Last Letters from Sergeant Shunji Katō
On June 11, 1945, Army Sergeant Shunji Katō took off from Bansei Air Base
as a member of the 64th Shinbu Special Attack Squadron (also known as Kokka
Squadron) and died in battle west of Okinawa at the
age of 20. He piloted a Type 99 Assault Plane (Allied code name of Sonia). After his death in a special (suicide) attack, he received a
three-rank promotion to Second Lieutenant. He was from Mie Prefecture and was a
member of the 11th Class of Koga Pilot Training School in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Kishida wrote the following last letter. The addressee is not stated, but it
appears to be a family who lived in Haramachi in Fukushima Prefecture, where
an Army air base was located during the Pacific War:
Thank you for the letter that brought back memories. In faraway Kyūshū, I
received it from Saitō. Both Inoue and I have the smell of Haramachi, so
we are very happy. We all are in very high spirits. The plane of Yokota was
in bad condition, and he is in Ōsaka, but he will probably come today.
Yesterday Uomoto in my group took off in high spirits from this place to
the south. We also will do so probably today or tomorrow.
My requested aircraft is in extremely fine condition, and I have not had
either a headache or stomachache even one time. Please rest assured. We have
had an onslaught of comfort shown to us, and I am staggered by this. It is
absolutely overwhelming that eight squadrons came in one day. When evening
came and fireflies were flying about at the edge of the river, I felt a
little homesick.
Idle talk killing time
From when I visited for the first time until my sortie, I received your
exceedingly kind love. I deeply appreciate what you did for me. Thank you
very much for your kind invitations, and I sincerely apologize that I asked
various big favors from you.
Thank you for the rice crackers. They were delicious as I ate them on the
flight. I did not eat all of them, since I am keeping just one so that I can
smell the scent of Haramachi.
If I die in battle, without returning to Ise I will visit Haramachi
first where there are many memories.
June 5
Seibu 18934 Unit Kitsuke Special Attack Squadron
Shinbu Unit Kokka Squadron
Army Sergeant Shunji Katō
Katō also wrote the following final letter to his mother:
Now I will go to the place of the decisive battle. It was unfortunate
that I was not able to see you. With the comfort given by persons on the
home front, I remember you Mother, and I hear of the current situation where
each and every citizen truly has a feeling like my own. I will go with
concern about the Empire's prospects.
When I leave you Mother and go to the skies, there will be blood of a
Yamato [1] spirit inside me.
I will live for an eternal cause.
Letters translated by Bill Gordon
September 2019
The letters come from Naemura
(1993, 189-90). The biographical information in the first paragraph comes from
Chiran Tokkō Irei Kenshō Kai (2005, 189), Naemura (1993, 189), and Osuo
(2005, 200).
Note
1. Yamato is a poetic name for Japan.
Sources Cited
Chiran Tokkō Irei Kenshō Kai (Chiran Special Attack
Memorial Society), ed. 2005. Konpaku no kiroku: Kyū rikugun tokubetsu
kōgekitai chiran kichi (Record of departed spirits: Former Army Special
Attack Corps Chiran Base). Revised edition, originally published in 2004. Chiran Town, Kagoshima
Prefecture: Chiran Tokkō Irei Kenshō Kai.
Naemura, Hichirō. 1993. Rikugun saigo no tokkō kichi: Bansei tokkōtaiin no isho to isatsu (Army's last special attack base: Last
letters and photographs of Bansei special attack corps members). Ōsaka: Tōhō
Shuppan.
Osuo, Kazuhiko. 2005. Tokubetsu kōgekitai no kiroku (rikugun hen)
(Record of special attack corps (Army)). Tōkyō: Kōjinsha.
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