by King, Dan
[29] The Japanese Type 2 SB(T) could carry fourteen tanks, 250 tons of cargo, or deliver 320 fully equipped troops directly to the water's edge. While American LSTs had a bow that would open like a French door, the Japanese version had a large bow ramp.
[30] The Japanese Navy version of the zatsunō shoulder bag (multi-purpose bag) has interior straps with buckles to secure the flap, while the Army version has interior ties. It resembles a WWII German breadbag (Brotbeutel).
[31] Bonin pandanus or "Octopus Tree" (Tako no Ki) has roots that stretch downward mid-air, resembling tentacles.
[32] The author snorkeled on the wreck of the Hinkō Maru.
[33] Zero Pilot Toshimitsu Imaizumi cut his teeth with the Hainan Naval Air Group. See The Last Zero Fighter, chapter four.
[34] "Oni yoke, onna yose" is the phrase in Japanese used to describe the alluring power of an officer wearing his naval dagger.
[35] In December 1944, Tsunezō Wachi was assigned to SouthWest Fleet HQ. Wachi was then re-assigned in February 1945, to command the Torpedo School in Nagasaki Prefecture. His final posting came in March 1945, as commander of the 5th Special Attack Fleet of Suicide boats (Shinyōtai) in Kagoshima, Kyūshū.
[36] Omamori are made from paper or wood, and kept inside a brocade bag with a religious inscription. Omamori are still available at both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.
[37] He was the younger brother of future Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone. During the war, Yasuhiro Nakasone served aboard the battleships Aoba and Nagato with the rank of Lieutenant junior grade.
[38] Steamed rice pounded into compact balls or "cakes."
[39] Yokan is a thick, jellied dessert made of red bean paste, agar and sugar.
[40] No relation to LtCol Takeichi Nishi, commander of the 26th Tank Regiment.
[41] This Gakutō Shutsujin, or college draft, included those born and raised in Japan's colonies.
[42] Now known as Haneda International Airport.
[43] Teruo Sasamine was captured shortly after the March 17th banzai attack, and sent to a POW camp on Hawaii.
[44] The Zero's engine was started with a two-man operated crank, but the Oscar's engine required a heavy torque mechanical starter, usually mounted on a truck.
[45] To the Japanese, the P-38 Lightning's profile resembled a block of dried skipjack tuna called Katsuobushi.
[46] Calliphoridae, known as blowflies, carrion flies, bluebottles, greenbottles, or cluster flies.
[47] The barrel might have been a Napalm bomb that failed to detonate.
[48] Perhaps there is a former WWII US airman who can solve the mystery of the woman's voice and discarded shoe. If so, please contact the author who will be happy to inform Mr. Akikusa.
[49] Kirikomi-tai means a "quick rushing attack" like a knife cutting into an object.
[50] The author was honored to translate for the occasion.
[51] "SB(T) 154" was sunk near Iwo Jima on January 5, 1945. Her 90-man Army senpaku crew, and the wounded men who were being evacuated, died after delivering this load of firewood and other supplies.
[52] Japanese helmets had 4 small holes in the top for ventilation, which rendered them useless for catching rainwater.
[53] Ko-Shū Cycle 12.
[54] Soldiers and Sailors were prohibited from writing their location in correspondence.
[55] The Americans dubbed these 10.5 lb explosives "yardstick mines" due to their length.
[56] There were several female announcers who read the news in English, but the Americans called them all "Tokyo Rose." Iva Togri D'Aquino, aka "Orphan Anne," read scripts that were written by captured Australian news announcer Major Charles Cousens.
[57] Ōmagari declined to use the man's name because the officer was still alive.
[58] The spider hole, or "tako tsubo" (octopus pot), is a small fighting position that takes its name from the ceramic pots used by fishermen to trap octopi.
[59] Details on this attack will be addressed in the author's upcoming book about the Kamikaze.
[60] Composition C-2, a plastic explosive that came in one-pound blocks. Williams stated that the Marines would place C-2 on the end of a stick or length of lumber, and insert the explosive into a bunker.
[61] The same Japanese AA gunners brought down several US aircraft, including Lt (jg) George Bush's TBF Avenger torpedo plane a few months earlier on September 2, 1944.
[62] The Iwo Jima Association of America works in connection with Military Historical Tours to bring veterans and their families to Iwo Jima for the annual Reunion of Honor ceremony held in March.
[63] The submarine I-58 would gain notoriety for sinking the cruiser USS Indianapolis on July 30, 1945. The ship was sunk after delivering components of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima.
[64] Airman 1/c Mikio Ōtsu was a Yokaren aviation course graduate that was assigned to the 130th Shinyōtai (under Captain Tsunezō Wachi's 5th Special Attack Fleet) in Kagoshima, Kyūshū. Ōtsu's accounts will be shared in an upcoming book by the author about Japan's Kamikaze units.
