Battle of Okinawa Telephone Interview – Recording Mieko Maeshiro
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Battle of Okinawa Telephone Interview – Recording Mieko Maeshiro January, 2021 Takako Toma Vienneau (Age: 85) Takeko-san was born on October 25, 1935 in Oroku Village, Okinawa (currently a part of Naha City). Her father was a farmer, and she had two brothers, an elder sister and two younger sisters. Takeko-san was the 5th born. When the World War II started, she thinks that she was in first grade. During that time, soldiers occupied her school; therefore, classes were held under trees. Each Neighborhood Association built an air raid shelter for its association. The US air-raid that took place on October 10, 1944 (it is called the 10.10 Air-Raid) was most frightening. In Oroku, there was a Japanese military airport. Since Takeko-san’s house was near the airport, the house was burned down completely. At that time Takeko-san’s 45 year old father had been drafted into the defense force, and stationed in Shuri. Her 21 year old brother was stationed in Taiwan as a soldier, while her 17 year old sister had been drafted by Japanese military as a nurse’s aide. People whose homes were destroyed by the 10.10 bombing started moving to either the north or the south of Okinawa. Remainder of Takeko-san’s family (grandmother, mother, brother, and two younger sisters) decided, for the meantime, to stay in the south, and evacuated to the next village, Tomigusuku. They lived in a horse/cattle barn for several months. While there, they received the notice that her father was killed. In April of 1945, the US military landed on Okinawa. Since Tomigusuku was considered to be dangerous, they moved farther south. However, all shelters were occupied by the Japanese military, and Takeko-san’s family was denied use of the shelters. Helplessly, they had to proceed farther down the south and finally ended up at Mabuni, southernmost part of Okinawa. Facing the ocean, they saw many US warships that were anchored. There were no other places to go, and they decided to shelter in the she-oaks forest that had been planted as windbreaks along the shoreline. During day, they hid behind the she-oak forest so that they would not be the enemy’s targets. When night fell, the enemy stopped bombing. For them, night fall was the time to gather food. There were bloated, dead soldiers scattered everywhere on the beach. In darkness, they stepped on the bodies without fear. Once in a while, her mother, somehow, served rice. Takeko-san does not remember what they ate while hiding. 1 She does remember that one time, a soldier gave the family Japanese hard biscuits that Japanese soldiers carried with them. She vividly remembers that they were like crackers and that they were very delicious. After a while, her mother’s sister and her family joined them. The aunt’s husband gathered sugarcane leaves and lay them on the ground that served as the carpet at the hiding place. One day, naval gunfire hit her aunt’s head killing her instantly. Another shell entered the shoulder of her 18 year old cousin, and remained in her stomach. That caused her great pains. In spite of semi-conscious stupor, she raised one hand that she could move, and motioned as if she were dancing “Chijuya (Okinawan fold dance),” then she died. Her last dance has been burned into her memory to this day. Her uncle, who lost two members of his family, wanted to move back to his village, Oroku. He felt that if they were going to die, it would be better to die at home. They left for Oroku under heavy rain; sometimes, running into to a vacant house for shelter from the rain. At another house, they saw many bodies scattered around. Only a baby was alive moving around the body. They could not do anything about the baby, and kept walking. When they were hiding at another vacant house, the enemy started firing them. She remembers that she was shaking all over. On the way, they encountered many, many dead bodies, but she was too numb to be emotional. They continued walking. Then, they were captured by Marines and taken to a POW camp. After the war was ended, they returned to Oroku; however, their family property had been confiscated as a US base. The property continues to be in use as a US base currently. Her 17 year old sister was missing in action, and nobody knows where she was killed. After the WWII, her bother returned from Taiwan in good health. His return made the family very happy beyond description. Takeko-san quit a middle school when she was in the 8th grade and went to work at a US base to support family. Toyoko Chinen Castagna (Age:85) Toyoko-san was born on October 10, 1935 as the first daughter. Her father was a carpenter. She had two younger sisters, and a brother. The youngest sister was blind caused by her mother’s illness that she suffered from, while she was pregnant with her. Toyoko-san’s memory of the war started with the US bombing in October, 1944. The bombing, known as the 10.10 bombing, destroyed the central Naha almost completely. This day was also Toyoko-san’s 9th birthday. Children’s birthdays were not celebrated as done these days, however. When she was about to go to school, the US bombing started, and they took refuge in their air-raid shelter. Their house was not bombed, but the family shelter was not strong enough to protect from the bombing, and when the bombing stopped, they decided to take refuge in a 2 cave on the hill (Gusuku-Dake) where it was believed that gods were present. There were many tombs around the hill, and Toyoko-san climbed to the roof of a tomb to see the result of the bombing. She was devastated to discover that the city was covered in an ocean of fires. When the bombing stopped, the family returned home. Upon returning the home, neighbors and relatives got together to discuss what to do next. They agreed to escape to Yanbaru (northern part of Okinawa). A next door neighbor had a horse drawn carriage. They loaded futon-beddings, family shrines, and other belongings. On top of them sat elders and children. Then they departed on foot. Toyoko-san walked over 50 miles to Haneji, but she does not remember how many days it took. Four families, about 20 to 30 people, were placed at a community center. Villagers at Haneji were very kind and brought vegetables and other food stuff for them; therefore, they never felt hungry. Perhaps, they stayed there for about two months. While there, her father gathered a lot of information as to what to do next. As a result, he decided to take a chance by evacuating to the Kyushu area of mainland of Japan as promoted by the Okinawa Prefecture Government. They returned to Sobe, and waited for the evacuation ship. It was probably toward the end of December when they went to the port to leave for Japan. There were three ships anchored at the harbor. Her father selected the biggest of the three, loaded their luggage and put her grandmother and sister on board. As soon as he did, the ship blew a whistle. “Oh my goodness, the ship is leaving NOW!!” Instantly, her father took her grandma and sister off the ship, as they did not want to send them off to Kyushu by themselves. However, he did not have the time to unload the luggage. The ship departed with their luggage on board. They arrived in Sasebo, Nagasaki by the next ship, and immediately took a train headed for Kumamoto Prefecture. On the way, they got off at a certain station in Kumamoto, perhaps, to change the train. They went outside the station where they were met by the community people. It seemed that they came to greet them to give moral support. Toyoko-san was bare footed, and the ground was very cold. She was jumping up and down on her toes to avoid the cold ground. A young lady who was watching Toyoko-san went home and brought a pair of Geta (wooden clogs) for Toyoko-san. “Great!!!” was her thought, and put them on immediately. Whenever she thinks about her kindness, she feels embarrassed. She did not ask her name and did not even thank her. She always feels ashamed of her immaturity. They finally arrived at Kamoto County in Kumamoto. Ten families were settled in a huge temple. Her father, immediately, went back to Sasebo looking for the luggage. To their delight, he was able to locate all of the luggage. The temple rooms were covered with tatami, and they could use the kitchen and hot bath. An older girl who was living there was lovely to Toyoko- san, and she had a great time. Fortunately her father gained employment at a rice store, and they had enough rice and never went hungry. 3 Whenever frequent air-raid warnings were issued, Okinawan families hid in a cave nearby. Later, a grass thatched house was built with cooperation of the villagers under her carpenter father’s leadership. The Okinawan families moved to the new house. About ten families from a different part of Okinawa came to occupy the vacated space in the temple. The children transferred to the village school. Text books did not cause any problems as the text books in Okinawa were also in Japanese.