Alrighty then. I started this thread so I'd better report in and maybe explain myself a bit more. First, as a student of history AND as a student of literature (and even philosophy), I am of the personal belief that history can most of the time tell a better story than any writer can. I believe that the story of Japanese kamikaze pilots is one of the most tragic and epic turns in the Pacific Theatre for both sides. One of the most indelible images burned into my memory (and I'm sure the memories of many others) is the image of the kamikaze pilot wobbling through a storm of tracers only to fall a few hundred feet short of the carrier. I know that many kamikaze pilots were just kids and in no way really wanted to do it. But that adds to the weight of the story. Sheepishly turning your head away from a tragic point in the past can only cripple you.
Second, it is historically correct to portray kamikazes AS A WEAPON. Their effect was both tangible and psychological. (Have you ever watched an interview with those Americans that were exposed to kamikaze pilots? The dread and sadness is echoed in each of their voices.) Their impact helped shaped the later days of the war and their absence is noticable. Like most have already stated--people commonly kamikaze anyway.
Third, sure this is a game. But it is one that I think attempts to immerse us in that world of WWII aviation combat. Yes, this immersion is a not in any way real, but it is immersion nonetheless and for me realistic qualities enhance immersion. I can draw the line easily, and I can't really understand why it's that hard for others to do.
Finally, on the point of Luftwaffe pilots: duh. This is a silly tack if I ever heard one. The number of Germans that knew exactly what was happening to the Jews under the Nazi regime was in the minority. This is especially true in the first half of the war when the Nazis did to most of the Jews what they claimed they were doing: exiling them. This is also very true within the Nazi bureacracy as well. Hannah Arendt insists, in her Eichmann in Jerusalem that one of the biggest tools of Nazi administrative obfuscation was a twisted web of bureacracy. This effectively removed both the awareness and the culpability from many Nazi bureacrats even those working closely with "Jewish matters." To me, the swastika has little power as a symbol and I think the modern day vilification of this symbol is myopic to say the least. The acts define the evil, not the coat it wears. There is NO SINGLE CASE in which a Luftwaffe pilot was forced to express wishes of genocide on any other group of people before he flew. Period. The implications towards this are absurd.
