by King, Dan
Akikusa received 500 yen in cash (not a small sum of money in postwar Japan), and a small booklet that identified him as a "returnee" with free train travel privileges.
Kiichi Abe was also grateful to receive such a handsome sum of money, but said that the port of Uraga was full of displaced people and beggars, and that the shops were barren. Prices were outrageously high and he quickly feared running out of money. Kiichi Abe wondered if he shouldn't have stayed in southern Texas where food was plentiful.
Even after reaching Uraga, neither Tsuruji Akikusa nor Satoru Ōmagari contacted their families with the news of their arrival. They wanted to tell them in person.
After completing his discharge paperwork, Akikusa walked down to a certain photo studio in Kurihama to pose for a commemorative photo in his newly issued petty officer uniform. It was the same photo studio where he took his first portrait in his sailor uniform in 1943.
He then visited the geshuku (Sunday home) where he and his comrades had spent many a pleasant afternoon during their training. The family was surprised and happy to see that he had returned safely.
Akikusa wanted to tell his parents in person but his plan was foiled when he bumped into someone from his hometown in Kurihama. His dramatic return was blown.
To his relief, Akikusa's parents were waiting to greet him when he walked down the gravel path to the family home in Yabegawa. His parents had heard that he had been spotted, but were afraid to believe it could really be true. They hadn't told anyone in case it had been a mistake. His mother cried as she touched her son's arms and shoulders. His father told him to rush to Yabegawa Elementary School because the town was holding a joint funeral for the village war dead that very day.
Akikusa jogged and walked the four miles to the school. As he approached the gymnasium, he could tell that the air was thick with funeral incense. He quietly stepped in to see most of the townspeople kneeling on the floor waiting for the ceremony to begin. Akikusa's black framed portrait rested on a table behind a box wrapped in white cloth along with a dozen other estuary boxes and photos of dead soldiers and sailors. Akikusa recognized most of the faces of the dead men. He bowed, removed his photo and box, and retreated to the back of the room. "I attended my own funeral service," he said.
That evening, his parents told him about the psychic's vision of seeing him hiding underground. "There are many mysteries in life that defy explanation," said Akikusa.
After arriving in Uraga, Satoru Ōmagari traveled all day to reach his mother's home in Fukushima. He arrived after midnight on January 9, 1946. He tried to open the front sliding door but it was locked, so he knocked softly. After a few moments, his mother cautiously appeared with a candle. She slid open the door just enough to see Ōmagari in his uniform and thought she was seeing her son's ghost.
Once inside his home, Ōmagari saw a black-framed photo of himself inside the family Buddhist butsudan altar. Due to the official death notification from the Japanese Government, the family had already conducted his funeral service.
Tsuruji Akikusa married his childhood sweetheart Ayako in his parents' home on Christmas Day, 1946. Like millions of other Japanese, the couple struggled to make ends meet in postwar Japan. Akikusa's injuries to his hand hampered his ability to work and required several operations over the next three years. In September 1948, he was able to get a job with Tōbu Tetsudō Railways working 18-hour shifts as an apprentice. He later transferred to the company's Electrical Division in 1960. He retired in 1982, and started his own business as an electrician under the auspices of the Tōkyō Electricity Management Engineer Association. Akikusa still works as a part-time electrician, and manages properties that his decades of hard work have permitted him to acquire.
Akikusa and his wife were blessed with two daughters; Sanae and Yoshiko, but have tragically outlived both of them. Their only son, Shigeyuki, gave them a grandchild.
Akikusa has avoided veteran associations because they tend to glorify the war. He was unable to talk about Iwo Jima war for decades, and never shared his experiences with his parents. Immediately after the war, he began a journal that grew into dozens of notebooks. The writing helped him deal with the horrible memories that haunted him. "We Japanese did horrible things to each other on Iwo Jima," he said.
