Imagine being a Marine. You’re in Afghanistan. You see your buddies getting blown up by the cowardly enemy’s IED or killed after an ambush. Then, after a bitter, maniacal all-out war, their religious leader capitulates.
Now, suddenly, you are standing out in the desert, outside of Fallujah, waiting to go in as part of the “occupying force”. Your feelings and emotions are going amok – anger coupled with fear of the unknown… You will be surrounded by the enemy who also fought the exact same bitter war against you.
US 26th Marines marching into Sasebo, Japan – August 1945. Notice the Japanese standing to the left and the general absence of civilians.
Now… imagine you are a young Marine on a troop ship off the Japanese coast. It is August 30, 1945. A few weeks earlier, you became acquainted with the term atomic bomb. The Emperor of Japan just capitulated.
You are to go ashore onto the Japanese homeland. But in this case, you are not wading ashore to occupy a city. You are wading ashore to occupy an entire country.
_______________________
As we now know, the initial “invasion” of Japan by Allied forces ended up being entirely peaceful; no one was killed. Perhaps there was a small incident or two, but I have not read anything to indicate a single shot was fired. How could that be? How could hundreds of thousands of Marines, soldiers and sailors have stormed ashore – under an assault mindset – onto a homeland populated with maniacal military and millions of civilians – and not erupt in combat?
Per a report of the US Army’s 98th Infantry Division dated December 20, 1945:
“The mission assigned the Division was participation in the occupation of Japan; however, due to uncertainty as to the attitude of the people, the real intentions of the Japanese army, and the possibility of treachery or sabotage, the Division was directed to be combat loaded and prepared for any eventuality. Thus planning for the occupation of Japan was based upon an assault landing rather than an administrative movement…”
There is no single answer. The peaceful invasion was the result of hundreds of contributing influences.
One came from Father Patrick Byrne, a Catholic priest in a country dominated by Buddhism.
Father Patrick Byrne. He was elevated to Bishop prior to his death.
Father Byrne had been sent to Kyoto in 1935 to set up a mission. As he was respectful of the peoples, he was put under house arrest (confinement) when war broke out. Of course, it was very harsh. His only companions were a cat and a parrot. Food was poor and scarce, just like it was for the unfortunate civilians.
Per “Escape from Manchuria” by Paul K. Maruyama (USAF, Ret.), he emphasizes the importance of the role fulfilled by Father Byrne immediately after the Emperor broadcast his surrender. Although in very poor health, Father Byrne with the aid of a newspaper reporter and a Father Furuya, hurriedly put together a radio broadcast intended for TWO audiences: (1) one for the Japanese homeland and (2) one for the “invading” Allied forces.
As hordes of civilians were escaping to the countryside, getting from Kyoto to Tokyo in the few available trains was hard but after 15 hours, he made it being escorted by police. He then recorded his speech on or about August 20, 1945, which was re-broadcast many times via radio and shortwave…to the Japanese people and to the countless number of Allied occupying forces staging off-shore.
His radio broadcast:
“The war is over. What can I say first of all to the Japanese people whom I have loved and who love me as a brother for more than 10 years? I share their grief when the Emperor spoke to them and told them that they had fought a good fight but now he wanted them to give up the war and turn to peace. I, an American, speak to you Japanese in the name of those soldiers about to enter your land to assure you that you need to have no fear. They are not coming to the shores as invaders, with tanks, bayonets and bullets, but merely as representatives of their country, taking occupation of Japan to help you once more to reconstruct and build on the new foundation of democracy. The eyes of the world are on this occupying army. You may rest assured they come peaceably.
What can I say to you, the soldiers of my native land, regarding these people? Their feelings will naturally be mixed with emotions as you look up on the victors entering their land, where the homes have been destroyed or burned, their sons and fathers of families killed or maimed and wounded. It is only natural that you look with anger, fear, mistrust, and frustration at your arrival. Should you add to their present feelings by any any ruthless attacks upon the women and young people in this land, I am afraid of what the consequences might be. So I urge you to cooperate with me as I assure the Japanese people that you will commit no degradations, that you would have goodwill and charity in trying to realize what these people, the real victims of the war, have suffered and will not do anything to add to the pain they endure.
You are on trial before the eyes of the world. Any violence or immorality, any unjust or criminal act on your part will not only be a stain on your character but on that the nation you represent.
