My Father’s Last Words: No Matter What Happens, Return to Okinawa – Running Around to Escape the Battlefield with My Three-Year-Old Niece on My Back
My Father's Last Words: No Matter What Happens, Return to Okinawa
- Running Around to Escape the Battlefield with My Three-Year-Old Niece on My Back -
Witness: Chiyoko Yokota (03横田チヨ子)
Date of birth: May 8, 1929
Place of birth: Saipan
Age at the time: 16 years old
■ Sentiments change as Saipan is drawn into battle
Resources were scarce, therefore we did not live extravagantly and we cherished the things we had. There was only one climate at the time, which was that we had to all pitch in to win the war. The teachings at school at the time proclaimed that we would win the war. We did not have any fear of the war reaching a desperate situation.
We had our first air raid, and then when we were subjected to naval gunfire attacks on the 13th, we came to realize that the war had arrived in Saipan. We did not think that we would be defeated in the war and since we only had this belief that the war would be won, we did not feel a lot of anxiety.
■ Occurrence of air raids
The island was destroyed by naval gunfire and other strikes, and as I looked outside, I saw that the island was burning from the south to the north in its entirety, smoke rising from it. I could also see the ocean dotted with black spots that were battleships far away. I simply believed that those battleships belonged to the Japanese military. A soldier said to me "It is very dangerous to stay here so evacuate to the air raid shelter."
While I was going to the air raid shelter, the place was full of people evacuating and escaping. As the shells of the naval gunfire flew in, I walked by many people and went home to the house where my parents lived. My return home was horrendous. I heard shells coming in whistling "hew... hew..." and then bursting. A person who was hit by shrapnel of naval gunfire walked two or three steps without his head before he collapsed. I witnessed sickening scenes like that.
After he went to Banaderu, my older brother told me "There is no hope for survival. I am not sure who will die first, but try to live as long as possible and survive until the Japanese troops arrive."
■ Situation at the time I was injured
I was hit by a bullet first, near the road. We decided to hide in the mountains as dawn was near. I could see a road that went through the trees in the mountain. So we walked into the mountains. The mountains of Saipan were covered primarily by pandanus trees. When I was between two pandanus trees, shrapnel from naval gunfire hit my right foot. It became night so we decided to escape, but I felt the gradual pain spreading from my wound through my entire body, as if poison was spreading. So I said, "I cannot move or walk like this much father, you must go ahead and evacuate." My father said, "A family sticks together. We cannot leave any one of us." Then we all remained there. The enemy was already near and people around us were getting ready to escape.
Then as our family was hiding below a large tree, an airplane flew over us in a turn. I could hear the sound of the machine gun fire hitting the ground, tap... tap... tap. I was lying down, but I was hit on my left arm by machine gun fire from the airplane. The airplane was turning to signal our position to the ship. We were hit by three naval guns just in front of us. My older brother was hit by shrapnel and died instantly. He was hit in his chest. He was crawling near me and when I looked, blood was profusely flowing out of his chest and he made no sound. He just remained that way. Then he died. My father and my other siblings were under another pandanus tree and I said, "My older brother has been hit, everyone please come out" but one-by-one, everyone had sustained bullet wounds. My mother had been injured on the back of her hand and slightly above her eyebrows. My father had almost completely lost his arm, whereas my sister-in-law had been hit in her hip and the shell was still embedded in her. My younger brother was also hit in one of his legs.
So eventually, my sister-in-law and her child, my father, mother and I went down to a pandanus tree by the coast. I think my father intended to move my heavily injured mother out of that place, after spending the night there, before killing himself. I treated his wounded arm, but he told me to cut his arm off because it was just getting in his way. I had a razor blade so he told me to cut his arm with it, but I told him that I could not cut his arm off with a razor blade. He angrily said, "What's the point of working at the hospital?" There was a resident policeman called Yamada nearby so we called him. We asked Mr. Yamada to cut my father's arm off. When policeman Yamada cut the arm off, I was sitting nearby and was drenched in a large amount of my father's blood. In hindsight, the bones in my father's arm were shattered but the blood vessels were still connected. I could not believe how much blood was in him as I was drenched in his blood. Then he spoke to me and left me with his last words. "No matter what happens, return to Okinawa. Do not die. We will surely win this war." When the bombardments by airplanes were loud and the explosive sounds were severe, I could not hear his voice. As I listened to my father speak I was staring at the airplanes. "Master your academic studies properly. The time will come when you can fly in one of those planes." He told me many things that way.
■ Activities after my father’s passing
It was very difficult when my niece, who was three, cried. I had carried that child on my back ever since my older brother died. I was told not to make the child cry so I amused her. My sister-in-law was called by my father, and he left some last words with her. When they finished, I was called by my father, so we switched positions.
My sister-in-law took charge of the child. Then, when I got to my father, we were talking about this and that - about cutting his arm off - and as we were talking he said, "If you take the child she will cry and everyone's life will be in jeopardy. You must leave the child here. Soldiers are dotting the place here and there. Leave the child here, so you can escape out of here. Leave her near me. You two must return to Okinawa no matter what. In time you will see your brother and mother again." After saying that, he passed away.
