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The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a series of battles fought in the Ryukyu Islands, centered on the island of Okinawa, and included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War.The 82-day-long battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945.<br/><br/> The Battle of Okinawa was remarkable for the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and the great number of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samutsongkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samut Songkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samut Songkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samut Songkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samutsongkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samut Songkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samut Songkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samutsongkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samut Songkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samut Songkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samutsongkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samut Songkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
Chang and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term 'Siamese twins'.<br/><br/> The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811, in the province of Samut Songkram, near Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam (today's Thailand). Their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother was a Chinese Malaysian. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the 'Chinese Twins'. The brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete.<br/><br/> In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in nearby Traphill.<br/><br/> Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation and bought slaves to do the work they could not do themselves. Using their adopted name 'Bunker', they married local women on April 13, 1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne. Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of eleven children. Eng and Sarah had ten. The twins also became naturalized American citizens.<br/><br/> On January 17, 1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep. Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, 'Then I am going'. A doctor was summoned to perform an emergency separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later.
The important Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought between the Việt Minh (led by General Vo Nguyen Giap), and the French Union (led by General Henri Navarre, successor to General Raoul Salan). The siege of the French garrison lasted fifty-seven days, from 5:30PM on March 13 to 5:30PM on May 7, 1954.<br/><br/> The southern outpost or fire base of the camp, Isabelle, did not follow the cease-fire order and fought until the next day at 01:00AM; a few hours before the long-scheduled Geneva Meeting's Indochina conference involving the United States, the United Kingdom, the French Union and the Soviet Union.<br/><br/> The battle was significant beyond the valleys of Dien Bien Phu. Giap's victory ended major French involvement in Indochina and led to the accords which partitioned Vietnam into North and South. Eventually, these conditions inspired the United States to increase their involvement in Vietnam leading to the Second Indochina War.<br/><br/> The battle of Äiện Biên Phủ is described by historians as the first time that a non-European colonial independence movement had evolved through all the stages from guerrilla bands to a conventionally organized and equipped army able to defeat a modern Western occupier in pitched battle.
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a series of battles fought in the Ryukyu Islands, centered on the island of Okinawa, and included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War.The 82-day-long battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945.<br/><br/> The Battle of Okinawa was remarkable for the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and the great number of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific.
The Korean War (25 June 1950 - armistice signed 27 July 1953) was a military conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China (PRC), with military material aid from the Soviet Union. The war was a result of the physical division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II.<br/><br/>The Korean peninsula was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, American administrators divided the peninsula along the 38th Parallel, with United States troops occupying the southern part and Soviet troops occupying the northern part. The failure to hold free elections throughout the Korean Peninsula in 1948 deepened the division between the two sides, and the North established a Communist government. The situation escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950. It was the first significant armed conflict of the Cold War.<br/><br/>The United Nations, particularly the United States, came to the aid of South Korea in repelling the invasion. A rapid UN counter-offensive drove the North Koreans past the 38th Parallel and almost to the Yalu River, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) entered the war on the side of the North. The Chinese launched a counter-offensive that pushed the United Nations forces back across the 38th Parallel.<br/><br/>The Soviet Union materially aided the North Korean and Chinese armies. In 1953, the war ceased with an armistice that restored the border between the Koreas near the 38th Parallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) wide buffer zone between the two Koreas. Minor outbreaks of fighting continue to the present day.
Kamikaze ('divine wind') were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible.<br/><br/> Kamikaze pilots would attempt to crash their aircraft into enemy ships in planes laden with explosives, bombs, torpedoes and full fuel tanks. The aircraft's normal functions (to deliver torpedoes or bombs or shoot down other aircraft) were put aside, and the planes were converted to what were essentially manned missiles in an attempt to reap the benefits of greatly increased accuracy and payload over that of normal bombs.<br/><br/> The goal of crippling as many Allied ships as possible, particularly aircraft carriers, was considered critical enough to warrant the combined sacrifice of pilots and aircraft.<br/><br/> These attacks, which began in October 1944, followed several critical military defeats for the Japanese. They had long lost aerial dominance due to outdated aircraft and the loss of experienced pilots. On a macroeconomic scale, Japan experienced a decreasing capacity to wage war, and a rapidly declining industrial capacity relative to the United States. The Japanese government expressed its reluctance to surrender. In combination, these factors led to the use of kamikaze tactics as Allied forces advanced towards the Japanese home islands.
In the past, Ao Taloh Udang was used as an isolated camp for political prisoners, but today only a few signs of this penal settlement remain.<br/><br/> Ko Tarutao Marine National Park consists of 51 islands in two main groups scattered across the Andaman Sea in southernmost Thailand. Just seven of the islands are of any size, including Ko Tarutao in the east, and Ko Adang-Ko Rawi to the west. Just 5 miles (8km) to the south lies the marine frontier with Malaysia’s celebrated Langkawi Archipelago.<br/><br/> Tarutao is world-famous for its pristine diving sites, rich marine life and outstanding natural beauty. Covering a broad area of 575 sq miles (1490 sq km), Tarutao became Thailand’s second national marine park in 1974. Because of the location of the islands so far out to sea, the park is only safely accessible during the northeast monsoon between November and April.