Last Letter of Second Lieutenant Hiroharu Ueshima to His Parents and Older Brother
On May 25, 1945, Second Lieutenant Hiroharu [1] Ueshima
took off from Bansei Air Base and died in a special (suicide) attack
west of Okinawa at the age of 22. He was a member of the 433rd Shinbu Special Attack Squadron. He piloted a
Type 2 Advanced Trainer in his special attack mission. After his death in a special
attack, he received a two-rank promotion to Captain.
He was from Ōsaka
Prefecture and was a student in the Law Department at Chūō University in Tōkyō
Prefecture. In December 1943 as part of the student mobilization, he entered the
Army's 128th Butai (Unit), an aviation communications training unit. In February
1944, he joined the 2nd Class of the Army's Special Cadet Pilots (Tokubetsu Sōjū
Minarai Shikan or shortened to Tokusō) at Kumagaya Army Flying School Sagami
Kyōikutai (Flying Training Wing). In July 1944, he transferred to Butai 16615 at Hakujōshi Airfield in Manchuria. In December 1944, he transferred to Butai 15354
of the 4th Rensei Hikōtai in Manchuria. In February 1945, he was appointed as
Second Lieutenant.
He wrote the following final letter to his parents and his older brother who
died in battle in central China on June 22, 1940. His letter includes a poem
near the end.
Dear Father, Mother, and Older Brother (deceased),
Receiving life as a Japanese man, now henceforth there is no greater joy.
There is no bigger moment as a man than diving into an enemy ship with a
plane that I received. I am truly so very, very happy.
Whether men or women and even elderly and children, it is the time to
fight a bloody battle as Special Attack Corps members. I alone will take on
one or two thousand people. Please be watching. My departed Older Brother,
it can be said that I will be a cheerful fellow. Soon I will meet you again
at Yasukuni Shrine [2].
Father and Mother, I wanted to meet you once more but could not. I am
looking at your photo. Also, I will carry out a certain sinking holding your
photo to my heart.
For 23 years [3] I have received great
kindness from you. Excuse me for being only self-centered in many ways.
However, please forgive me as I certainly will sink an enemy ship at once.
Please arrange my affairs after my death.
Putting on a long sword to sink a barbarian ship
The time now has come to wield it
Please take care of Toshimi and Yoshimasa. I pray for your health.
May 19
Hiroharu
He also wrote the following death poem in tanka form (31-syllable poem with structure
of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables) for his mother:
Following teachings of my mother
I go to skies of Okinawa
Hiroharu
Letter and poems translated by Bill Gordon
March 2018
The letter, poems, and biographical information on this page come from Naemura
(1993, 169-70, 474).
Notes
1. The pronunciation of his given name could be Hiroji, but Hiroharu is
the most common reading for the two kanji characters in his given name. The
correct reading for his given name could not be confirmed.
2. Yasukuni Shrine in Tōkyō is the place of
enshrinement for spirits of Japan's war dead.
3. The traditional Japanese method of counting
age, as in much of East Asia, regards a child as age one at birth and adds an
additional year on each New Year's day thereafter. This most likely explains why
the letter indicates his age as 23 whereas the background information in Naemura
(1993, 169) gives his age as 22 at time of death.
Source Cited
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.
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