by Tatsusei Yogi
Edited by Takashi Yogi
One can find ample documentation of battles in the archives of
military history. For example, World War II is recorded in minute detail:
number of rounds fired, casualties, times of battles, maps, and
photographs. However, one rarely finds any mention of civilians in the
battle accounts. This is understandable since civilians are not a
strategic factor; they are not even pawns in the game.
June 22, 1945 marks the end of the bloodiest battle in the
Pacific during World War II. Over 12,000 American and 110,000 Japanese
soldiers were killed in three months of fierce fighting for control of
Okinawa, a tiny island south of Japan.
Caught between the two armies were roughly 450,000 Okinawan civilians,
who fled before the advancing forces and huddled in caves and tombs to
escape the torrent of bombs and shells. Among these civilians were
Tatsusei and Chiyo Yogi, Tatsusei's father, and four children. Ironically
Chiyo was an American citizen, born to one of the first Okinawan immigrants
to Hawaii. The following are excerpts from Tatsusei's diary in the context
of the military events.
When Napoleon was told that there existed a kingdom in which
no arms were found and (as the visitors believed) the art of war
was unknown, a society governed by a code of polite manners and
good behavior among all classes, the general who had set Europe
aflame refused to believe that such a people could exist.
[Captain Basil] Hall felt that he was fortunate in having
something of exceptional conversational interest, and Napoleon
"devoured information" about the Ryukyu kingdom and the Okinawan
people:
"Several circumstances... respecting the Loo-Choo people
surprised even him a good deal; and I had the satisfaction of
seeing him more than once completely perplexed and unable to
account for the phenomena which I related. Nothing struck him so
much as their having no arms. 'Point d'armes!' he
exclaimed;...'Mais, sans armes, comment se bat-on?' ['No arms!
But without arms, how can they fight?'] "I could only reply,
that as far as we had been able to discover, they had never had
any war, but remained in a state of internal and external peace.
'No wars!' cried he, with a scornful and incredulous expression,
as if the existence of any people under the sun without wars was
a monstrous anomaly."
Prelude:
October 10, 1944
The first air raid warning sounded at 7 a.m. The bombing started at
8. People did not realize at first that the planes were not Japanese. The
bombing continued until 4:00; the city [Naha] was on fire.
When the camera-bearing U.S. carrier planes appeared
over Okinawa on the morning of October 10, they were on a
bombing mission as well-- to blast any Japanese planes and
ships that might attempt to disrupt MacArthur's invasion of
Leyte 10 days hence. By the time the raid ended at sunset,
1,000 Hellcats, Helldivers and Avengers had sunk at least 15
ships; according to a Japanese report captured later, they
had exploded five million rounds of small-arms ammunition,
killed a Japanese general and set 300,000 sacks of rice
ablaze.
October 11
We left at 9:30 a.m. to go to the countryside and arrived at
11:00. We had a house which the company lent us. We wanted to go to
Kunigami [northern Okinawa], but we could not because of the
difficulty of traveling with children.
October 14
We left to go to Kunigami, past Nago. Grandfather was there.
February 15, 1945
We were all prepared to take a boat to go to Japan, but Takashi
burned his hands in the cooking rice, and we missed the boat. [We
later learned that this boat was sunk.]
March 22
We decided to leave tomorrow for Japan on any ship instead of
waiting for the Kaijo-maru, the regular ship to Kagoshima.
March 23
At 6:30 in the morning, we heard an air raid warning. Everyone
rushed to the nearest cave and stayed there until 6:00 p.m.
Mr. Suzuki of the OSK staff came in the evening and said that the
last boat would leave tomorrow. [This boat was later reserved for the
army.]
March 24
Early morning air raid again. Another whole day in the cave. To
the south we could hear the sounds of bombs from airplanes and
artillery from the warships, and these sounds continued until evening.
Tomorrow we must seek a safer place by going toward Kunigami.
March 24: Mine sweeping begins under cover of naval and
aerial bombardment.
March 25
An air raid warning sounded at 6:30 a.m., and the bombardment
from the ships was worse than yesterday. One of the Japanese soldiers
said that American forces had landed at Kerama, Zamani, and Tokashiki
islands southwest of Naha. So we left home at 7:00 p.m. to go to
Ginowan along with some neighbors. We found a cart on which we loaded
bare necessities -- blankets and clothes for the children. The cart
also carried Grandfather (83 years old), Sachiko (9 months), and
Takashi (2 years, 7 months). Chiyo pulled the cart while Emiko (8
years old), Takenobu (6 years old), and I pushed. We passed Shuri on
the hill.
March 26
We finally reached Ginowan at midnight and stayed with Mr.
Nakandakari. We were all exhausted and said nothing, but wept. We
could hear bombing noises coming from the direction of Oyama. I
should have sent the family to Japan earlier; I feel very sorry for
them.
