The Death of a Soldier (by Scupper)

　
Introduction

In World War II, the scale of the battle involving Japan grew rapidly. This situation required the deployment of more Japanese soldiers, extended to the civilian. The Law of all-out Mobilization was enforced from October 1943.
This is a story of a young man who was deployed as a student-soldier and died young at the age of 23.

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The Death of a Soldier
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 By Scupper

I have hesitated for many years, whether there will be any meaning to write about an incident that had occurred 63 years ago.

This is the story happened during my navy days. I can never forget it. A movie titled " Letter from Iwo-jima" was played recently and got high reputation. I heard, many young people were deeply moved and shed tears by seeing it. But, there were much more miserable occurrences in the war than in this movie.
I want young people to know the fact that I experienced in the wartime. With that thought, I wrote the story of the ensign M.

Story begins from the day when M was mobilized to navy before graduation, in December 1943. At that time he was still a student of the Law Department of Chuo University. At the navy flying corps in Kagoshima, he was educated basic techniques for airplane, after that he was moved to 405 flying squadron at Izumi air base, then was assigned to newly organized 763 flying squadron.
Late December 1944, he took up his new post at the Clark Central airport in Luzon Island (Philippine) safely. At that time, the U.S.Forces commanded the air and sea.

The memo was written by T (a survivor who belonged to the same corps with M), and addressed to the bereaved family of M. T, a first petty officer for maintenance, was also sent to the Clark base at the same time as M, and he confirmed the death of M. I reprint this memo here.

At that time, the war situation at Philippine, was under control of U.S. Forces, conducted by Gen. D .MacArthur. The enemy had already succeeded in rush landing on Leyte Island and started to make a total counter attack to capture the Philippines, doing their best using all the power. The odds were against Japanese troops.

Our flying corps belonged to Clark Airbase, of which once known as a crack unit, had lost most of their fighter planes at this battle. 1st aviation fleet at Philippine got devastating damage and 2nd aviation fleet which rushed from Taiwan for aid, suffered as well. The commander in Chief of 1st aviation fleet, Ohnishi extricated pilots to Taiwan and absorbed 2nd aviation fleet to 1st aviation fleet.

On 5th Jan, 1945, the commander Ohnishi ordered immediately the rest of the members of flying corps to organize the landing forces as Clark defense sea troops, and Commander in Chief himself, together with the headquarters staff moved to Taiwan.

On 9th Jan, U.S. Forces thronged into Lingayen Gulf and got started landing, then marched to Clark one after another.
Our landing forces were organized in a hurry and all the members were scraped together from the ground duty members, belonged to their flying corps. Therefore all of them had not experienced in land-fighting, besides had not been trained as soldiers. There were not enough arms required for land-fighting, moreover we extremely lacked ammunition, medicine, food, etc. We had scarcely machine guns pertained to airplane use, and other arms were very poor. We took measures against attack from tanks, airplanes and artillery by digging trenches, at the foot of Mt. Pinatsubo, 50 km apart in the west from seashore.

In the trench dug in one night, we had to wait and looked for the chance to fight back. We, 23,000 soldiers, were deployed in from the 11th to 17th garrison. Ensign M was deployed in 16th garrison of 6000 soldiers as a platoon leader of 50 squad men. His hard struggle got started from there.

At the end of Jan, the enemy marched up to Daw and our interception broke out here and there at last. At 16th garrison, where M belonged to, they were fighting hard using geographical advantages of mountain. But with poor weapon such as machine-guns and hand grenades, we could not compete against enemy's heavy artillery and tanks. We suffered a considerable damage at this battle. The other garrisons, 13th to 15th turned into annihilation state.

On 5th March, by the order of commander, 16th and 17th garrisons decided to continue fighting, but others to join 17th garrison.

In mid-March, remaining force of arms at 16th garrison, decreased to 1,300 (21% of original). The total military strength including the injured decreased to 2,750 (12% of original). This proved that 80% or more were killed, in the battle.

In mid-April, the headquarters decided to change tactic as,
1. The sick and the injured who do not require medical treatments, retreat in west direction or Eba area, and try to maintain themselves.
2.Those who are capable to fight, retreat to the west of Mt. Pinatsubo or Eba area in groups. Take field from natives and survive by depriving them of foods and go
to guerrilla war, waiting for chance.