Some Iwo Jima survivors have contacted the families of their fallen friends. Often times, they were met with angry comments, "How were you able to come back when my husband (brother, father, uncle) didn't? How is it that you are still alive?" Others would ask if the returnees knew how their loved one died. Most of the survivors only knew the men in their own bunker so were unable to provide answers. One returnee tried to pay his respects at the grave of his battalion commander but was turned away by the dead man's family.175
When asked if he had seen Clint Eastwood movies Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, Akikusa said, "I deeply appreciate director Eastwood's depiction of the battle. Until his movies came out, Iwo Jima was passing into oblivion in Japan. Iwo might have been a heroic battle for you Americans, but it was a crushing defeat to us. We survivors didn't talk about it. These movies brought Iwo Jima back into the public eye and a new generation started talking about our sacrifices. The positive effects of Mr. Eastwood's movies are far reaching. Maybe more than he could ever imagine. I would like him to read my story someday. I would like to thank him in person."
In appreciation for addressing the Japanese side of the battle, the Emperor of Japan awarded Clint Eastwood the Order of the Rising Sun Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, (aka Rising Sun 3rd Class) at the Japanese Consul General in Los Angeles on July 22, 2009.
Satoru Ōmagari, like millions of other Japanese, struggled to find work in a land that was devastated by war. Eventually, a friend employed him as a magazine reporter. Following this, Ōmagari worked at a small publishing company where he met and fell in love with Tokiko Onoda, a woman ten years his junior. Tokiko was a well-heeled graduate from Japan Women's University. They got married in 1952, and were blessed with a daughter that they named Yoko. In 1955, Ōmagari took at job in Tōkyō as a sales rep for "Matsuura Koatsu Kikaisakusho," a chemical fertilizer company that did business with large conglomerates such as Mitsubishi, Nissan and Sumitomo. Ōmagari's wife Tokiko took a job as a middle school language teacher. She passed away in 1980. Ōmagari retired in 1992 and resides with his daughter Yoko.
Ōmagari used to meet with former Iwo Jima POWs, and was an early member of the Iwo Jima Association that was founded by Tsunezō Wachi. However, Ōmagari parted ways with the group in the 1970's over a dispute regarding the recovery of the mortal remains of the Iwo Jima's dead. Wachi sought to recover, cremate, and bring the remains back to Tōkyō. Ōmagari strongly opposed the idea saying, "Iwo Jima is part of Japan, it is not a foreign country. We defenders said if we died we would become the soil of Iwo Jima." Ōmagari felt it would go against the dead men's wishes to be exhumed from their battle stations. Ōmagari said that visiting Iwo Jima to chant Buddhist mantras and lay flowers is one thing, but taking the dead off the island was wrong. Ōmagari has no desire to ever set foot on Iwo Jima, "Why in the world would I want to dredge up those horrible experiences?" he said. Ōmagari used to go on day trips to hot springs with a handful of other former POWs, but Father Time put an end to those days.
When asked if he had seen Clint Eastwood's pair of movies about Iwo Jima, Ōmagari said that he deeply appreciated Mr. Eastwood's praiseworthy efforts to portray the battle from both sides. He said, "No movie studio would permit a director to portray the actual realities of war. Audiences would be repulsed and walk out. Any film that showed what it was really like in any war would be a financial disaster. It is in the nature of the entertainment industry to make war seem glorious and honorable, but I experienced nothing honorable on Iwo Jima."
Shinjirō Nishi "We were doing our patriotic duty as red-blooded Japanese citizens. We thought we were protecting our homeland." His
mother, Hata Nishi, was killed in a B-29 bombing raid on April 12, 1945. Nishi blames her death on the Japanese political and military leaders who started the war. Following the war, Shinjirō Nishi's famous uncle, former Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Haruhiko Nishi, acted as defense counsel for accused A-Class war criminal Foreign Minister Shigenori Tōgō. Although Tōgō escaped the hangman's noose, he died in 1950 after serving only a portion of his twenty-year sentence. Haruhiko Nishi later served as the Japanese Ambassador to Australia and then to England.
During the postwar occupation, Nishi got a job doing KP duty for a US Army engineering battalion that was headquartered on the 6th floor of a department store in Tōkyō called "Isetan." The concrete building was one of just a few in Shinjuku that was still standing after the B-29 fire bombings left the city in ashes.
