the pilots also looked at Zhou Zhihan. They also wanted to know what Chinese pilots, whose average life span is only three months, do before each expedition.
Before that, several times during our free time after training, everyone asked Colonel Zhou about the heroic deeds of Chinese pilots during the Anti-Japanese War.
In this regard, Colonel Zhou seemed unwilling to say more, and always said it in passing words.
Whenever this happens, the pilots can feel that Colonel Zhou seems to be very tired and haggard at this moment!
So after a few times, no one mentioned it again.
Now, Colonel Zhou took the initiative to talk about this matter, and everyone immediately became interested.
"Write a suicide note!"
"Write a suicide note?"
Kaiheng found it very novel. Although they all knew before that soldiers had to write a suicide note before going to the battlefield, it was interesting that Chinese pilots had to write a suicide note every time before going to the battlefield.
"Why do you have to write a suicide note every time?"
Daniel Jones, a staff sergeant pilot from the USS Enterprise, was also curious.
Zhou Zhihan's expression was serious: "In the beginning, the suicide notes written by the pilots were kept by special personnel at the airport for safekeeping. The suicide notes written by those who returned safely did not need to be sent away. The suicide notes written by those who died in the war were sent to their families.
But because the Japanese Air Force was too powerful at that time, when our pilots returned from missions, the airport was often attacked by Japanese fighter planes. The people who kept the suicide notes or the suicide notes were often devoured by the flames of war.
The suicide notes were burned, which caused no loss to the returning pilots, but the families of the pilots who died in the battle did not even get a last word.
So every time before going to the battlefield, the pilot would write a suicide note and leave it among several people, just in case he couldn't come back one day, so that he wouldn't leave behind nothing he wanted to say to his family after his death. "
The 24 American pilots listened quietly without anyone speaking. They heard the hardships of China's war of resistance.
“Since the Songhu Battle in 1937, I have taught hundreds of pilots, 90% of whom died in battle. This is why every time you ask me about the deeds of Chinese pilots, I don’t want to say more.
Whenever I think of those young faces, I feel suffocated. I often watch helplessly as they fly into the sky, never to come back again, and I am helpless. "
Zhou Zhihan said and sighed: "For this reason, I can only selectively forget them." Zhou Zhihan's eyes suddenly became wet, and he touched his chest, and he seemed to have aged for decades, "But, they are all here."
You can hear a needle drop in the room.
After a while, Zhou Zhihan calmed down and smiled: "Have you ever thought about what you want to leave behind for your family when you go to the battlefield one day?"
After Zhou Zhihan finished speaking, he looked at the 24 pilots quietly.
He went around in a big circle, and finally this sentence was what he wanted to say the most.
He had to ask these 24 pilots to leave suicide notes. This was his obligation as a flight instructor.
In the course of history, maybe many of them will die in sneak attacks, and maybe some of them will survive.
Some of the pilots he selected to become the Flying Tigers may be lucky, while others may be unlucky.
But no matter what, after a battle tomorrow morning, they will become heroes in the hearts of the American people.
Luck and misfortune are on the left and right, just like genius and madness.
And mediocre people choose to stand in the middle.
Tomorrow morning, he will take them into the sky and face the powerful Japanese Air Force at an absolute disadvantage. Everyone's life or death is unpredictable.
To be honest, he had no idea whether these 24 American pilots could block the first wave of Japanese attacks. After all, most of them had never experienced the test of war.
Training elites and actual combat elites are completely different things.
In this sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, all the elite Japanese naval aviation forces were used. Their actual combat capabilities are among the current world's air forces. Only German pilots may be better than them. The British are at best equal to them, and American pilots are hard to come by.
For now, the performance of the F4F Wildcat fighter and P40 Tomahawk is not enough to compete with the rising Zero fighter.
In the Battle of Pearl Harbor, in the competition of five major factors: time, location, people, weapons, and experience, the host U.S. naval fighter aircraft were completely at a disadvantage.
Faced with Zhou Zhihan's sudden question, the 24 pilots suddenly fell into deep thought: Yes, one day I go to the battlefield, what should I say to my parents and family?
"Tomorrow morning, everyone will hand over their suicide notes to me, and I will keep them for you." Zhou Zhihan smiled half-heartedly, "This is also part of learning. Each of you must tell the truth what you most want to say to your parents, brothers, lovers, and friends. Leave it in the suicide note. This is the obligation that every pilot should fulfill. Only when there is no more concern in body and mind, can we move forward bravely and be invincible in the future battle of life and death."
After saying that, Zhou Zhihan walked out of the room, walked up to the tower of the airport dispatch room, and looked at the brightly lit Pearl Harbor base in front of him. This was its last tranquility.
The eight battleships were moored quietly at their respective stations on Oahu, completely unaware that death was approaching quickly.
Zhou Zhihan lit a cigarette, looked into the depths of the sea and murmured to himself, Japanese fighter planes will take off soon.
Then he walked off the tower and headed to Haleiwa Airport, where 25 fighter jets were parked.
Before the war, he wanted to inspect these 25 fighter jets one by one. Today was Saturday, and he didn't believe the mechanics who were eager to have fun...
…
Nagumo Chuichi stood in the aircraft carrier command room, his zombie face still unmoved: "Are any US battleships going to sea today?"
Lieutenant Commander Ono, the intelligence staff officer, immediately replied: "Currently, eight battleships are in the port, but five of them set sail on November 29. Because the required stay time is eight days, maybe they should leave tomorrow morning. Went to sea."
Chief of Staff Kusaka said: "Tomorrow is Sunday. Even if we go to sea, according to convention, it should be on the 10th, that is, next Tuesday. Americans who like to have fun will not go out on Sunday."
"I hope so. Maybe during this period, the U.S. fleet may not be able to do more than Saturdays and Sundays." Yamaguchi Wenduo said.
"What a pity, the aircraft carrier is not here."
The planner in charge of this sneak attack plan, Lieutenant Colonel Harada Minoru, sounded a little disappointed.
Major Ono thought for a while and then said: "The [USS Enterprise] aircraft carrier went to sea on November 29 and has not returned yet. The [USS Lexington] went to sea on December 6 with five heavy cruisers. I think [The Enterprise] may return to Pearl Harbor tonight, and according to tradition, Saturday is the day to return.”
"Where are the other two aircraft carriers [Yorktown] and Hornet? There has been no news about them. Could they be in the Hawaiian Islands?" Lieutenant Commander Minoru Harada was a little confused.
Major Ono: "These two aircraft carriers are part of the Pacific Fleet. Logically speaking, they should be in the Hawaii area. Maybe tonight, they will return to the base with the [Enterprise] aircraft carrier!"
"If that's the case, that's great. As long as these aircraft carriers are here and the other eight battleships are all gone, it doesn't matter." Lieutenant Commander Minoru Harada said excitedly...
…
At 23:30 on December 7, 1941, after a 12-day voyage of about 6,600 kilometers, the Japanese assault task force successfully arrived at a predetermined sea area about 420 kilometers north of Pearl Harbor and stopped.
At 3:30 in the morning, Hawaii time, in the still night sky, a shrill bugle sound suddenly sounded. The orderly soldiers on the ships of the Japanese mobile force mustered all their strength to blow the bed bugle.
The last night of peace for Americans is finally over!
The moment the reveille signal was blown, the six aircraft carriers began to turn to the left with full rudder and turned in the direction of the sea breeze. This angle was most suitable for bombers to take off into the wind.
The Battle of Pearl Harbor finally began.
At this time, the American soldiers in Pearl Harbor were soundly asleep, completely unaware that misfortune was quietly coming to them!