On 17th April, at 16th garrison, among the survivor those who were capable to fight were raked up to make up a new fighting troops. The injured, the patients suffered from malnutrition, malaria, typhoid and dysentery, escaped from the front , and wandered fields and mountains.
It was destined to start off for death. The commander said "From now on everyone with whom we are out of contact or from whom we havent heard is regarded as the death of disease in the battle-field.

The platoon leader, M had commanded and fought bravely despite of his illness(malaria and dysentery) so far. He lost almost all his men at battle, and exhausted both mentally and physically, he could no longer carry out the duty. At last he was transferred to the patient party.

From 24th to 28th April, the enemy started an annihilating operations against our troops. In the direction of NNE of this mountain, there was a small valley, called [Oketani] at the source of river, Ondnel. At this valley ,the enemy attacked the navy 16th garrison, to which I belonged, in front and in the rear.
The commander immediately dispatched 2nd regiment under command, in the rear as interception.
Also let 1st regiment advance to the Namaco. It was under the north ridge line of Mt.Pinatsubo in the west of this valley.
The regiment headquarters was settled here. The main body of troops made the formation from here to the jungle on the west side cliff and to the river shore of Maronat river.
Soon the enemy attacked along Maronat river, and the serious decisive battle was developed.
The battle continued from 24th to 25th, and almost all of our soldiers were killed at the fierce battle of Mt.Namaco. It was really the terrible deadly combat..

I (T; 1st petty officer for maintenance) could live out this battlefield again miraculously. I can only think that God gave me fortune. Thanks to living out, I quite casually had a chance to encounter with ensign M since then.

In my memory, it was 15th May. I went out to the lower Maronat river, searching for food. and on the way back, I was walking in a hurry along cliff, smoking cigarettes.
As I heard a faint voice just like someone is calling me. I stopped walking and looked around . I saw a man, waving his arms, in the shade of a big stone, about 20 meters right side away. Instinctively I ran quickly to his place and found an officer crouching among river shore stones of a stream, running from banana woods. He had an extremely dirty, discolored uniform on, and wore a field service cap with 2 black stripes. No rank mark attached.

His beard had grown at random, his face looked haggard and exhausted and had earthlike color. His body, below the waist was already decayed and stank. It was too terrible to look at.

He asked me, " 16th garrison?"
I replied, "Yes!"
He asked me again, "Are you smoking? Let me have a smoke too・・・. I'm from the 16th too", he said.

When I tried to take cigarettes out of my pocket, he said,
" The butt, you are now smoking, will be OK "
After he smoked the butt and puffed,
"How nice, it is!" saying, he returned it to me.

After a while,
" It's all over with me. I can't move anymore! There is no hope for saving my life. At the fighting on this river shore, my comrades were all killed except me. I'm at a loss, for thinking how I should deal with this sword " he said.
He took a sword placed aside him, in his hand and said,
"I give you, take it with you, please!" he breathed hard word by word.
It was a really miserable scene I have ever had. Though I declined his offer, he begged again and again under his painful breath to bring it with me. It was the official sword for the officer, different from ordinary one.

To make sure his will, I asked, "Is it all right, I take it?"
"Sure!" nodding, he smiled faintly at me.
" I have only two cigarettes. Though they molded and taste no good, please smoke them. " I put two cigarettes into his pocket half forcibly.
The officer, muttering something, nodded once and looked upon me.
I took the sword given to me. I left there, saying,
"Since I'm on the way from reconnaissance, I have to return in a hurry. Please take care of yourself. I'll come again. "
The officer's face looked like faintly relieved and there I felt somewhat lonely shadows.
Though I asked his name over and over again, he never told me his name to the end.
When I got back to the headquarters of 16th garrison, I reported immediately to the platoon leader, ensign I, that I have met an officer on the river shore.
The platoon leader said,
"He is the ensign M"
I was so surprised that I couldn't utter a word. If so, it was a completely changed M's figure.

When I met him there, he seemed to have been ill. With his weakened body, how could he survive the battlefield of deadly combat ,during 3 weeks or more after escape from Mt.Namaco! And after then, how he got through the difficulty, and how he could come to that river shore! It was impossible for me to imagine with common sense.
I couldn't believe the platoon leader's words, and asked again,
"Not really! Is it M, himself?"

