A Tomb Called Iwo Jima Read online

  Copyright © 2014 by Dan King.

  First Published July 21, 2014 by Pacific Press

  Revised November 11, 2014

  All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purposes of review, no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written authorization of the author. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge.

  To contact the author, or order signed or personalized copies visit

  www.historicalconsulting.com

  Or write to: Dan King

  P.O. Box 14872

  Irvine, Ca. 92623

  ISBN-13: 978-1500343385

  ISBN-10: 1500343382

  Edited by Linda Ryan

  Cover Design by Alexander Mukai Jr.

  Illustrations and Photo layout by Rusty Shackleford

  Promotional Video by Jocelyne Leger, narrated by Roger Wyatt

  Japanese calligraphy by Satoru Ogawa

  Back cover photos by author and Adam Surrey

  Poem on back cover by Saburō Kojima. He penned it in 1944, a year prior to his kamikaze mission to Iwo Jima. It reads, "If I become a shield for the Emperor, I will have no regrets even should I become a rotting corpse lying in a field or floating on the sea."

  Proudly printed in the United States of America

  CreateSpace

  North Charleston, SC

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Author's Comments

  Part 1: Navy Radioman Tsuruji Akikusa

  Return to Iwo Jima

  Ships on the Horizon

  The Dream of Flight

  War in China

  You're in the Navy Now

  Communications Training

  Part 2: Preparing Iwo Jima for War

  Iwo Jima and the Spy

  Ensign Minoru Tada

  The Gods of War

  Akikusa's False Start

  Corporal Abe Marries His Future Widow

  The Medic

  Hattori's Letters from Iwo Jima

  Akikusa Runs the Gauntlet

  The Bunker

  Working Underground

  Ensign Satoru Ōmagari

  More Letters from Iwo Jima

  A House Divided

  Care Packages and the Rocket Men

  Corporal Nishi and the Oscars

  The Attack on Saipan

  Bad News

  Kuribayashi's Oath of Combat

  The Last Flight Out

  Prelude to Invasion

  Part 3: Invasion

  The Americans Arrive

  The Marines are Landing

  The Kamikaze

  The Flag

  The Return of the Bettys

  Akikusa and the Tank

  Underwater Kamikaze

  Akikusa Wounded

  The Imperial Mum

  Even the Dead are Called to Fight

  Kuribayashi's Farewell Message

  The Olympian

  The Doctor's Dilemma

  The Final Days

  The Seabees

  Part 4: The Holdouts

  The Field Hospital Surrenders

  The Naval Construction Battalion Bunker

  The Nanpō Bunker

  Surprise in the Tunnel

  The Great Escape

  Scrounging for Food

  Calls to Surrender

  Captured

  100 Bullets

  Saved by a Dog

  The Anguish of Surrender

  Life in the USA

  Homeward Bound and Beyond

  Epilogue

  Maps & Illustrations

  Photos

  Appendix

  I: Casualties

  II: Records from the 147th Infantry, US Army

  III: Mopping Up

  IV: Surrender Leaflet

  V: Japanese Military Ranks

  About the Author

  End Notes

  Footnotes

  Dedication

  To Bradd Smith,

  a man who shares my passion for Pacific War history.

  To my parents Marvin and Virginia King.

  Dad became a POW during the Korean War when his B-29 bomber (307th BG) was shot down by Russian MIG-15 jet fighters on April 12, 1951.

  Mom gave me her sense of humor, curious nature, and interest in other cultures. I miss them both.

  To my wonderful daughter Cindy Tilley,

  whose high-voltage smile can light up the darkest night.

  Always remember, "ai rabyutte."

  I never met a man I didn't like.

  —Will Rogers

  Acknowledgments

  Special thanks to:

  Nobuhiro Nakamura – A Japanese naval historian who has been generous with his time, energy and support.

  MGySgt John "Oni Gunso" Edwards (USMC-ret) - For valuable advice, editing support and technical review.

