An Okinawan Civilian's War

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Shige Nakahodo

 

Okinawan resident

 

Lived through the American invasion

 

On our way to Mabuni, we saw numerous bodies in the area of the current Memorial of Himeyuri. The bodies were as black as buffalo and were all swollen. We could no longer distinguish men from women. We could not stand the smell of the bodies. Cotton balls in my nose did not prevent the bad smell, and I used mugwort leaves instead. As soon as we arrived at Mabuni, a bomb exploded nearby, whose fragment is still in my forehead. The next day, I found my mother alive. We did not know where to go. So, we followed other refugees and encountered a hell on earth. We saw dead bodies, crying and screaming people, and a person who was begging to be shot to death. It was total chaos.

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A Nurse's Waking Nightmare

 

Ruri Miyara

 

18-year-old student nurse in 1945

 

Survived a phosphorous attack on Okinawa

 

The [American] voice said, "We are going to blow up this cave if you don't come out!" No one responded. Then, explosives were thrown into the cave, the people near the entrance fell to the ground, and white smoke filled the cave. I couldn't see anything and couldn't breathe... Everybody started screaming, "Mother, help me!" "Father, help me!" "Teacher, help me!" "I can't breathe!" ...The more we tried to speak, the more we suffered. But we couldn't stop asking for help. Many people died while asking for help. I lost consciousness... The teacher came to me and removed me from the pile of dead bodies saying, "You are alive!" ...I could barely move. I crawled to my friend nearby and asked her to sit aside so that I could lie down next to her. She did not respond. I repeated my words. She still ignored me. And then, a friend of mine said, "What are you doing? She is dead. They are all dead. It's been three days since the gas bombs were thrown into the cave." I realized for the first time that most of my friends were dead. I looked around and found that there were bodies everywhere. Some were without heads or arms. I was like a living corpse at that time.

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Japanese Soldiers and Okinawans

 

Katsuo Nagata

 

15-year-old boy in 1945

 

Conscripted into the Blood & Iron Boy Scouts of the 32nd Army

 

After the defeats in battle, probably at the Yaese Hill, most of the Japanese soldiers were wounded, lost their spirit, and were simply sustaining their lives. They did not have food, weapons, or gun powder. However, some of them who still had working weapons pointed their guns at civilians, mostly women, children and the elderly, and forced them out of the caves, saying that they were going to use them as military posts. The women and elderly had to leave the caves with their children and grandchildren. They did not know where to go or how to survive outside the caves where the gunfire was being exchanged. Although Okinawans could not openly say it at that time, it is a fact that they were more afraid of Japanese soldiers than American soldiers at the end of the war. After they lost in the last organized military operations at the Yaese Hill, the Japanese soldiers were desperate, and committed extreme acts of aggression.

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Credit - http://www.pbs.org/veterans/stories-of-service/home/

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