I believe I may assure you people of Japan that the army chaplains would do everything they can to remind our soldiers of their moral responsibility. The Military Police, too, will carefully protect your interests and will arrest anyone found violating the law. If there seems to be any violation of this protection which is your due, I have been assured by the Archbishop of Tokyo that he will appeal to the Holy Father in Rome who in turn will make known to the whole world by radio and the press any form of injustice. Freedom of the press in the United States will cooperate so that such news will not be suppressed.
I am not afraid because I know these Americans and trust them, but I can understand the fears of the Japanese people. Soldiers coming into Japan, I strongly urge you to come with kind hearts and be good friends of these people. You have fought hard and want a victory. I know you want to enjoy it and want to be proud of it, but please try to understand the distress of the Japanese and make your behavior calm and warm as representatives of a great nation. Perhaps after two or three months, they will begin to understand you better, and then I think there will come an intimate friendship between you and them.”
________________________
The Allied Forces – with the words of Father Bryne questioned in many soldiers’ minds as to intent – stormed ashore on August 30, 1945 on many beaches all around Japan. Once ashore, they were largely astonished to learn over the next few hours the truth in Father Byrne’s words.
A Marine walks past young Japanese women on a routine patrol. Thousands of vials of poison were distributed to thousands of young girls in preparation for the “invasion”. (USMC Photo)
________________________
According to “Escape from Manchuria”, Father Byrne made a recovery back in the United States after the war and was elevated to Bishop when he was sent to Korea in 1947. In 1950, he was captured by the North Koreans and once again was subjected to horrifying treatment and captivity before being put on the Korean War equivalent of the Bataan Death March.
He fell ill during the march in freezing conditions and when he could not continue, he was taken to a shack. There, on a frozen floor and without any warmth, he passed away on November 20, 1950 at a place called Ha Chang Ri, North Korea.
(Note: Edited Feb. 2, 2014. For some reason, the photo of Father Patrick Bryne had been removed.)
It’s not just Obama approving a paltry 1% pay increase for our military… It’s that a military man or woman can’t support his or her family. Paltry pay. And it keeps getting worse.
Please view the related short news broadcast and news print by clicking on the image below… Hear the extent of the horrendous impact on our military and veterans – AND THEIR FAMILIES.
And remember, they got SEQUESTERED earlier this year. More cuts in household income.
You don’t need to be accurate to get your point across.
Congress people pay themselves somewheres over $150,000 a year – certainly no ILLICIT income, of course – and don’t get shot at or maimed. They take LONG recesses (i.e., vacations), too.
And Obama sends these poor guys and gals to get shot at? At less than a $20,000 salary? (And he takes vacations to Hawai’i costing us MILLIONS each time.)
But wounded or disabled vets? THEY should get lifetime pay.
I stopped by with a cigar to visit with Jack today. I hoped there will be others visiting given the date and holiday season…
Today, I thought I’d visit with Old Man Jack for a while. I didn’t drive my supercharged and unmufflered Grabber Orange Mustang to visit him although he loved it so much. It looked like rain. But I did take a cigar with me.
I know he didn’t mind the cigar.
He said it “doesn’t smell much better than the stinkin’ islands…but anything smelled better than those stinkin’ islands”.
____________________________
He would reminisce much more frequently about the war on those islands when it involved “fun memories” and I recalled one while chatting with him today at his grave. Believe me, whether it be a “fun” memory or not, a tear or two always tags along.
Old Man Jack always described the islands in the Southwest Pacific to be “those stinkin’ islands”. He had said that while things always stunk, “everything smelled like shit”. Pardon the French but those are the words expressed by the now old man who was back then a young boy of nineteen. Hell, put it into perspective. That spoiled young singer Justin Bieber is nineteen. I’ll leave it at that.
“When I got there, I wondered why things smelled like shit,” he said with his trademark grin. The one where the left corner of his mouth rises. “Well, I was a dumb shit punk myself back then.”
_______________________________
We had been touring the mock up of the CV-6 carrier deck (USS Enterprise) at the Chino Planes of Fame Museum back in 2003. Our friendship had begun solidifying by then. I had taken him there primarily to see his beloved F4U Corsair so this was a side trip at the museum.
On the “flight deck” was a Douglass SBD-5 Dauntless dive bomber.
Jack in 2003 with the Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless behind him. You can make out his boyish grin.