[65] Celebrating the fall of the city of Mukden, China, during the Russo-Japan War.
[66] The River Sanzu, which separates the world of the living from the dead, is the Japanese Buddhist equivalent to the River Styx in Greek mythology.
[67] Named for LtCol Robert E. Cushman Jr., commanding officer of 2nd Batt, 9th Marine Regt who received the Legion of Merit for his actions. He later became Commandant of the Marine Corps.
[68] MajGen Senda and some of his staff made that to Kuribayashi's HQ are reported to have killed themselves on March 17th.
[69] The words "in battle" do not appear in the message but are implied by the word chiru (散る) which is the kanji characters used to describe both the falling of cherry blossoms and warriors. Chiru is also used to describe kamikaze pilots who "fell like cherry blossoms," and evokes an image of the cherry trees at the Yasukuni War Shrine in Tōkyō, a place where dead soldiers' and sailors' spirits were said to gather in the after life.
[70] Major Kazumi Oka (岡和三少佐) was a silver-haired officer from the Independent 312th Infantry Battalion who was transferred to Kuribayashi's HQ to command the kitchen/galley unit.
[71] In many English language books, it is listed incorrectly as Ginmyōsui, the correct pronuncation is "Ginmeisui." This was confirmed directly with the Iwo Jima Association of Japan.
[72] Ōmagari admits that Japanese historians and other Iwo Jima survivors are in disagreement as to the date of Takeichi Nishi's death.
[73] Beer provided for the troops during WWII included brands such as Schaefer, Pabst, Budweiser, and Iron City.
[74] The boxes were traditionally made from wood. The cremated remains of the soldier/sailor were placed inside and presented to his parents. Wartime shortages, and the inability to send back the remains of the dead, resulted in empty boxes made of thin cardboard being delivered to bereaved families.
[75] KIA: PFC Harold Smith, 8th Ammunition Company, and Private Vardell Donaldson 36th Depot Company.
[76] During the 2012 trip to Iwo Jima, the author discovered a rusted, and nearly complete, Japanese flamethrower rig in the weeds near a concrete bunker.
[77] This is where the stories of Tsuruji Akikusa and Satoru Ōmagari briefly converge. Each told similar but slightly different viewpoints of the same experiences from May 2nd – until their capture. The author has done his best to accurately depict each man's experiences as told by the former POWs.
[78] This particular pith helmet belonged to Private Shinji Ehara of the Shibuya Butai Battalion Headquarters. Ivan Prall gave the pith helmet to the author in 1994. In 2011, the author was able to finally locate and present the helmet to Shōzō Ehara, the dead soldier's younger brother.
[79] Ivan Prall also gave this steel helmet to the author, but there was no identifying information inside. In 2011, Ivan Prall's grandson Tom asked for the helmet as a family keepsake, so the author gave it to him.
[80] Mr. Akikusa dem
onstrated the act of downing that refreshing beverage with a satisfying sigh.
[81] Although not trained at MIS Language School, PFC Guy Gabaldon (2nd MarDiv) used his positive childhood experiences with a Nisei family to help him conduct similar work on a grander scale on Saipan.
[82] The Shozui Maru was sunk on July 4, 1944, while anchored at Tokinoura Bay on neighboring Ani Jima by aircraft from Admiral Joseph Clark's task force.
[83] The amnesic experiences of Akikusa and Abe are not rare, but closely mirror those had by other Japanese POWs that Urlich Straus interviewed for his book, The Anguish of Surrender.
[84] The Yokosuka Naval Air Technical branch also invented the Ohka (Baka Bomb) manned suicide rocket, and the Kikka jet-powered fighter.
[85] Iroquois Point POW Camp located at Ewa Beach, Oahu.
[86] This factory produced the Type-97 Chi-Ha and Shin-Hoto medium tanks for the Japanese Army. Other companies such as Mitsubishi and Hino produced tanks, too.
[87] Katsundo Gōham wasn't prosecuted as a traitor by the US Government since he had renounced his US citizenship prior to the outbreak of the Pacific War.
[88] As a historical sidenote, in September 1942, Tachibana Maru carried 265 POWs (civilian employees of the Morrison-Knudson construction company) from Wake Island to Yokohama.
[89] Similar to the card game rummy, mahjong is a game of skill and calculation with a degree of chance.
[90] It would seem there were multiple mess halls due to the large number of POWs. Perhaps this particular mess hall was shared with the relatively small number of Japanese.
[91] Presumably the camp theater was in constant use in the re-education of German POWs.
[92] Shoichi Kawai stated that his POW ship pulled into the port of Uraga at 10:00 a.m., on January 4, 1945. It is possible that Kawai left Seattle a few days prior to the others who stated they arrived on January 7, 1945.
[93] Historical Note: On July 8, 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry's ships arrived at this same area with the goal of opening Japan to trade.