Last Letter of Warrant Officer Takeo Kunishige to His Wife
On November 13, 1944, Warrant Officer Takeo Kunishige took off from Marcot
Airfield in the Philippines in a Type 4 Heavy Bomber (Allied code name of Peggy)
and died east of Luzon in a special (suicide) attack at the age of 30 [1]. He was a member of the Fugaku [2] Squadron. After
his death in a special attack, he received a promotion to First Lieutenant. He
was from Tokuyama City (now named Shūnan City) in Yamaguchi Prefecture and was a
member of the 67th Class of Non-commissioned Flight Officer Cadets.
Kunishige wrote three last letters to his wife, but the following one written at Marcot Airfield
is the only one included in Kawachiyama's book On'ai no kizuna tachigatashi: Tokkō
taichō Nishio Tsunesaburō no shōgai (Unbreakable bonds of kindness and
affection: Life of special attack squadron leader Tsunesaburō Nishio):
Dear Yukiko,
Tomorrow morning I will carry out an attack with my body against the ugly
enemy.
1. After my death in battle, take sufficient care of yourself as the wife
of a soldier.
2. I am thinking of the future of our child who will be born. Please take
good care of yourself to live strongly and properly.
3. You should raise the child with devotion and love.
4. Our child's education should be to the greatest extent possible.
Furthermore, you should see through to the child's character and let the
child advance on the path of improvement. The child's occupation can be
anything.
5. When you become big with the child, I pray that you be careful about the
heat and cold and that you have a safe delivery of the child.
6. As you carry out your duties as a mother, I entrust you with our
child's future.
November 11, 23:50
Translated by Bill Gordon
April 2022
The letter comes from Kawachiyama (1990, 216-7). The biographical information
on this page comes from Kawachiyama (1990, 248), Osuo (2005, 189), and Tokkōtai
Senbotsusha (1990, 254).
Notes
1. Tokkōtai Senbotsusha (1990, 254) indicates
that he was born in 1914, so he could have been either 29 or 30 at the date of
his death on November 13, 1944.
Kawachiyama (1990, 248) gives his age at death as
31. It could not be determined which figure is his correct age at death.
2. Fugaku means Mount Fuji.
Sources Cited
Kawachiyama, Yuzuru. 1990. On'ai no kizuna tachigatashi: Tokkō
taichō Nishio Tsunesaburō no shōgai (Unbreakable bonds of kindness and
affection: Life of special attack squadron leader Tsunesaburō Nishio). Tōkyō:
Kōjinsha.
Osuo, Kazuhiko. 2005. Tokubetsu kōgekitai no kiroku (rikugun hen)
(Record of special attack corps (Army)). Tōkyō: Kōjinsha.
Tokkōtai Senbotsusha Irei
Heiwa Kinen Kyōkai (Tokkōtai Commemoration Peace Memorial Association). 1990.
Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (Special Attack Corps). Tōkyō: Tokkōtai Senbotsusha
Irei Heiwa Kinen Kyōkai.
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