  I acknowledge the following for their assistance with information and photographs:

  James Atwater

  Steve Baer

  David Coleman

  James Crawford (Col.,US Army)

  Ray Elliot

  Scott Freund (SFR Productions)

  Bonnie Haynes

  Bruce Hirt

  Sachio Kageyama

  Diane Kuebler

  Christopher Marks

  Harue Masuda

  Takashi Matsuda

  Jim McGee

  Tom McLeod

  James C. McNaughton, PhD

  Doug "Ridge Runner" Meny

  Gary Meyers

  Yoko Nagasaka-Myers

  Ron "00 Witch" Nichols

  Dale Quillen

  Sheila Quinlan

  Junko Sakashita

  Yukie Sasa

  Katsuhiko Shirakata

  Shoko Seina Shiraishi

  LtGen Lawrence Snowden

  Tom Stanton

  Mark Steinhauer

  Mark Stevens

  Kōji Takaki

  Hiroshi Ujita

  The late Jirō Yoshida

  Bill Zieman

  Legend Flyers:

  Bob Hammer, Mike Anderson, Ben Johnson, Nick Cirelli, Paul Ferrara, Jon Anderson, and Chris Stuart.

  Military Historical Tours:

  Col. Warren Wiedhahn (USMC-ret), LtCol. John Powell (US Army-ret), and Anne Swenson. (www.miltours.com)

  The following people's contributions are greatly appreciated:

  Martin T. Bennett, Spencer Chen, Phil Corless, Bob Dupre, John Eckhardt, John Edwards, Tony Evans, Cindy Good, Vicki Hawkins, Jareth Holub, Wilson Horde, William Jayne, Dustin King, Michael Kinkaid (in memory of father Charles Kinkaid), Cindy King, Dr. Crystal Koerbles, Diane Kuebler, Doug Lister, Matt Marsala, Josh Martinez, Josh Melnychuk, Doug Meny, Masashi Nagadoi, Patrick "Padi" New, Ron Nichols (in memory of Major General E. M. Nichols Jr.), David Ojerholm, Vickie Prosser, Stirling Rasmussen, Ginger Crick Reeves, Jim Richard, Terry Ricks, Sydney Rodriguez, Mark Stevens, Bradd Smith, Michael Sweeney, Steve Tilley, Randy Van Dyken, Pete Winer.

  Japanese and American combatants in alphabetical order:

  Tsuruji Akikusa - Navy radioman, Nanpō Shotō Naval Air Group

  Yoshinobu Hakuta - Captain, commander Independent 314th Infantry Battalion

  Genichi Hattori - 1st Lt, Executive Officer, Independent 10th Anti-Tank Battalion

  Genji Hattori - Army Captain, Genichi Hattori's younger brother

  Rinosuke Ichimaru - Rear Admiral, commander of 27th Naval Air Flotilla

  Shūji Ishii - Corporal, Army medic, 2nd Mixed Brigade Field Hospital

  Shoji Kageyama - Seaman 1/C, Navy radioman, Akikusa's friend

  Shōichi Kawai - Sergeant, Army Radioman, Independent Mixed 17th Infantr
y Regiment Communications Unit

  Saburō Kojima - Chief Petty Officer, Navy Kamikaze, 601st Naval Air Group

  Yasuo Kumakura - Seaman 1/C, Navy radioman, Akikusa's friend

  Tadamichi Kuribayashi - General, commander of 109th Division

  John McKenzie - Boatswain's Mate 3/c, USS Darke, USN

  Edward Mervich - Corporal, US Army 147th Regimental Combat Team

  Haruji Mita - Seaman 1/c, aircraft maintenance, 301st Naval Air Group

  Tadashi Mita - Akikusa's childhood friend

  Isamu Miyazaki - Warrant Officer, Zero pilot with the 252nd Naval Air Group

  Yasuhiko Murai - 1st Lieutenant, Independent 314th Infantry Battalion

  Masayoshi Nemoto - Ensign, navigator, plane captain of a Betty bomber, K704th Squadron

  Shinjirō Nishi - Corporal, Army maintenance, 23rd Sentai Army Air Group

  Takeichi Nishi - LtCol, 26th Tank Regimental commander, Olympic medalist "Baron Nishi"

  Satoru Ōmagari - Lieutenant (jg), Navy aircraft maintenance, Nanpō Shotō Naval Air Group