In 1970, Shinjirō Nishi spent six months studying English at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He said, "I was the oldest student on campus, older than some of the faculty members, too." He enjoyed touring the area's museums, monuments, and magnificent public buildings. He said, "Through my interactions with American soldiers, and later with students at Georgetown, I learned that Americans are wonderful people."
Nishi came to Guam in 2012, where the author introduced him to some former US Marines who participated in the battles of Guam and Iwo Jima. The governor of Guam, the Honorable Eddie Baza Calvo, presented the Marines, as well as Mr. Nishi, with peace medals during a special ceremony the night before the old Marines flew to Iwo Jima for the Reunion of Honor ceremony with the Japanese.
To make sure that future generations learn the truth about the horrors of war, and thus the importance of peace, Shinjirō Nishi speaks to Japanese civic groups and Japanese Self Defense Force units about his wartime experiences. Nishi wants to visit Iwo Jima someday to say prayers for his friend Hirō Hachiya. "The Japanese Government says I'm too old to visit Iwo Jima so I couldn't fly to Iwo Jima with the American veterans in 2012," he said. He is alive and well as of February 2014 when the author visited him in Kagoshima.
Iwao Yamada "We lost too many intelligent young men in that war. I'm sure it was the same for the Americans. We must never allow our government or military leaders to drag us into another war, especially with people who have proven themselves to be such good friends." Mr. Iwao Yamada went on to own an elevator installation and maintenance company that his grandson now runs. Yamada's experiences on Iwo Jima were depicted in a Japanese docu-drama "Iō Jima Senjō Yūbin no Haitatsu" (Delivering Mail to the Battlefield on Iwo Jima). Mr. Yamada is alive and well.
Teruko Abe sent letters to her husband during the war using the military address code for his unit (similar to an APO address). She received a postcard from him in September 1944. In it, her husband asked if she was getting enough baby formula, and if there was sufficient coal to heat their home. In October 1944, Corporal Abe replied to another letter containing a photo of their second daughter Michiko, who was born after he deployed. Teruko Abe's next letter to her husband was returned stamped "undeliverable."
With the surrender announcement on August 15th, Mrs. Teruko Abe, and her two daughters Yoshiko and Michiko, became refugees in northern Korea. The Russians arrived, causing widespread fears of mistreatment among the Japanese civilians who had called Korea home. Teruko Abe made her way south to Pusan to escape the Russians' well-earned reputation for cruelty. At Pusan, there were Japanese soldiers and civilians waiting for repatriation. The Americans landed in Korea in early September 1945, and quickly worked to stabilize a line between North and South at the 38th Parallel. The Koreans wanted the former Japanese occupiers out of their country, and luckily for Teruko Abe, the US government provided US and captured Japanese ships to transport them home.
Teruko Abe was born and raised in Korea, so Japan was a foreign country to her. She decided to make her way to her husband's parents' home in Niigata, the logical place to meet up with him. Perhaps he was already safe and sound, waiting for her and the girls to arrive. When she arrived in December, she received the worst news possible. Her husband had been declared dead by the Japanese Government.
Her late husband's family had no room for her and her girls, for they were housing relatives whose homes were destroyed in the B-29 raids. Teruko Abe stayed with her brother Tadashi Kageyama for a brief period. Ironically, her brother served as a Betty bomber crewman with the K704th Naval Air Group and had once delivered a supply of water to Iwo Jima.
Teruko and her two girls moved into a group home for widows of the 20th Heavy Mortar Battalion where she operated a sewing machine to earn a living, and then later worked at a department store. She never remarried and holds no resentment towards the Americans who killed her husband on Iwo Jima, and her brother on Wake Island. "It was the war that destroyed my family. Both sides suffered great losses and unspeakable tragedies," she said. Her nephew, Sachio Kageyama, has visited Iwo Jima dozens of times in search of the remains of the war dead. Mrs. Abe says of her late husband, "We were married less than three years and I have only happy memories of him. He was a good man and a good father."
Teruko Abe makes peace bell amulets for the Americans who visit Iwo Jima to attend the Reunion of Honor ceremony. To date, she has made and handed out over 800 amulets as a symbol of friendship. Mrs. Abe is alive and well.
