Japanese Army Lieutenant's Non-Surrender
Dennis Moran recalls:
"The individual I refer to is someone I met in the village of Henoko, Okinawa, in 1963. He was tending a small store in an area of the village not frequented by Americans. I attempted to communicate my wants in my best broken Japanese, while he patiently listened. Then, he responded to me in perfect English. I asked where he had learned that English, and he said he had gone to college in the U.S. in the late 1930's.

   I asked what he was doing running a small store in Henoko when his language skills were surely of corporate value and, obviously, he was college-educated. He said he preferred a nondescript and low-key life. He peaked my curiosity, and he told me what had happened. He said he was drafted into the Japanese Infantry and commissioned a Lieutenant in WW2.

    He ended up on Okinawa, and near the end of the battle he surrendered what was left of his unit, recognizing the battle as totally lost. He said he then put on civilian clothes and simply mixed himself into the population. He said his family probably thought he was dead and that he and they were probably better off for it. He said he knew others who had done the same thing. He struck me as being very Westernized in some of his thinking. I didn't ask for any real particulars, as the war had been over for 18 years and I believed he was entitled to the life he had made. I don't think he was kidding.

   His English articulation was better than mine, and he was completely out of place. The U.S. military had long since lost interest in any Japanese military remnants on Okinawa who had become a part of the population, and they were no doubt aware of a substantial number who had assimilated. It was just a sleeping dog that was just as well to left lie.

    These guys are all in their 80's now - those that are still alive - but they may still want to protect the feelings and cultural values of siblings, and perhaps even of descendants. So at the time, and still, I reported nothing to the Japanese liason searching for the (for the most part, remains of) Japanese MIA's.

   While we gathered up my personal belongings, Chief said: “I pity the Marine who gets to ride on our stretcher.  He’ll have to lie right on Jap sabers or Mauser pistols or Arisaka rifles.”  He turned to Murph.  “You ‘member that guy who had to ride in on the Nambu machine gun?”

   According to Chief, he and Murph always loaded their stretcher with battle souvenirs and then carried their wounded in on top on them.  Officers who used to commend Murph and Chief for struggling in with wounded under heavy fire, little realized that under the wounded were enough battle souvenirs to keep the store open for months.  Just as they didn’t worry about insults, they didn’t worry much about danger.  They would go anywhere and endure any kind of fire if the pickings were good, and since they were fairly strong and had good endurance they brought in a lot of wounded Marines along with their hero gear.

Excerpt from “Marine at War” pg 173-174 – Russell Davis 1961

Corporal Rudolf thinks this is from B.C. Street

but it was a place to cool your heels

and have a "Amusing Time" in

Shanghai for the China Marines.

Battle of Okinawa Historical Society - Camp Kinser Okinawa Japan

Veterans,

    Would you like to

donate a battle relic to the Museum?  Return a cultural item to the people of Okinawa? 

Contact:

Mr. Chris Majewski 

Director of the Non-Profit Battle of Okinawa Historical Society and former Marine for information.

iceberg0445@aol.com