  Ivan Prall - Sgt, US Army combat correspondent, Seventh Air Force

  Saburō Sakai - Chief Petty Officer, Zero pilot, Yokosuka Naval Air Group

  Sadasue Senda - MajGen, commander of the Army's 2nd Mixed Brigade

  James Short - Lieutenant, platoon commander, 5th Tank Battalion, USMC

  Lawrence Snowden - Captain, company commander, F/2/23 USMC

  Kinpei Teraoka - Vice Admiral, commander of the Third Air Fleet

  Minoru Tada - Ensign, Navy anti-aircraft battery commander in Keibitai unit

  Kazuo Tsunoda - Chief Petty Officer, Zero pilot, 252nd Naval Air Group

  Hershel "Woody" Williams - Corporal, USMC, Flamethrower operator, 1st Battalion, 21st Regiment, Third Marine Division, Medal of Honor recipient

  Iwao Yamada - PO1/C, Navy radioman aboard a Betty bomber, K704th Squadron

  Jerry Yellin - Captain, US Army P-51 pilot, 78th Fighter Squadron, 21st Fighter Group

  Haruo Yoshino - Ensign, plane captain of Type-97 torpedo bomber, submarine patrols

  Author's Comments:

  While much has been written on the battle of Iwo Jima from the American perspective, there has been very little published in English to share what the Japanese veterans experienced. I believe this is largely due to three factors: the complex nature of the Japanese written language; the high cost of traveling to Japan to interview WWII veterans; and the general reluctance of former POWs to speak about their experiences.

  The battle of Iwo Jima continues to inspire generations of Americans, and has sent hundreds of thousands of young men and women to Marine Corps enlistment centers. While the battle of Iwo Jima was primarily a Marine Corps battle, the US Navy, US Army, Coast Guard, and Seabees all contributed to the effort and deserve recognition.

  This book is a compilation of my interviews with Japanese survivors of the battle, and the family members of those who died during the battle or since. I promised to tell their stories with no political correctness or modern day revisionism. I added historical references and context to help illustrate their extraordinary eyewitness accounts.

  I interviewed the following eight Japanese veterans and examined their photographs, flight logs and correspondence from WWII:

  1. Tsuruji Akikusa, Petty Officer 2/c, Radioman, Navy Nanpō Shotō Kōkūtai (South Seas Naval Air Group)

  2. Satoru Ōmagari, Lieutenant junior grade, Aircraft Maintenance, Navy Nanpō Shotō Kōkūtai

  3. Shinjirō Nishi, Corporal, Army Aircraft Maintenance, 23rd Sentai, (Oscar fighter squadron)

  4. Iwao Yamada, Petty Officer 1/c, Navy bomber radioman, K704th Squadron

  5. Saburō Sakai, Warrant Officer (later Ensign), Zero pilot, Yokosuka Naval Air Group

  6. Isamu Miyazaki, Warrant Officer (later Ensign), Zero pilot, 252nd Naval Air Group

  7. Hikōji Nozaki, Airman 1/c, Navy bomber crewman, K704th Squadron

  8. Haruo Yoshino, Warrant Officer (later Ensign), Type-97 Navy torpedo bomber navigator, Tateyama Naval Air Group

  I read the following veterans' published Japanese-language memoirs:

  9. Shūji Ishii, Sergeant, Army medic, 2nd Mixed Brigade Field Hospital

  10. Haruji Mita, Seaman 1/c, aircraft maintenance, 301st Naval Air Group

  11. Minoru Toda, Ensign, anti-aircraft battery commander, Navy Keibitai

  12. Shōichi Kawai, Corporal, Army Independent Mixed 17th Infantry Regiment Communications Unit

  13. Torao Miyazaki, Corporal, Army 312th Infantry Battalion

  I spoke directly with the following veterans' relatives regarding their own memories as well as reading the correspondence that they received during the war:

  14. Teruko Abe, widow of Corporal Tadashi Abe, Army Independent 20th Mortar Battalion.

  15. Rosa Chikako Ogawa, daughter of Navy Captain Tsunezō Wachi, Keibitai commander.

  16. Gentarō Hattori, nephew of Army 1st Lt Genichi Hattori, Independent 10th Anti-tank Battalion.

  17. Harue Masuda, sister of Chief Petty Officer (later Ensign) Saburō Kojima, 601st Naval Air Group.

  18. Yoshikazu Higuchi, son of PFC Mitsuru Higuchi, Army 2nd Mortar Battalion.

  During my multiple visits to Iwo Jima I was honored to meet the late General Tadamichi Kuribayashi's son, the late Tarō Kuribayashi, and the General's grandson Yoshitaka Shindō, who is an elected official in Japan. In addition, I met the son of Baron Takeichi Nishi, Yasunori Nishi, who temporarily inherited his father's title of Baron until it was abolished by US occupation forces. Yasunori Nishi recently held the position of Chairman of the Iwo Jima Association of Japan. Yasunori Nishi shared with me an emotional experience he had when he first visited the LA Memorial Coliseum where his father earned his gold medal in the equestrian jumping event in the 1932 Olympics.