One thing he immediately spit out was after seeing the plane was, “That rear seat is just a metal plate. You sat on your parachute for a cushion…” He then continued, “…and those were twin .30’s back there.”
He told me once a Navy dive bomber pilot “grabbed him by the collar” early on and told him to get into the rear seat “quick-like”. I remember asking him why because at that time, I didn’t know he was certified to fly. In typical Old Man Jack fashion, he quipped, “‘Cuz I was the only one there.” Accent on the “there”, please.
“Well, we were flying up there. Man, that parachute made for a lousy cushion,” he said. “Then a Zero got on our six…and then I saw these little flashes. I figured out real quick he was shooting at us.” Jack’s still got that grin on his face.
“The pilot yelled, Shoot, you son of a bitch! Shoot! Shoot! So I did.”
“The pilot kept yelling, Shoot! Shoot!“. Then I yelled, “I did! I did!”
He wasn’t afraid to say it. Jack said he got so scared he just laid on the triggers and didn’t let go. There was only about 15 seconds worth of rounds. He had fired off all his ammo.
“Man, I heard every god damn cuss word from that pilot,” he chuckled, still with that trademark grin.
But then he ended it by saying, “…And whoo-ee, I crapped in my pants… And that’s how I figured out why everything smelled like shit.”
A WWII period photo of rear gunner and the twin .30 caliber machine guns.
____________________________
I never asked him what happened to that Zero…or if they successfully dropped their bomb…or what happened to that Navy pilot.
But one thing is for sure. I would have liked to have seen Justin Bieber in that back seat behind those twin .30s.
I’m sure his voice would get even higher…permanently…and would have needed a diaper change.
Real men don’t wear diapers. Jack sure as hell didn’t. He just shit in his pants and wasn’t ashamed to admit it.
____________________________
I enjoyed our chat today, Jack.
And I’ll be sure to drive the Mustang next time so you can hear it.
Day after tomorrow – two years ago – Old Man Jack left us. He would be free of his nightmares of war which plagued him nightly for seventy years. While it is self-serving to reblog your own story, I am reblogging this for the sake of men like him who gave away their youth to serve in hell. People today need to KNOW and REMEMBER. I regret the huge majority of Americans today are ignorant of what people had to do so that we can enjoy – and complain – of what we have today.
Rest in peace, Jack. I will try to visit you today to say hi.
“Koji, don’t let anyone tell you different. War makes good boys do crazy things.”
That was the first time Old Man Jack shared something with me about the war in a voice of unfeigned remorse. In turn, it was one of my first journeys in his time machine in which he allowed me to ride along.
Front row seats. Free of charge.
It was in 2002 to the best of my recollection. It was just before my littlest firecracker was born.
__________________________
KA-BAR. If you are a World War II US Marine who served on “those stinkin’ islands”, there is no explanation necessary.
A KA-BAR was a Marine’s most prized personal possession. It was always at their side.
They opened their C-rations with it. Dug foxholes with it. Chopped coconut logs with it. Hammered nails with it. Indestructible.
Most importantly, for killing. Designed for slashing and stabbing. Desperate hand-to-hand combat. To the death.
CNN. When will you TRULY report facts to us citizens as a nation?
Here is your website right now. The morning of October 22, 2013. Please look at it.
Where is your factual coverage of the Obamacare fiasco? Please tell us Americans as a nation who is signing UP for Obamacare…and who is NOT… and how MANY… and tell us Americans what the deductibles are for the most basic “affordable” insurance plans. I heard it was TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. That’s just for starters. Oh. By the way… my military buddy (with a wife and baby) just got his pay docked for another $200 for an increase in health insurance premiums…and this is after his pay was CUT during the Sequester. Report on that, please.
Where is your factual coverage of the Benghazi coverup? Have you forgotten about it? While I feel terrible about the teacher that was slain and reported on your webpage above, what about the unpursued murders of FOUR other Americans? Actually, I feel there are threedistinct venues of coverup here that you fail to report on: (1) the failure to protect our four Benghazi friends who are now dead; (2) a concerted, planned release of information to blame the attack on a then recently released anti-Muslim MOVIE, and (3) the White House’s blatant refusal to inform the American public where their President was during the terrorist attack. (Whew. A bit long-winded here. Sorry. Getting upset does that to me.) Let’s remember to report on the intimidation of the officials and whistleblowers who know of the Benghazi facts under Hillary, OK?
