Scene of hell witnessed by Zuisen Student Nursing Corps at Nageera Air-raid Shelter
Scene of hell witnessed by Zuisen Student Nursing Corps at Nageera Air-raid Shelter
Witness: Michiko Miyagi (27宮城巳知子)
Date of birth: July 2, 1926
At the time: 19 years old, nurse
■ High school girl suddenly turns into nurse
The situation gradually deteriorated and education was set aside, so we decided to start training. There was a hospital at a place called Akata, so we went there, trained and slept there. We had air raids practically every day when we were being trained. The air raids consisted of planes coming practically every day and dropping bombs one after another. We had to run to an air-raid shelter and hide every time it happened.
■ Work at Nageera Air-raid Shelter
Nageera air-raid shelter was the headquarters of the field hospital of the 62nd Division (Ishi Division). That shelter was previously dug by the people of Okinawa, under the supervision of the medics of the Ishi Division. It was a huge shelter that could hold 4,500 people. We installed boards to make the structure strong, so that we could accommodate as many people as possible.
A field hospital is a hospital for field battles. People at the rear belonged to the Army Hospital, and the Himeyuri Corps was stationed at the Army Hospital in Haebaru town. We (Zuisen Student Nursing Corps) were dispatched to the front line at Urasoe. Urasoe is at Kakazu Plateau, near where the American and Japanese troops engaged in severe battles. There was a hill in Kakazu, and the American and Japanese troops attacked each other with the hill in between. Battles were fought for many days and American troops also suffered many casualties at the Kakazu Battle Line. We were near the battle line called Nakama in Urasoe. We were stationed there as nurses. Many soldiers sustained injuries at the front line. Some were missing an ear, or an arm; and others were injured the back of their hand, or missing a leg. There was not one person with a complete body. Soldiers were brought in from everywhere, all bloodied from the battlefields and they were brought into our shelter by medics on a stretcher. Once they were brought into the shelter, we gave them medicine and applied temporary bandages. We could not accommodate very many people there, so they were soon transported to the headquarters shelter at Nageera, on the trucks of friendly troops.
There were many patients inside the shelter at Nageera. Many patients were brought in from Nakama in Urasoe city. Regardless of which unit they belonged to, as soon as they found out where the field hospital was, they all brought the wounded there.
■ Scene of Hell at Nageera Air-raid Shelter
The inside of the Nageera shelter was filled with a bloody stench. It was not just the smell of blood, but patients urinated, and the ground was wet and messy with urine. Then an epidemic of fever spread. It was during the rainy season in April and May, so it was hot and humid inside the shelter. When people caught the fever, their life became a nightmare.
We were not able to replace the bandages of all the injured people. When they were not replaced, they quickly become attached to the wound and hardened. If a wound was not treated for a number of days, it became infected with maggots. I saw maggots infecting human bodies only during that war.
Soldiers could not stand it. Some soldiers would ask "Nurse, remove the maggots for me" while others would say "Nurse, give me some water to drink" or "Nurse, I am starving. Give me something." There were also soldiers who were living a nightmare and saying incomprehensible things. That place was a living hell for humans.
■ Soldiers from Okinawa were discriminated against
Hordes of wounded soldiers were brought in from the front lines. Discrimination against the people of Okinawa was rampant. The reason I say that is because the people who brought the wounded in would make a proper report. They would say, “Lieutenant such and such sir, we brought in Lieutenant such and such from such and such unit.” They would report like that to the army surgeon. The army surgeon would say that he understood. If someone from the home guard of Okinawa was brought in, he would say "Just dump him there!" I am talking about new recruits from Okinawa. When they reported that the injured was from such and such unit, the surgeon would say "Just dump him there!" Just like that. They were not even allowed inside the shelter. They were dumped under a tree, but it was cooler than inside the foxhole, so in that regard it was better. They were just dumped there as they came in, some still on stretchers.
■ Gruesome surgery
If a soldier was wounded in a leg and infected with tetanus, they would cut his leg off without anesthetic. They placed patients on a panel and tied down their four limbs. If the wound was in a foot, they used a medical saw and started chopping it off below the knee. They just cut them, just like that. Soldiers would cry out, "Let me die! Let me die!" They would say that they have had enough and they wanted to die and they pleaded with all they had, but the army surgeon would simply keep on working with his saw, sawing, sawing, sweating. I am not sure if those soldiers ever survived.
■ Audacious request of a Japanese soldier
When we went to Taketomi town, the situation of the war was deteriorating. We moved to Taketomi, Komesu and Ihara. We were told that we did not have to move the wounded from Taketomi, so we moved on our own. Once we arrived at Komesu and Ihara, we did not have to look after patients, but instead we were assigned the task of procuring food. They gathered the nurses and said, "The soldiers of Japan came over here to protect your island, so you go out there and find some food."
So we went out to collect some food. Brutal air raids were going on at the time, so it made the situation extremely difficult. What they were telling us was basically the same as telling us to get out there and die. Even though they were men, they would just sit in the shelter and say "Alright girl students gather around here. We came to protect your island. You go out and find some food!" We would respond "Yes, sir" and go out in the direction of where it was raining bullets. We were prepared to die. So we went out like that and so most of my classmates died there.