  Since 2002, I have visited the island of Iwo Jima many times as a volunteer Japanese language interpreter for the Iwo Jima Association of America. Every time I set foot on the island I get goose bumps and a feeling of being watched by unseen eyes. It is with feelings of great reverence for the American and Japanese dead, and their bereaved families, that I have undertaken this eight-year project to document the Japanese side of the story.

  I have done my best to tell their stories in a chronological manner that best follows the battle. If there are any errors or omissions they are mine. I welcome questions, suggestions or general comments.

  PART 1

  Navy Radioman Tsuruji Akikusa

  Return to Iwo Jima

  The calendar read Wednesday, September 10, 2008. A small passenger jet circled the volcanic summit of a little island located in the Ogasawara Island chain. There was a special passenger on board, a bespectacled 81-year-old Japanese man who had spent ten months living on, or more accurately living inside the island. From the moment the American jet took off from US Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan, Tsuruji Akikusa's heart was flooded with painful memories. The WWII naval radioman sat silent for the duration of the three-hour flight. The island is an active Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) military installation and not a tourist attraction. However, Akikusa was no tourist; "The Japanese Navy sent me the first time, but it was the US Army that brought me back, and I am forever grateful for this opportunity to come back," he said.

  The trip began with an idea from the US Army's Public Affairs Officer in Japan, Major (later Colonel) James Crawford III, who first learned about Akikusa from Takashi Matsuda, one of the Japanese civilian employees at the base. For years, Akikusa wanted to return to Iwo Jima to make peace with the past. For personal reasons, he chose not to join any veteran associations. As a result, despite being one of the few surviving veterans of the battle, he was not permitted to participate in the annual pilgrimage.1 Major Crawford was determined to help Mr. Akikusa get back to Iwo Jima. Akikusa's dream became a reality
thanks to political juice from a patriotic member of the Japanese Diet, and the energetic support of US Army Brigadier General Francis Wiercinski.

  Akikusa, Major Crawford, Mr. Matsuda and a small contingent of US Army personnel and civilian cameraman flew on General Francis Wiercinski's jet to Iwo Jima. As the plane approached the island, the pilot banked so the passengers could get a better look. Akikusa pressed his face against the window as the plane soared over Mount Suribachi and the black sand invasion beaches.

  The jet landed on the paved runway that lies on top of the WWII-era Motoyama Airfield. The engines whined down to reveal a reverent silence that flooded the cabin. The door slowly opened to reveal a sun-drenched airfield with paved roads, buildings, hangars, a fire station, and a traffic control tower bearing the name Iwo Jima in both English and Japanese script.[1] Although Akikusa recognized the familiar odor of sulfur, gone were the smells of gunpowder and the ghastly stench of rotting corpses. A heavy sigh rushed from his lips as he stepped down onto the tarmac. The vast tunnel system he lived in during the battle was directly beneath his feet. Despite ongoing recovery efforts by the Japanese Government, thousands of soldiers and sailors are sealed in caves and tunnels across the island.

  Although once the center of activity for tens of thousands of men, the island is quiet except for JMSDF supply flights and visits by US Navy fighters from Atsugi that use the runway for landing practice. In addition to several hundred JMSDF personnel, the island is home to friendly feral cats, turkeys of unknown origin, songbirds, East African land snails, scorpions and centipedes.

  Akikusa's group traveled in a minivan to Rear-Admiral Rinosuke Ichimaru's HQ bunker. They entered the tunnel and were guided to the Admiral's living quarters, which still contained his wooden chair and a steel bed frame. The underground bunker still had smashed furniture and shelves, empty sake and beer bottles, blue enameled metal dishes marked with anchors, gas masks, canteens and various rusted detritus covered in a layer of dust.

  They then drove to the top of Mount Suribachi where Akikusa paid his respects by saying a prayer and placing an American and Japanese flag pin at the base of the Marine Corps monument. Akikusa walked to the edge of the volcano to peer down at the invasion beaches and said of the US Marines, "They were very brave men."