Where is your coverage on the IRS targeting of conservative or pro-Israel groups prior to Obama’s re-election? Odd, isn’t it? Why aren’t you raising a stink about why it occurred, who ordered it, whether there was any White House involvement or coverup and whether there was an initial effort to hide who knew about the targeting and when? And to have the big IRS lady boss plead the FIFTH? My gawd. Why, CNN?
And… please don’t forget the IRS mailed $4.2 billion in child-credit checks to “undocumented immigrants” during the same period!
Where is your coverage of (you-dropped-it-off-the-radar screen) President Obama “exercising” Executive Privilege to protect Holder and the “Operation Fast and Furious” gun-running fiasco? Are you afraid of harming President Obama or his supporters? Please remember you made a BIG thing out of the unfortunate death of a kid “who could have been (his) son” – but don’t seem to care about the Federal agent who was killed by one of those Fast and Furious guns? Wow.
Lastly…
Where is your story on Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security being “out of funds”… but NEVER welfare? I feel that is important. Just how can these issues NOT receive proper coverage, CNN? They are IMMENSELY important to MANY Americans. Please report on this… objectively. But I’m sure you don’t hear me.
_______________________________
But succinctly, Obamacare has been funded. Big businesses and those with influence have been exempted from it.America’s debt ceiling has been raised again. (Please remember, welfare never runs out of money but Medicare and Social Security does.) And most of all, the actions of EVERYONE in Washington has served to decrease our faith in our elected leaders. We all suffered to some extent…but did they stop paying themselves? And consider that even if they put themselves under Obamacare, it is superficial; they will always pass laws to exempt themselves eventually. Their insurance plan is the greatest…and we pay for it with the (now increased) national debt.
That sucks.
____________________________________________
My purpose was but to express my views on the state of affairs affecting our great country… and the growing divide fueled by one-sided media. I am one of those but luckily turn to our blogs for facts or viewpoints. Are we heading into an internet-based civil war? As certainly as America has a gadzillion more issues unmentioned here, there are those whose views are surely very unlike mine…
Please express your views, too, and kindly.
But perhaps, one “growing” unifying view is… our elected officials are not well liked.
Uncle Suetaro (L) and my dad (R). Taken from the Hiroshima house with Mt. Suzugamine in background. Circa 1929
During my visit to my father’s childhood home in Hiroshima last summer, I was entrusted with hundreds of vintage family photos and mementos. I brought them back here stateside, promising my Hiroshima family I would “restore” them.
Well, after a good start, I developed a painful case “tennis elbow” from using the mouse so much during the retouching process. Sadly, it came to a screeching halt sometime in November last year.
But one very, very special item was entrusted with me – my Uncle Suetaro’s war diary.
Although born an American citizen in Seattle with the rest of his siblings, he was writing this war diary as a sergeant in the Japanese Imperial Army.
The last entry was a farewell letter to his Mother.
______________________________
The photo above had been secreted away behind another photo that was in Uncle Suetaro’s album. He meticulously kept the album up to the time of war. His oldest brother, my Uncle Yutaka, had conscientiously sent him family photos they had taken in Chicago and Los Angeles before imprisonment. Suetaro complimented the photos with his beautiful Japanese calligraphy, written in a silver, whitish ink.
The photo of Uncle Suetaro and my dad shown at the beginning was so very tiny – but there was something Uncle Suetaro loved about it to keep it. I wish I knew what it was.
Actual size
__________________________________
Uncle Suetaro was killed as a sergeant major of the Japanese Imperial Army on Leyte apparently near a town called “Villaba”. Below is an actual page from a “war diary”, an official report written and published by the US Army. Villaba is located on the western shore of Leyte but not far from Ormoc Bay, which was a killing field for Japanese ships by US aircraft.
Source: US Army 81st Infantry Division Headquarters / Report of Operations
His remains were never recovered. In the family grave are his tiny pieces of his fingernails and a lock of hair. It was custom at that time to leave parts of your earthly body with your family as returning was unlikely.
Not much to bury… but it was better than not returning at all.
In a spiritualistic way, he had never left.
____________________________________
This is his farewell letter to his Mother (my Grandmother).
It is clear it was very hurriedly written.
With the help of my cousin Kiyoshi in Hiroshima and my dad, we’ve typed up Uncle Suetaro’s farewell letter – complete with old Japanese characters and translated as best possible into English. When reading this, please remember these are the words as written as a soldier going off to fight the Americans – but he was once a young American boy born in Seattle, WA.
