'The Divine Wind' with Mark Stille, Jonathan Parshall & John Curatola

"The Divine Wind" explores the genesis, cultural underpinnings, and tactical evolution of Japan's kamikaze tactics during World War II, particularly in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the later Okinawa campaign. Featuring Mark Stille (CDR, USN, Ret.), Jonathan Parshall, and John Curatola, PhD (LtCol, USMC, Ret.), the session delves into the desperation behind Japan's special attack operations, the profound challenges faced by U.S. forces in countering them, and the broader implications of these tactics on the war’s concluding phases.

This session is part of The National WWII Museum's 2024 International Conference on World War II presented by the Pritzker Military Foundation, on behalf of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. For more information: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/abo...

The International Conference on World War II is the premier adult educational event bringing together the best and brightest scholars, authors, historians, and witnesses to history from around the globe to discuss key battles, personalities, strategies, issues, and controversies of the war that changed the world. Joining the featured speakers are hundreds of attendees who travel from all over the world to learn and connect with each other through engaging discussions, question-and-answer periods, book signings, and receptions throughout the weekend.

Mark Stille is an author and historian. He completed a career as a US Navy intelligence officer in 2000 after having served on the Joint Staff, on the faculty of the Naval War College, on several other operational tours, and as a member of the ships’ companies of carriers Nimitz and Carl Vinson. After leaving the Navy, he continued a career in the intelligence community for another 18 years and served as a senior intelligence officer for China. As a historian, Stille’s primary focus has been on naval operations and warfare with a focus on the Pacific war, bringing unique insight on Pacific war battles and campaigns stemming from his experiences as a naval officer and intelligence professional. To date, he has had 64 books published; among these are three works on the Battle of Leyte Gulf including Leyte Gulf: A New History of the World’s Largest Sea Battle (2023). His most recent work, published in September 2024, is Midway: The Pacific War’s Most Famous Battle. He is currently working on a new account of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Stille has lectured widely on a variety of Pacific war topics. He is married, has a son, and currently resides in Annapolis, Maryland.

Jonathan Parshall is coauthor of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. Widely published on the Pacific War, his work has appeared in the Naval War College Review, Naval History magazine and Naval Institute Proceedings, Wartime (the Magazine of the Australian War Memorial), World War II magazine, the Northern Mariner, and many others. He is a frequent speaker at venues such as The National WWII Museum, the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, the National Museum of the Pacific War, and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. He has appeared on the Discovery Channel, History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, and the Smithsonian Channel. Parshall is a coauthor of Fighting in the Dark (2023), which details the history of naval night combat, as well as a forthcoming new narrative history of the year 1942, covering all theaters of the war. He is a graduate of Carleton College and the Carlson School of Management.

John Curatola is the Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian at the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. A US Marine Corps officer of 22 years, he graduated from the University of Nebraska and is a veteran of Operation Provide Hope in Somalia, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the 2005 Indian Ocean tsunami relief effort. He holds master’s degrees in both American and military history. With a PhD from the University of Kansas, Curatola’s research focuses on World War II, airpower, and the early Cold War period. Previously, he taught history at the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His first two books, Bigger Bombs for a Brighter Tomorrow and Autumn of Our Discontent, assess US national security and nuclear capabilities in the early Cold War period. His forthcoming work, Armies Afloat: Development of US Amphibious Capabilities in the European Theater during World War II, is scheduled for release by University of Kansas Press in spring 2025. Curatola’s works can be found in compendium books, popular magazines, and academic journals, and his many presentations are available for viewing on C-SPAN and YouTube.