Hell in a Foxhole
"Hell in a Foxhole"
Name: Sumiko Onaga (04翁長澄子)
Date of birth: April 5, 1927
Status at the time: 17-year-old staff member of the Military Accounting Division
Even 20 years after the end of the war, I just could not make myself go to that location, not even when I go on tours to visit battle sites in the southern part of the island. My legs basically would not move. The memory of what had transpired at the time comes back to me and I just could not make myself go there. I was a clerk in the Accounting Department at the time. I was given an armband to wear, which stated "Clerk," along with the insignia of the civilian workers, while I wore a name tag here (pointing to her chest). I cut my hair off and tied it up, placed it in an envelope and sent it off to mainland Japan as the hair of the departed. I put my name on the envelope when I sent it off. I don't think that they could actually be sent to the mainland at that time.
Anyway, I was heading for Shimajiri at the time, and it was very scary. People were shot by bullets and dying in positions I cannot even begin to explain, scattered everywhere, as I traveled to Shimajiri. Headless people were lying here and there, some people were missing arms, other people had their internal organs exposed, people had been shot by bullets, also people had torn off muscles, people were dying in a variety of ways and corpses were scattered everywhere I walked.
I think it would have been the 21st or the 22nd; when daybreak came, tanks arrived. Then we were told "come out, come out," but we were at the deep end of a natural foxhole and were scared to get out, so we remained inside the foxhole. Then they started using a flamethrower on us. Gnaw... Gnaw... they came. Gnaw... it was a very eerie sound. The flame of the flamethrower swirled as it came in. It came into the foxhole, swirling. That natural foxhole was a very big place, but the flame gradually came in, swirling. I kept on running further in and it eventually became so narrow that one person can somehow fit through, although it was about twice as high as a person in height I crawled further and it was packed with people. People in the front were burnt and dying. Sparks were coming further into the natural foxhole. Smoke also came rushing in and it was choking us. It was then the people started to kill themselves. We did not have any hand grenades at the time. Only one person had a hand grenade; that person pulled the pin and hugged that hand grenade and died. Suicide was taking place everywhere by then. Shrapnel was hitting us from the back, hitting us like ping, ping. Kiyo and I were cut by larger shrapnel and I was cut here (pointing to the neck). I still have a scar. Anyway, I bled, lost consciousness and collapsed. I have no idea how much time had elapsed. A friend came over and said,
"Sumichan (nickname for Sumiko), are you alive?" "Respond to me if you are alive!"
So I said, "I can hear something, what is it?"
She was shouting in a loud voice, "Sumichan, you are alive?" "Respond to me if you are alive!" So I thought,
"Well, well, it looks like I am alive." So I replied
"I'm alive."
Then she asked "Where are you?"
So I said "Here I am" and she came over with a lit match in her hand, with the light of the match illuminating the way. We then lit a candle and stood up. What we saw was the picture of the Avici Hell (the eighth and the most painful hell in Buddhism). Many people were dead and others were dying from a variety of injuries. I really cannot bear to remember. So many people had died. It was out of the ordinary that we survived in there. Then she said,
"Sumichan, look here, open your eyes and get up."
I said, "I am not moving, I am not going anywhere."
“That can’t be right. It took a lot of effort for me to walk here,” she said as she pulled me up. I looked around, but I could not bear to look any further. Then she said,
"You can't die in here. You can't die like this. Let's go out and drink a lot of water first, and then die. Let's get out of here."
So I asked, "How do we get out of here?" Then she said,
"Here, come with me, just come with me." So we walked together...
I hated to be a part of any war no matter when it takes place. I must ask you to never give up and lose your life. No matter what happens.
Name: Sumiko Onaga (04翁長澄子)
Date of birth: April 5, 1927
Status at the time: 17-year-old staff member of the Military Accounting Division
Even 20 years after the end of the war, I just could not make myself go to that location, not even when I go on tours to visit battle sites in the southern part of the island. My legs basically would not move. The memory of what had transpired at the time comes back to me and I just could not make myself go there. I was a clerk in the Accounting Department at the time. I was given an armband to wear, which stated "Clerk," along with the insignia of the civilian workers, while I wore a name tag here (pointing to her chest). I cut my hair off and tied it up, placed it in an envelope and sent it off to mainland Japan as the hair of the departed. I put my name on the envelope when I sent it off. I don't think that they could actually be sent to the mainland at that time.
Anyway, I was heading for Shimajiri at the time, and it was very scary. People were shot by bullets and dying in positions I cannot even begin to explain, scattered everywhere, as I traveled to Shimajiri. Headless people were lying here and there, some people were missing arms, other people had their internal organs exposed, people had been shot by bullets, also people had torn off muscles, people were dying in a variety of ways and corpses were scattered everywhere I walked.
I think it would have been the 21st or the 22nd; when daybreak came, tanks arrived. Then we were told "come out, come out," but we were at the deep end of a natural foxhole and were scared to get out, so we remained inside the foxhole. Then they started using a flamethrower on us. Gnaw... Gnaw... they came. Gnaw... it was a very eerie sound. The flame of the flamethrower swirled as it came in. It came into the foxhole, swirling. That natural foxhole was a very big place, but the flame gradually came in, swirling. I kept on running further in and it eventually became so narrow that one person can somehow fit through, although it was about twice as high as a person in height I crawled further and it was packed with people. People in the front were burnt and dying. Sparks were coming further into the natural foxhole. Smoke also came rushing in and it was choking us. It was then the people started to kill themselves. We did not have any hand grenades at the time. Only one person had a hand grenade; that person pulled the pin and hugged that hand grenade and died. Suicide was taking place everywhere by then. Shrapnel was hitting us from the back, hitting us like ping, ping. Kiyo and I were cut by larger shrapnel and I was cut here (pointing to the neck). I still have a scar. Anyway, I bled, lost consciousness and collapsed. I have no idea how much time had elapsed. A friend came over and said,
"Sumichan (nickname for Sumiko), are you alive?" "Respond to me if you are alive!"
So I said, "I can hear something, what is it?"
She was shouting in a loud voice, "Sumichan, you are alive?" "Respond to me if you are alive!" So I thought,
"Well, well, it looks like I am alive." So I replied
"I'm alive."
Then she asked "Where are you?"
So I said "Here I am" and she came over with a lit match in her hand, with the light of the match illuminating the way. We then lit a candle and stood up. What we saw was the picture of the Avici Hell (the eighth and the most painful hell in Buddhism). Many people were dead and others were dying from a variety of injuries. I really cannot bear to remember. So many people had died. It was out of the ordinary that we survived in there. Then she said,
"Sumichan, look here, open your eyes and get up."
I said, "I am not moving, I am not going anywhere."
“That can’t be right. It took a lot of effort for me to walk here,” she said as she pulled me up. I looked around, but I could not bear to look any further. Then she said,
"You can't die in here. You can't die like this. Let's go out and drink a lot of water first, and then die. Let's get out of here."
So I asked, "How do we get out of here?" Then she said,
"Here, come with me, just come with me." So we walked together...
I hated to be a part of any war no matter when it takes place. I must ask you to never give up and lose your life. No matter what happens.