Tsunezō Wachi, Rose Ogawa-Wachi said of her late father, "After the war, my father dedicated his life to pray for the souls of both the Japanese and Americans who lost their lives on Iwo Jima. He went to America many times and truly liked and respected the American veterans."
After Captain Wachi left Iwo Jima in October 1944, he was assigned to the South Western Fleet Headquarters. He was later involved in organizing the Shinyō kamikaze speedboats units located in southern Kyūshū.
At the war's end, Captain Wachi was arrested and held at Sugamo prison in Tōkyō for five months and interrogated. On November 10, 1945, while incarcerated at Sugamo prison, Wachi submitted a letter to LtCol Richard Hayward, commander of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, requesting permission to return to Iwo Jima. In the letter (his daughter sent the author a photocopy of the original letter) Wachi stated his intention to become a Buddhist priest in order to conduct religious ceremonies on Iwo Jima for the dead.176
Wachi testified at the war crimes trials and was eventually released. He quickly entered the Buddhist priesthood and later founded the Iwo Jima Association of Japan (Iōjima Kyōkai) with the aim of promoting world peace, and recovering the mortal remains of those who died on Iwo Jima. He visited the US many times seeking to reconcile with his former enemies whom he expressed respect and admiration. Tsunezō Wachi passed away on February 2, 1990.
Epilogue
Sitting on a tatami straw mat floor in Tsuruji Akikusa's home, surrounded by piles of WWII documents, the veteran's journals and aging photos, the author asked Akikusa if he had any thoughts that he would like to pass on. This is what he said:
"The United States and Japan are have become good friends. In the end, did my fellow countrymen suffer and die needlessly on Iwo Jima? That is a difficult question. I don't know what to say about that. It is much too sad to think that it might be so.
People speak of a glorious death in battle, but what mother would rather have a telegram announcing her son's death than see his smiling face?
Peace is beautiful and should be guarded and protected. There is no life that is meaningless on this planet. The war taught me the value of life, of everyone's life. "
Appendix I: Casualties
US Casualties:
6,775 Killed
19,217 Wounded
2,648 Combat Fatigue
49 Missing in Action (USMC and US Navy)
Source: Report by Lieutenant Colonel Whitman Bartly, Division of Public Affairs, Historical Section, USMC Headquarters Section. The KIA number includes Army personnel attached to the Marines during the initial 36-day phase of the b
attle but not Army personnel who were engaged in the post-battle mop-up activities.
US Army Casualties during the mopping up phase:
24 Killed (16 from US Army's 147th Infantry Regiment)
54 Wounded
6 Missing in Action (US Army, 147th Regiment)
Source: Always Ready, The Story of the US 147th Infantry Regiment, by Tom Mcleod.
Japanese Deaths in Battle and Casualties:
The question of how many Japanese died at Iwo Jima finds no simple answer. In 2004, the Japanese Ministry of Labor, Health and Welfare, Kosei Rōdō Shō, Shakai Ōenkyoku, provided the following data to the Iwo Jima Association of Japan. The official Japanese Government numbers indicate the deaths of military personnel only in relation to the Iwo Jima area of operations occurring from December 8, 1941, to August 15, 1945. The figures include deaths at sea and of aircraft personnel, but does not civilians. The number also does not include those who were medically evacuated and may have died. Nor does it include those who were captured.
14,661 Army
7,264 Navy
21,925 Total Military Dead from 12/8/41 - 8/15/45
The following are the military casualties as calculated by the Iwo Jima Association of Japan. The casualty numbers do not include men who were medically evacuated prior to the landing (some of whom died in Japanese military hospitals). Those who were medically evacuated would normally be counted as casualties (in the West) but they have fallen off the radar in the official Japanese numbers.
19,900 Military Deaths
1,033 Military Casualties, (POWs)
20,933 Total does not include civilians, airmen, or sailors lost at sea.
The figure of 20,933 casualties has long been the accepted number. However, in digging deeper, the Iwo Jima Association of Japan later provided the author with figures that included civilian deaths and civilian casualties in the battle.