The Japanese word kamikaze translates to "divine wind." It refers to the storms that saved Japan from the invading Mongol fleets under Kublai Khan, and thus it was the moniker given to the pilots of the Special Attack Force in World War II. The force, known in Japanese as Tokkotai, carried out suicide attacks on the American fleet by crashing their planes, loaded with explosives, into American ships. The life of a kamikaze pilot was as difficult as it was short.