Headquarters had sent reconnaissance many times so far. They might have known the situation of battlefield precisely.
Staff officer lieutenant D, lieutenant junior grade S, and ensign I advised him to come back to the headquarters. But he didn't accept their offer firmly.
"I had all soldiers killed at the battlefield. Im ashamed to return the headquarters! My duty is to defend the front to the end"

He was not a professional solider, but only a student officer, mobilized from college. I was deeply impressed at his strong sense of responsibility.
The ensign M was the platoon leader who took command of his 50 men. His platoon left Clark base, then marched in jungle. There, they had a hard fight for 4 months. In this battle, all soldiers but M, were killed. He barely survived and militarily fulfilled his duty for front disposition to the last, despite his sick and wounded body.
He must have thought that; on his honor as a naval officer, he didn't want to expose his ugly body with an honorable sword aside.
All the officers should've had a pistol with them, but at that time, he hadnt. He must have disposed of it, presumably.

At the time of the battle under the north ridge line of Mt. Pinazbo, known as "The decisive battle of Mt. Namaco ", we were already in a condition that there were neither food to eat nor medicine to treat. I suppose the ensign M must've encountered enemy while he was wandering around the foot of Mt.Pinazbo or Maronat riverside with his several men. There is no one alive now, who knows the battle and how they had fought, how M had survived so far.
Perhaps, he fired all the bullets of his pistol , then took a rifle out of his dead men , he must've fought desperately, encouraging himself despite of his sick body. After that, he and his men crossed the Maronat River and hid themselves in the jungle at the west side of upper stream. During this time, his men died one after another, at last there left M only, I presume.

It is considered that in order to recover his weakened body, he ate small crabs, frogs, insects or snails living in the stream from the jungle. Every soldier used to do this. However, this action made his sick body worse, I suppose.

Violent diarrhea continued several days. He fell down among the river shore stones and couldn't walk any more. He exhausted all the energy he had, and was waiting there his death to come, I think.

When I happened to go by the place he laid down, he found my figure, and at once he shouted at the top of his voice and waved hands with all his strength. Then, he entrusted his sword to me. He could never die worrying about the handling of the sword, I suppose.

In those days, the headquarters of 16th garrison was deep in the jungle, in the NW of Mt.Pinazbo , at the upper stream of Maronat river. But the soldiers starved to death, or could not move from malnutrition, or ran away into jungle for fear caused by lost battle. They fell into a chaos. You should also call it infernal remnants of a defeated army. It was a merciless state.

I was anxious about ensign M, but I was too busy to go and see him immediately.
After several days when I went on the reconnaissance I dropped in there, but couldn't find him. At the place where he had been lying, there were piled stones worked by some one else. The area all over there was river shore, so there was no earth, but stones. Therefore, some one who knew M, perhaps lieutenant D must have covered his body with stones, instead of making his grave. Lieutenant D died some years ago. So I cannot confirm the fact.

As I wrote before, it was on 5th May 1945 when I had a fateful encounter; I gathered from the circumstances, he passed away presumably on 11th or 12th.

Far from his home land, at the hinterland in the midland of Luzon , the west foot of Mt.Pinazbo, at the west shore of upper stream of Maronat river, at this wild stone river shore, M passed away for his homeland, at 23 years old. Prostrating myself and joining my palms together I cried bitterly before the piled stones. I recalled ensign M used to chat frankly with petty officers on his vigorous days.

I have a feeling that the official report of the death in war of ensign M had been 25th May 1945, the death of disease in the battlefield.

Please do not scorn me as having left a dying officer in the lurch. Every body lived desperately. Every day we thought Today it happens to other people, but tomorrow it will happen to me. When will I die? We never thought to return home alive. At those days we have no choice, but to be killed, to starve to death, or to kill ourselves.

At first, Clark defense sea troops had 23,000 members, but survived only 450(under 2%) in the end. Fortunately, ensign Ms death situation became clear even a little. Still he is happier than the others. Almost all the death in war are not known, when, where, how he died. Theres only a sheet of [official report of the death in war]. We sympathize with the bereaved family. Probably they must feel deep sorrow beyond description.

(To be continued - in translation)