March 27
Late last night we moved to a natural cave not far from Mr.
Nakandakari's place. Many people were staying there, and some of them
said that we should not go to Kunigami because the American forces
would be landing there soon. So we stayed in the cave and helped dig
a well.
The eve of the invasion found its planners satisfied.
The preliminaries had gone as hoped. Okinawa had been
deprived of the use of two of its satellite island groups.
Its perilous fringing reef had been given a thorough
going-over. And the island itself had been subjected to six
days of ferocious pounding by the Pacific Fleet--twice the
duration of the softening-up process at Iwo Jima.
The Invasion
April 1: Joint Expeditionary Force lands Tenth Army on SW
shore of Okinawa in vicinity of Hagushi at approximately
0830, following intensive naval and aerial bombardment by
supporting forces of Fifth Fleet. Northern Attack Force
puts marines of 6th and 1st Mar Divs, III Amphibious Corps,
ashore N of Bishi R while Southern Attack Force lands 7th
and 96th Divs, XXIV Corps, S of the river. Japanese offer
little opposition as assault units move inland to gain
beachhead...
April 2
We heard bombing sounds often. They seemed to come from the
direction of Kiyuna or Oyama and gradually came closer.
April 3
People in the cave began to leave in small groups to go toward
Shuri or elsewhere. Many people left, so we felt very helpless and
lonely. Finally at midnight we also decided to leave, but the bombing
was so severe that we were forced to return to the cave.
April 4
We spent the day waiting for darkness so that we could leave for
Shuri. About a hundred people remained in the cave. We heard U. S.
tanks moving past the cave in the afternoon. Darkness finally came,
and we left the cave. Grandfather had to walk slowly and lagged
behind. Both he and Emiko were lost in the darkness.
April 5
We reached Tanabaru at dawn. The bombing was so severe that we
stayed in the village of Kochi all day. Grandfather and Emiko were
not with us. Takenobu cried and did not eat. At night we arrived at
Shuri, where the houses were still burning. Shoro-san let us stay at
their place which had a cave and a good source of drinking water.
April 5: 96th Div encounters well-organized enemy positions
near Uchitomari and Ginowan that limit its progress. 383rd
Inf, on W makes unsuccessful attack on Cactus Ridge, 600
yards SE of Mashiki. 382d gains 400-900 yards. 7th Div
moves S to positions almost abreast 96th Div.
April 10
A bomb shook the cave at 4 a.m., but we were safe. Emiko has
been missing for seven days now. No air raid today because of rain.
The 381st Regiment joined the 383rd in the assault on
April 10. Together they threw four battalions--twice the
number originally deployed--against the ridge after it had
been subjected to heavy air strikes from the carriers
offshore, a bombardment by the battleship New York and a
rolling barrage by eight field-artillery battalions.
April 11
Fair sky with wind from the west. Bombing started this morning.
April 11: In XXIV Corps area, 96th Div continues futile
effort to take Kakazu Ridge under intense fire. Elements of
32nd Inf, 7th Div, push into Ouki but are forced to retire
since tanks cannot follow. Virtual stalemate exists along
corps front on approaches to Shuri.
April 14
We found Emiko at a big cave in Taira. Police Officer Zukeran of
the Naha Police Station, who was from Ginowan, had taken care of Emiko
along with his family.
By way of overture, the attack of April 19 was preceded
by the most massive and concentrated artillery pounding of
the Pacific War. A total of 27 artillery battalions, 18
Army and nine Marine, took part, raking the front from east
to west with 324 pieces of artillery--from 105mm to 8-inch
howitzers--and firing a total of 19,000 shells into the
Japanese lines and rear areas. When the morning mists
cleared, a bombardment by six battleships, six cruisers, and
six destroyers thundered in, and 650 Navy and Marine planes
struck at Japanese positions with bombs, rockets, napalm,
and machine-gun fire.
April 24: In U.S. Tenth Army area, XXIV Corps pushes
through first line of enemy's Shuri defenses on Okinawa with
ease, except on W flank, Japanese having withdrawn
southward, night 23-24.
April 25
More bombing today.
April 27
The police said this evening that refugees in the Shuri area
might be moved to Shimajiri [southern Okinawa]. So we decided to go
to Tsukazan tomorrow evening.
April 28
We confirmed the police instructions to go to Shimajiri. We left
Shuri at 6 p.m. The bombing was still severe. At Samukawa, part of
the city of Shuri, an old lady named Tomiyama-san gave the children
food and spoke kindly to them. The children were so happy and
encouraged. We passed Mawashi, which was not far from home where
Grandfather might have gone. But we were not able to go there.