I could hear people telling us to kill the child and what would happen if the child cried. The area was sprinkled with people who had their child with them.
So my niece also died.
"Why did you take her life, sister" I asked my sister-in-law and she said, "Because your father told me to." I imagine the child was about to cry, so they had to do that. In the end, though, that is murder.
I have never told anyone about my sister-in-law dealing with this child. However, since my sister-in-law has already passed away and all those people who had that sort of experience are no longer with me, I feel that this story must be told. There is no way you can understand that situation, no matter how well it is explained to you. That sort of action can only be understood by people who actually experienced it. So are the horrors of war. I strongly feel that war must never happen again because of the kind of experiences I had.
■ Mass suicide in Saipan
How should I explain this, pleas such as "Kill them, kill them," or similar such things. I can hear jeers, shouting "If you cannot kill, there are other ways to do it." In the end, a parent would rather take the life of his/her own family rather than someone else killing them. There were some that threw their family off the cliff and after the children were thrown off the cliff they hesitated and could not jump to die.
One person planned to die in the morning by jumping into the sea with the person’s parents and a younger brother. The parents and the younger brother jumped, but the person just could not jump. That person is still alive. I participate in memorial services in Saipan with that person. Another person, who was pushed by someone unknown, fell into the sea but landed on a corpse and got picked up by US troops. We had tanks and foreigners approaching us from behind, so we were scared. We were more scared of US troops than dying, so committing suicide was not a fearful prospect.
We all bet on jumping off the cliff. We only needed to make a run for it and jump off the cliff. So many people killed themselves or their own family. People killed their own family, their children and their siblings, and there must have been many people like that. This was something no one would want to tell...
After my father passed away, I also went to the sea. I said "Sister. There are only two of us now. We were told to return to Okinawa, but there is no means to return. Let us also go into the sea and die" and we entered the sea. "Sister, you are shorter than me so come behind me as I lead the way." As we entered the sea, we quickly got sprayed by seawater. We swallowed seawater and the seawater was very salty. The salt water makes you suffer. Since we were going to die we had to keep pressing on, but it was painful so I could not move on. While all this was going on, I said "Sister, it's deep here, so go that way." We talked to each other as we moved around. It is strange when I think about it now. We were serious at the time, though. So we kept on walking and I said, "I am really tired now sister. The sky is becoming brighter and, it would be very awful if US military planes come, so let's go back on land, drink some water and then die." That is how I survived.
- Running Around to Escape the Battlefield with My Three-Year-Old Niece on My Back -
Witness: Chiyoko Yokota (03横田チヨ子)
Date of birth: May 8, 1929
Place of birth: Saipan
Age at the time: 16 years old
■ Sentiments change as Saipan is drawn into battle
Resources were scarce, therefore we did not live extravagantly and we cherished the things we had. There was only one climate at the time, which was that we had to all pitch in to win the war. The teachings at school at the time proclaimed that we would win the war. We did not have any fear of the war reaching a desperate situation.
We had our first air raid, and then when we were subjected to naval gunfire attacks on the 13th, we came to realize that the war had arrived in Saipan. We did not think that we would be defeated in the war and since we only had this belief that the war would be won, we did not feel a lot of anxiety.
■ Occurrence of air raids
The island was destroyed by naval gunfire and other strikes, and as I looked outside, I saw that the island was burning from the south to the north in its entirety, smoke rising from it. I could also see the ocean dotted with black spots that were battleships far away. I simply believed that those battleships belonged to the Japanese military. A soldier said to me "It is very dangerous to stay here so evacuate to the air raid shelter."
While I was going to the air raid shelter, the place was full of people evacuating and escaping. As the shells of the naval gunfire flew in, I walked by many people and went home to the house where my parents lived. My return home was horrendous. I heard shells coming in whistling "hew... hew..." and then bursting. A person who was hit by shrapnel of naval gunfire walked two or three steps without his head before he collapsed. I witnessed sickening scenes like that.
After he went to Banaderu, my older brother told me "There is no hope for survival. I am not sure who will die first, but try to live as long as possible and survive until the Japanese troops arrive."
■ Situation at the time I was injured
I was hit by a bullet first, near the road. We decided to hide in the mountains as dawn was near. I could see a road that went through the trees in the mountain. So we walked into the mountains. The mountains of Saipan were covered primarily by pandanus trees. When I was between two pandanus trees, shrapnel from naval gunfire hit my right foot. It became night so we decided to escape, but I felt the gradual pain spreading from my wound through my entire body, as if poison was spreading. So I said, "I cannot move or walk like this much father, you must go ahead and evacuate." My father said, "A family sticks together. We cannot leave any one of us." Then we all remained there. The enemy was already near and people around us were getting ready to escape.