Cover. His name is at the bottom. 金本 末太郎ママ様 Dear Mama, 御無沙汰致しました。 I am sorry for not writing for a while. お元気ですか。 自分も相変わらず元気旺盛御奉公致しております故、何卒ご放念く ださい。 How are you? As usual, I am full of life fulfilling my duty to my country so please feel at ease. （元気で国のために力を尽くしてるので心配しないでください） 愈（いよいよ）自分も日本男子としてこの世に生を受け、初陣に臨むことを喜んでいます. More and more, as I realize I was born into this world as a Japanese male, I am overjoyed to be going into my first combat. 勿論（もちろん）生還を期してはいません（生きて帰ることは思ってはいません）。 Of course, I do not expect to come back alive.併せ（しかしながら）自分に何事があっても決して驚かないように、また決して力を 落とさないよう平素より力強く暮らしてください。 And for you, Mother, whatever happens, do not be taken by surprise and please fight back with even more energy than you normally would. 24年の長いあいだスネかじりにて非常にご心配をかけ誠にすいませんでした。 I deeply apologize for these 24 years of worry and concern I have caused you. お赦し下さい（おゆるし下さい）。 Please forgive me. 今の時局は日本が起つか亡びるかの境です。 At this time, Japan is at the boundary of either winning or perishing. どうしてもやり抜かねばいけないのです。 We must persevere. 兄さん達を救い出すことも夢見てます。 I still dream that we can free our older brothers (from forced imprisonment in America by FDR – Ed.). 自分のことは決して心配せずお体をくれぐれも気をつけて無理をしないよう長生きを してください。 Please do not worry about me but instead, please take it easy on yourself and live a long life.
(Note: Green indicates an edit inserted for clarification purposes.)
何事あっても荒槇、小林の方に相談して下さい。 If something comes up, please discuss it with the Kobayashis or Aramakis. 金本家は絶対に倒してはいけないのです。 No matter what, do not allow the Kanemoto name be extinguished. 伴の兄さんもお召の日が必ずあることと思います。 Mikizou-san will also be drafted. （荒槇幹造さんも必ず徴兵されることと思う） 歳はとっていても軍隊に入れば初年兵です。一年生です。 Although he is much older in age, he will be treated like any other draftee. As a young recruit. 絶対服従を旨とするようよく言って下さい。 Implore upon him to obey every command without question. 近所の皆さん、河野,倉本、白井、武田、永井、正覚寺、梶田、山城、山根、杉本、 辻、河野…、橋本,西本、松本繁人、小林、中本、新宅、武蔵、水入、土井、堀田、住岡、見崎、長尾、加藤、三好、内藤、島本、(Writing continues next page from here) 宮本先生、谷口先生、慶雲寺などの人によろしくよろしくお伝えください。ではこれにて失礼します。 With that, I will say farewell. 何時までも何時までもお達者のほどお祈り致しております。 I pray for all eternity for your good health and prosperity. 南無阿弥陀仏の御６文字と共に行きます。 I go blessed with the six realms of Namu Amida Butsu. サヨウナラ Sayonara 昭和19年5月3日 May 3, 1944 末太郎より ママ様へ From Suetaro To Mama-san
His farewell send-off is pictured below. Masako-san believes Suetaro wrote the letter around this time. It was at gatherings such as this when a Japanese soldier was given a “good luck” battle flag – the ones that many WWII combat veterans “removed from the battlefield” as souvenirs. There are many cases now where their sons and daughters – or grandchildren – are making efforts to return such flags to the Japanese families.
Uncle Suetaro (center) is pictured just before going off to war and his death. You will notice my grandmother is missing from the photo; that is because she suffered her first stroke knowing her last son was going to his death.
_______________________________________
Bertrand Russell wrote, “War does not determine who is right – only who is left.”
He is correct.
On a much smaller scale, though, Grandmother Kono was all who was left in that house when war’s end came. Her precious son Suetaro – who she kept from returning to America for the purpose of keeping the Kanemoto name going – was dead. She was now alone. I wonder how she felt.
A mother’s anguished solitude.
Grandma and four youngest children at the corner of King and Maynard in Seattle, circa 1926. From clockwise right-front: Suetaro, dad, Mieko, Grandmother Kono and Shizue.
Masako and Spam Musubi 