March 29, Battling with Hunger

Combat was until the 29th
But after that, was the battle with hunger
I tore grass and ate it
Anything tearable, I ate, even raw
If I couldn’t tear it, I didn’t eat it

To the Main Island of Okinawa

When the Marure boat arrived in Okinawa
Half of them were damaged by the typhoon
They were being fixed by the engineers in Oroku
It took time so we took turns going to Oroku
We stayed in a guest house
That was the first time I ever eaten Okinawan meal
I was able eat (after a long time) because it was a guesthouse
Everything tasted good because I was hungry
All I can remember is that it tasted good

The Truce Agreement

The U.S. Commander
And Captain Noda talked
And came to a truce agreement
A truce agreement during the war was a big incident
The islanders and Korean military porters didn’t have anything to do with military regulations
So they were fine with surrendering and did so
Soldiers had to abide by regulations so they stayed behind
What came next for those that stayed behind was the battle with hunger
In the battle of hunger, there were people that ran away
Thinking running away would be better than starving to death
There were also people that surrendered, because they rather surrender than starve to death
A few surrendered or ran away

Soldiers Who were Against Truce and Quit

4 of my comrades ran away to Kume Island
One of them was a fisherman’s son
A few of tried to runaway, but only 4
fit on the boat, so four of them went to Kume
And lived as civilians

August 23, The Surrender and Life in the Camps

I disarmed and surrendered on August 23
I don’t know how we were chosen
But about 10 of us went to a camp in Zamami
We were to find and gather remains in Geruma
That was the first time going into an U.S. camp
They gave me cooked fished but
My body rejected it
All I could hold down was a biscuit
And some juice
When the exam was over, I was given a yellow tablet
It was preventative medicine for malaria
When they gave me this, I thought I was now going to be killed
So I couldn’t swallow it
That’s when a Japanese person in military uniform came to translate
I agreed to this person’s explanation
And was able to swallow it
Without the translator, I couldn’t have trusted the American soldiers
Because I honestly thought I would be killed

Experience in the Rycom Camp

I went to the camp in Rycom
I was shown American news programs and movies
The aftermath of airstrikes in Tokyo and other places
Was on the news and I was surprised
To dispose things, they loaded a dump truck
And dumped things in a valley, automatically
I was really surprised at the time
Even when they dig wells, they use machines to dig
They could measure and dig in a perfect straight line
I thought it would be an easy job
But we had to carry the dug up dirt in a wheelbarrow
Carrying it with the wheelbarrow was hard

Demobilization, Returning Home from Yonabaru

On the way home from Yonabaru on the LS ship
There was a typhoon, so we rested for a while offshore in Oita
From there, we got to Nagoya
I had about 200 yen that I earned from force labor at the time
I thought I would be able to live off of it for a while
I was shocked when I tried to buy items at a market in Nagoya
One tobacco was 50 yen
I’ve had a lot of rough experience
But none of them would ever be as bad as my experience during war
I was sure I’d be able to get through anything

Joining the Police Afterwards

The only place hiring was the police
It’s not that I wanted to become a police officer, I had no choice
I was investigating black-market rice
But without black-market rice, people couldn’t eat
I couldn’t investigate, even with the orders from superior officers
Because without it, people couldn’t eat

Returning to Aka Island

I thought I would never be able to come to Aka Island
So I had a wave of emotions when I did
Once done with collecting remains
Some time had passed
I thought the sunset was beautiful
I saw the sunset plenty of times during the war
But it never felt like I was looking at the sunset
I genuinely thought the sunset was beautiful that time
It’s good to have peace

Interacting with the Islanders

Everyone only talked about the war
Because that’s what we had in common
I listen to stories from the islanders
And learned how they lived during the war
The people of the island didn’t know about us either
So I think we were able to understand both sides by talking

About Former Captain

Captain Noda was avoided by the people of the island
He wasn’t boycotted
But he didn’t have a place to go to
People of the island
Didn’t think very highly of him

Sense of Exclusion and Problems of Okinawa

We were classified as comrades, others, or strangers
I think there was a sense of disorder
When strangers came to the village
I think the sense of distinguishing
The difference of Okinawa and mainland Japan still remains
It’s the same towards Koreans
People don’t treat each other as equals
For me, I think if people got more involved with others
These problems would be resolved
But people are
Not that easy

Thoughts about Group Self-Determinations in Geruma

In Group Self Determination
The parents kill their children and then kill themselves
They say that it’s a family suicide
But that’s not family suicide
Family suicide is
When everyone agrees to die
Toddlers and children can’t commit suicide
They called it Group Self-Determination
But to me, I would call it “Forced Group Suicide”

A Message to Your Children and Grandchildren’s Generation

We can’t say there peace
Until people treat other people as humans
Not only when it comes to Aka Island
If people began treating others equally
I think the conflict in the world would cease
We’re not talking about people from
Okinawa or mainland Japan
I feel that towards everyone
That each person is equal