Witness: Michiko Miyagi (27宮城巳知子)
Date of birth: July 2, 1926
At the time: 19 years old, nurse
■ High school girl suddenly turns into nurse
The situation gradually deteriorated and education was set aside, so we decided to start training. There was a hospital at a place called Akata, so we went there, trained and slept there. We had air raids practically every day when we were being trained. The air raids consisted of planes coming practically every day and dropping bombs one after another. We had to run to an air-raid shelter and hide every time it happened.
■ Work at Nageera Air-raid Shelter
Nageera air-raid shelter was the headquarters of the field hospital of the 62nd Division (Ishi Division). That shelter was previously dug by the people of Okinawa, under the supervision of the medics of the Ishi Division. It was a huge shelter that could hold 4,500 people. We installed boards to make the structure strong, so that we could accommodate as many people as possible.
A field hospital is a hospital for field battles. People at the rear belonged to the Army Hospital, and the Himeyuri Corps was stationed at the Army Hospital in Haebaru town. We (Zuisen Student Nursing Corps) were dispatched to the front line at Urasoe. Urasoe is at Kakazu Plateau, near where the American and Japanese troops engaged in severe battles. There was a hill in Kakazu, and the American and Japanese troops attacked each other with the hill in between. Battles were fought for many days and American troops also suffered many casualties at the Kakazu Battle Line. We were near the battle line called Nakama in Urasoe. We were stationed there as nurses. Many soldiers sustained injuries at the front line. Some were missing an ear, or an arm; and others were injured the back of their hand, or missing a leg. There was not one person with a complete body. Soldiers were brought in from everywhere, all bloodied from the battlefields and they were brought into our shelter by medics on a stretcher. Once they were brought into the shelter, we gave them medicine and applied temporary bandages. We could not accommodate very many people there, so they were soon transported to the headquarters shelter at Nageera, on the trucks of friendly troops.
There were many patients inside the shelter at Nageera. Many patients were brought in from Nakama in Urasoe city. Regardless of which unit they belonged to, as soon as they found out where the field hospital was, they all brought the wounded there.
■ Scene of Hell at Nageera Air-raid Shelter
The inside of the Nageera shelter was filled with a bloody stench. It was not just the smell of blood, but patients urinated, and the ground was wet and messy with urine. Then an epidemic of fever spread. It was during the rainy season in April and May, so it was hot and humid inside the shelter. When people caught the fever, their life became a nightmare.
We were not able to replace the bandages of all the injured people. When they were not replaced, they quickly become attached to the wound and hardened. If a wound was not treated for a number of days, it became infected with maggots. I saw maggots infecting human bodies only during that war.
Soldiers could not stand it. Some soldiers would ask "Nurse, remove the maggots for me" while others would say "Nurse, give me some water to drink" or "Nurse, I am starving. Give me something." There were also soldiers who were living a nightmare and saying incomprehensible things. That place was a living hell for humans.
■ Soldiers from Okinawa were discriminated against
Hordes of wounded soldiers were brought in from the front lines. Discrimination against the people of Okinawa was rampant. The reason I say that is because the people who brought the wounded in would make a proper report. They would say, “Lieutenant such and such sir, we brought in Lieutenant such and such from such and such unit.” They would report like that to the army surgeon. The army surgeon would say that he understood. If someone from the home guard of Okinawa was brought in, he would say "Just dump him there!" I am talking about new recruits from Okinawa. When they reported that the injured was from such and such unit, the surgeon would say "Just dump him there!" Just like that. They were not even allowed inside the shelter. They were dumped under a tree, but it was cooler than inside the foxhole, so in that regard it was better. They were just dumped there as they came in, some still on stretchers.
■ Gruesome surgery
If a soldier was wounded in a leg and infected with tetanus, they would cut his leg off without anesthetic. They placed patients on a panel and tied down their four limbs. If the wound was in a foot, they used a medical saw and started chopping it off below the knee. They just cut them, just like that. Soldiers would cry out, "Let me die! Let me die!" They would say that they have had enough and they wanted to die and they pleaded with all they had, but the army surgeon would simply keep on working with his saw, sawing, sawing, sweating. I am not sure if those soldiers ever survived.
■ Audacious request of a Japanese soldier
When we went to Taketomi town, the situation of the war was deteriorating. We moved to Taketomi, Komesu and Ihara. We were told that we did not have to move the wounded from Taketomi, so we moved on our own. Once we arrived at Komesu and Ihara, we did not have to look after patients, but instead we were assigned the task of procuring food. They gathered the nurses and said, "The soldiers of Japan came over here to protect your island, so you go out there and find some food."
So we went out to collect some food. Brutal air raids were going on at the time, so it made the situation extremely difficult. What they were telling us was basically the same as telling us to get out there and die. Even though they were men, they would just sit in the shelter and say "Alright girl students gather around here. We came to protect your island. You go out and find some food!" We would respond "Yes, sir" and go out in the direction of where it was raining bullets. We were prepared to die. So we went out like that and so most of my classmates died there.