April 29
We walked all night. The children were so tired that they did
not speak. We finally reached Kochinda but could not find a cave or
hiding place. We walked and walked and finally reached Tomoi by
morning. The only cave we could find was filled with muddy water, so
we had to stand there all day. We rested under the sky in the
evening. It was a good place since there was almost no bombing
there.
April 30
The Japanese army told us to go to Kiyabu, Makabe, Mabuni, or
Gushichan. We decided to go to Makabe since we had heard that there
was a natural cave with plenty of drinking water.
April 30: 77th Div takes responsibility for 96th Div zone
and continues costly battle for Maeda Escarpment. 17th Inf,
7th Div, is still unable to make progress against Kochi
Ridge,...
May 1
We started about 6 p.m. The mountain path was rugged and steep,
and soon our feet were hurting. It was dark, and we were tired when
we reached Maehira [near Makabe].
May 2
At Maehira we found an empty hut which people told us was an army
officer's hut. We slept peacefully in it. We decided not to go to
Mabuni because we were so tired. We wept at the kindness of the
village people of Maehira.
May 7
Before dawn, Chiyo and Emiko went out to a potato patch to dig.
They returned safely and we had enough for three days.
May 8
It rained this morning. Since it was wet in the cave and no
planes were flying, we moved to the officer's hut temporarily. Steady
bombing all night from the ships. Someone shared some horsemeat with
us.
May 9
The weather cleared. There was bombing from both planes and
ships. The inside of the cave was damp.
May 10
Fair sky. Not too many planes. The bombing at night from the
ships was heavy.
Then on May 12, the leathernecks encountered an
insignificant hillock that would dominate their lives for
the next week. It rose 200 feet, and because of its shape
they named it Sugar Loaf Hill.
May 14
It was raining in the morning so we moved to the hut. Many
refugees came from Muwashi, Shikina, and Tsubobawa. They said that
many died on the road. We were thankful that we came early.
May 17: In III Amphib Corps area, while badly mauled 22d
Regt, 6th Mar Div, conducts holding action, 29th Marines
continues attack for Sugar Loaf after heavy naval gunfire,
air and artillery bombardment. Striking from the E after
1st and 3d Bns have opened approach from W end of Crescent
Hill, 2d Bn drives to crest of Sugar Loaf but falls back
when ammunition is exhausted.
Sugar Loaf had been taken, but at a terrible price.
The 6th Division had lost 2,662 men killed or wounded
between May 10 and 19. And that was not all. An additional
1,289 men had succumbed to what the doctors and corpsmen
called battle fatigue.
May 20
At about 2 p.m. we heard sounds of increasing bombing coming from
Mabuni. We thought troops may be landing. Where should we go?
People started to move, but we had no information so we waited, along
with the Nagayama family.
May 22: In U S. Tenth Army area, rains, intermittent during
past few days, become frequent and heavy during rest of
month and early June, hampering operations. Japanese begin
withdrawing their supplies and wounded from Shuri. III
Amphib Corps, with supporting armor immobilized by mud,
curtails its activities sharply.
May 24
Mr. Nagayama came in the morning and passed on the army's warning
to go to Tamashiro. We left Maehira for Tamashiro at 7:30 p.m. After
we passed Gushichan, the bombing from the ships was very severe. The
road was muddy, the children were tired, and my legs were hurting
again. Maekawa cave had too much bombing, so we went to Fusato and
asked Mr. Minei, a classmate, for help. It was raining and dark, and
we were so tired that we simply sat on the roadside and slept.
May 25
When we awoke it was a bright morning and we saw that the village
was near. It was raining and we heard some sounds of planes. We went
to Yakabu village and met a group from the police department, who
recommended that we go back to Makabe. So we went back to the same
place we had just left. It was raining heavily and we arrived at
midnight.
May 26
The natural cave was taken over by the army so the villagers were
forced out. We slept in the hut. It rained all night.
May 27
The village people crowded in the hut and we could not stay in
the cave. Misfortunes every day.
May 29: 1st Bn of 5th Marines, 1st Mar Div, takes Shuri
Ridge, S of Wana Draw, and crosses into 77th Div zone to
occupy undefended Shuri Castle at 1015.
June 2
We were ordered by the army to leave the cave and go to
Tamashiro. The bombing was so heavy near Nakaza that we decided not
to continue. We spent the night at a mountain shelter and were
treated kindly by Kiyo-chan, a nurse of Dr. Shimabuku.
June 3
We spent the whole day at the shelter, since they told us that
going to Tamashiro was dangerous. We started to walk in the direction
of Komesu, Makabe, or Kiyan.
June 4
Chiyo was exhausted and she wanted to return to Makabe, so we
did. It started raining in the morning and continued raining heavily
all day. A soldier told us to leave the area because heavy bombing
was expected. So we went to the mountains.
June 4: In III Amphib Corps area, after preparatory
bombardment, 6th Mar Div land 4th Marines, followed by 29th
Marines, on N Oroku Peninsula.