Then as our family was hiding below a large tree, an airplane flew over us in a turn. I could hear the sound of the machine gun fire hitting the ground, tap... tap... tap. I was lying down, but I was hit on my left arm by machine gun fire from the airplane. The airplane was turning to signal our position to the ship. We were hit by three naval guns just in front of us. My older brother was hit by shrapnel and died instantly. He was hit in his chest. He was crawling near me and when I looked, blood was profusely flowing out of his chest and he made no sound. He just remained that way. Then he died. My father and my other siblings were under another pandanus tree and I said, "My older brother has been hit, everyone please come out" but one-by-one, everyone had sustained bullet wounds. My mother had been injured on the back of her hand and slightly above her eyebrows. My father had almost completely lost his arm, whereas my sister-in-law had been hit in her hip and the shell was still embedded in her. My younger brother was also hit in one of his legs.
So eventually, my sister-in-law and her child, my father, mother and I went down to a pandanus tree by the coast. I think my father intended to move my heavily injured mother out of that place, after spending the night there, before killing himself. I treated his wounded arm, but he told me to cut his arm off because it was just getting in his way. I had a razor blade so he told me to cut his arm with it, but I told him that I could not cut his arm off with a razor blade. He angrily said, "What's the point of working at the hospital?" There was a resident policeman called Yamada nearby so we called him. We asked Mr. Yamada to cut my father's arm off. When policeman Yamada cut the arm off, I was sitting nearby and was drenched in a large amount of my father's blood. In hindsight, the bones in my father's arm were shattered but the blood vessels were still connected. I could not believe how much blood was in him as I was drenched in his blood. Then he spoke to me and left me with his last words. "No matter what happens, return to Okinawa. Do not die. We will surely win this war." When the bombardments by airplanes were loud and the explosive sounds were severe, I could not hear his voice. As I listened to my father speak I was staring at the airplanes. "Master your academic studies properly. The time will come when you can fly in one of those planes." He told me many things that way.
■ Activities after my father’s passing
It was very difficult when my niece, who was three, cried. I had carried that child on my back ever since my older brother died. I was told not to make the child cry so I amused her. My sister-in-law was called by my father, and he left some last words with her. When they finished, I was called by my father, so we switched positions.
My sister-in-law took charge of the child. Then, when I got to my father, we were talking about this and that - about cutting his arm off - and as we were talking he said, "If you take the child she will cry and everyone's life will be in jeopardy. You must leave the child here. Soldiers are dotting the place here and there. Leave the child here, so you can escape out of here. Leave her near me. You two must return to Okinawa no matter what. In time you will see your brother and mother again." After saying that, he passed away.
I could hear people telling us to kill the child and what would happen if the child cried. The area was sprinkled with people who had their child with them.
So my niece also died.
"Why did you take her life, sister" I asked my sister-in-law and she said, "Because your father told me to." I imagine the child was about to cry, so they had to do that. In the end, though, that is murder.
I have never told anyone about my sister-in-law dealing with this child. However, since my sister-in-law has already passed away and all those people who had that sort of experience are no longer with me, I feel that this story must be told. There is no way you can understand that situation, no matter how well it is explained to you. That sort of action can only be understood by people who actually experienced it. So are the horrors of war. I strongly feel that war must never happen again because of the kind of experiences I had.
■ Mass suicide in Saipan
How should I explain this, pleas such as "Kill them, kill them," or similar such things. I can hear jeers, shouting "If you cannot kill, there are other ways to do it." In the end, a parent would rather take the life of his/her own family rather than someone else killing them. There were some that threw their family off the cliff and after the children were thrown off the cliff they hesitated and could not jump to die.
One person planned to die in the morning by jumping into the sea with the person’s parents and a younger brother. The parents and the younger brother jumped, but the person just could not jump. That person is still alive. I participate in memorial services in Saipan with that person. Another person, who was pushed by someone unknown, fell into the sea but landed on a corpse and got picked up by US troops. We had tanks and foreigners approaching us from behind, so we were scared. We were more scared of US troops than dying, so committing suicide was not a fearful prospect.
We all bet on jumping off the cliff. We only needed to make a run for it and jump off the cliff. So many people killed themselves or their own family. People killed their own family, their children and their siblings, and there must have been many people like that. This was something no one would want to tell...
After my father passed away, I also went to the sea. I said "Sister. There are only two of us now. We were told to return to Okinawa, but there is no means to return. Let us also go into the sea and die" and we entered the sea. "Sister, you are shorter than me so come behind me as I lead the way." As we entered the sea, we quickly got sprayed by seawater. We swallowed seawater and the seawater was very salty. The salt water makes you suffer. Since we were going to die we had to keep pressing on, but it was painful so I could not move on. While all this was going on, I said "Sister, it's deep here, so go that way." We talked to each other as we moved around. It is strange when I think about it now. We were serious at the time, though. So we kept on walking and I said, "I am really tired now sister. The sky is becoming brighter and, it would be very awful if US military planes come, so let's go back on land, drink some water and then die." That is how I survived.