June 5
We had no shelter so we stayed under a bush. It rained heavily
in the afternoon. Chiyo looks so tired. We spent the day waiting for
the rain to stop.
On June 5, the second day of the Oroku invasion, the
heavy rains that had bogged down General Buckner's main
force suddenly came to an end. With the flooded roads
draining and drying, Army and Marine units--infantry and
tanks together--slogged into position facing the last
Japanese line of defense across the southern tip of Okinawa.
By June 8, the lines were formed for a general attack.
June 6
The rain stopped this morning. There was bombing from both air
and sea. A bomb fell very near, but we were still alive. We left to
go north toward Maezato.
June 7
We passed Makabe in the dark and reached Hanja. The mayor of
Hanja gave us a place to sleep. From early morning the aerial and
naval bombardment was severe.
June 8
The heavy bombing from air and sea continued. We tried to go to
Itoman in the evening, but people told us that the Americans had
invaded there so we returned to the shack and slept.
June 9
We were surprised when the police chief told us that troops had
landed at Itoman. He told us that the shack was in danger, so we left
for Kiyan. We slept under the shelter of a rock to avoid the rain.
The only food we had was sugar cane; the sugar we had was gone.
June 10
The rain stopped and many planes came. We felt safer than when
we were in the shack. There was no food except for sugar cane, and we
felt sorry for the children. We tried to dig for potatoes this
morning. The bombing was heavy, but we are still alive.
We moved to Komesu, but a soldier told us that the mountain area
of Kiyan would be safer so we went there. I thought that the mountain
would have a rock shelter, but we could not find any. We stayed in
the shallow overhang of a rock.
June 10: XXIV Corps begins all-out assault on Japanese
defense line, with tank support that is now adequate. While
383rd Inf, 96th Div, is pressing toward town of Yuza, 381st
gets 2 cos to intermediate ledge in saddle between
Yaeju-Dake and Yuza-Dake peaks.
June 11
We tried to find a better shelter but failed and returned to our
original place.
June 12
The owner of the shelter came and we had to leave in the evening.
We tried to find some potatoes but failed. We started to go toward
Komesu, but it was dark so we slept in a house at Makabe.
June 13
Terrible bombing this morning and many bombs came very close.
One bomb shook the house so hard that it loosened the soot in the
rafters, which fell and covered us so that we were all black except
for our white eyes. We looked so funny that we all laughed for a
while.
In the evening we went to the Fukuji Mountains.
June 14
Endless bombing. We found some sugar cane.
June 15
Constant bombing from morning to night. Sachiko kept crying so
we left the mountains and had soft rice at a house and slept under the
eaves.
June 16
We started to go to Hanja in the early morning, but later decided
to go to Maezato instead. When we were passing Nagusuku there was a
heavy bombing attack. So we took shelter behind a stone wall all day.
Then we went to Hanja, dug a shallow hole, and slept.
June 17
We were so tired that we could not dig any more. We were able to
get enough water in the village. We could only have one meal every
other day.
June 18
We spent a long day in our shallow hole. Then we found a
drainpipe and moved to it.
June 19
We found that staying in the drainpipe was more comfortable than
we first thought. We saw many people heading toward Komesu, but we
could not safely go there in the daylight. Chiyo insisted that we go
to Itoman, so after we ate we headed there. But we changed our minds
and went to the seashore and slept there. It was so quiet and many
refugees were there.
June 20
We stayed the whole day under an adan bush. There was some
bombing.
[At Nashiro beach, near Itoman, we met the American troops.
Chiyo was able to speak English and we were saved.]
June 22: U.S. Tenth Army completes capture of Okinawa and
conducts flag-raising ceremony. Lt Gen Mitsuru Ushijima,
commander of Japanese 32d Army, and his chief of staff,
commit suicide. U.S. battle casualties, during this last
and most costly campaign against the Japanese, total 49,151,
of which 12,520 are killed or missing and 36,631 wounded.
About 110,000 Japanese are killed and 7,400 captured.
Okinawans had no part in formulating Japan's military policies
which led to this [battle], and fewer than 5,000 trained Okinawan
conscripts took part. Nevertheless, the Okinawan people were forced to
make a hideous sacrifice on Japan's behalf. More than 62,000
Okinawans perished; the great majority were civilians caught
helplessly between opposing armies. The physical heritage of the old
kingdom vanished, and more than ninety percent of the population was
adrift and homeless when surrender came.
References
Beginning and ending quotations from:
Okinawa The History of an Island People
Tuttle Co., 1958
Dated military entries from:
United States Army in World War II Special Studies
Chronology 1941-1945
Washington D.C., 1960
Other military history from:
World War II The Road to Tokyo
Time-Life Books, Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia
Home Page: http://tyogi.org/