A+Japanese+soldier+in+the+Kwangtung+Army+Block+A

Name: Akainu Hachiro (赤犬八郎) Age: 22 Gender: Male Occupation: Lieutenant of the Japanese army (Platoon leader). Appearance: Handsome, curly hair. No glasses. One finger missing. Quite tall for a Japanese person. Dark skinned. Muscular. Location: Currently in Manchuria, ready to engage. Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: Moral. Leader-type. Necrophobic. Patient. Family: A wife back in Tokyo. Not family, but friends also existed. Highschool underclassman - Alex

Education: Tokyo Imperial University / English Major Languages you speak: Japanese, Englsih Your main concerns at this time and in life: I am concerned that the war is continuing. I am worried about the life of my wife back home. Portrait (an image that you and we can live with):

Due: by the end of the class in which this is assigned

August 1st, 1937.

The war is just going on and on. In my perspective, the war is causing nothing but pain and suffering. I have not had an opportunity to see my hometown nor my wife since I left Japan around June. China is totally different from what I thought it would be. If I were aware of what would happen to me, I would have decided not to go. I just wanted to serve my country. I majored in English in University, and I had no connection to the military whatsoever. It was the government that appointed me a lieutenant just because I graduated from college. I thought I was joining the “holy quest for glory”. The country transferred me to Manchuria, and then the war broke out. Since then, the only news I could get about my hometown was a single letter from my wife. She wrote that she is alive and well. She also said that Ginichi, my high school puisne, wants to know about me and his father, Uchiha Itachi. I had a chance to see him on the day of the outbreak of the invasion. I’m not sure if he recognized me or not. He is such a mysterious man. Nonetheless, I did not have many opportunities to tell all these things to my wife. Since the situation has been so hard, I could not spare much to write a letter back home. “War is hell.” My father used to tell me that all the time when he was alive. Now I truly understand what he was trying to tell me. The atmosphere was tense on the day I arrived in Manchuria. Even though there was no situation going on, the men were all nervous. I tried to act normal, but I could not. I was well aware of what was about to happen, and I was worried if I could ever see my wife and friends’ faces again. Things did not get better. Starting from July 7th, all the news I could get was about sporadic engagements between us and the Chinese. On July 28th, it finally happened to me and my men. The order was clear. My platoon was on the front line. We opened fire. It was nothing but chaos and hell. Men about my age or younger were crying out in pain, or even slowly dying. A private from my unit was sitting down and crying. I had no choice but to order him to move forward. He tried to follow my order and stood up. He got shot instantly. I did not know what to do. I burst into tears, but I was still moving forward. I had to be a role model as a platoon leader. Later that day when the unit had a short break, I prayed to God. I swore to God that if I survive this ordeal, I will move to Hakata where my mom lives. I promised that I will spend the rest of my life in peace with my family.

December 2nd, 1941.

This is a good time to write in my journal. I am finally taking a break after 4 years of endless battles. Since late November, I have been trying hard to find my unit. On the 26th of November, I passed out during the battle. When I woke up, all I could see was trees. My assumption was that my people dumped me in the forest, thinking that I was killed in action. It was getting cold. I had to stand up and start walking, just to avoid freezing to death. After walking about a mile or so, a small town appeared. There I met some nice Chinese folks. Even though I could not say a single word in Chinese, they greeted me with hospitality. They provided me with food, warm clothes, and even a rifle. I could not be more grateful. I spent the night in the town and continued my journey the next morning. After walking miles after miles, I finally met a Japanese unit. I asked for the directions to my division’s post, and it turned out that I had to walk toward the completely opposite direction. I had no choice but to spend the night with the unit. It has been 4 years in China, and the sound of artillery could not wake me up at night. For a couple years, I had been waking up because of the sound of artillery. Now I have become totally desensitized about such things. The next morning I thanked the soldiers and continued my journey. I hoped to finally meet my men again. I had a chance to pass the town again. I burst into tears once more. There, all I could see was the ruins of a small Chinese town. The naked bodies of women implied that they were raped before getting killed. Animal stocks were killed. All of the men were killed. The head of the village chief was missing. My assumption was that soldiers took it as booty. I just stood there and paid a silent tribute to those who died. In my mind I was apologizing for what my people did to them despite the hospitality that they showed me. I continued my journey once again, leaving the ruins of the town behind. The next morning, I could finally join my division once again. I reported to my C.O. Suddenly, the C.O took me to the division commander. The general just told me that the emperor needs me for other purposes. He said that since I’m a fluent English speaker, I will be transferred to the Pacific. I was taken to a port, and I embarked a ship immediately. I did not know the ship’s specific destination, or what I will be assigned to do. However, I clearly know one thing now. There will be actions in the Pacific soon. I sent a letter back home that I will be returning home to my wife. This was my first time writing a letter after 1939, when I sent letters to my wife in Tokyo and an old friend of mine, Sam Konoichi in Hiroshima. I explained what kind of situation I was in in the letter. I was so happy to write to Japan after a long time of endurance. It was surprising that I could be so happy about such a little pleasure.

April 10th, 1942

It was my birthday today, and I had a chance to think about what I’ve been through over the past several months. For the past 4 months, my life was busy. There was certainly a lot of drama that had been going on around me. I heard the news of the raid on Pearl Harbor on a ship that was going to Japan. I instantly knew that my life will not be easy. I arrived in Japan, and my new superior officer gave assignments right away. For a week, I studied about the situation in Pacific. I did not want any more man under my command getting killed in action. The first actual assignment I had to take care of was teaching basic English to the men who were about to be transferred to Pacific. There I met many different individuals. All of them were excited about the victory our country was achieving. There was Korean person that came to the camp. It was peculiar for a Korean man to join the Imperial army. But before I was able to know him, he moved out of the camp. I spent about 2 more months teaching new soldiers English. In mid March, I got a furlough. I had a chance to meet my friends and families before I move out. I visited my university first. There I met Uchiha Sasuke once again. He was with the Korean man that was in the camp, who became a student of the Tokyo Imperial University by that time. I was excited to meet him and so was he. We talked about the glory of Japan and emperor. The Japanese Empire became one of the strongest nations in the world. We prayed to God for this glorious moment to be forever. We all had faith in our country, and we knew our men will fight bravely until Japan becomes the dominant empire in the Pacific region. However, at the same time, I was slightly concerned. As a person who studied English and the culture of the west, I knew the power of the western nations. Especially, I knew about the capability of the United States. Nonetheless, I did not say such things to Sasuke. We were winning the war at the moment after all. For the next couple of weeks, I spent my time with my wife for the last time before I move out to the Pacific. Even though she did not say it, she looked very sad. She was worried that I might get killed or captured by the white people. In her mind, Americans had acquired the image of barbarians due to all the propaganda of the government. I told her not to worry. Even though there is a possibility of me getting killed in action, I was and still am confident that I won’t be eaten by savages. The next morning, I finally embarked the ship, leaving my country behind.

July 10th, 1944

Incredibad. The situation right now is both incredible and bad. Therefore it is incredibad. It all began from early June. My platoon was transferred to Saipan in order to protect the island from U.S Marine corps. The men including myself spent time setting up a defense line on the island, getting the machine guns and artillery prepared. There was a lot of civillians on the island. I was really concerned about them, since I knew that there will be an invasion by the Americans. Finally on the 11th of June, the invasion began. I saw the saw the amphibian landing ship trucks coming to the beach while I was waiting in my machine gun post with my men. Bombardment from American ships shook the island. I saw marines landing on the beach. Without hesitating, I opened fire. I could not hear anything. I did not have a moment to think or take a break. I just continued shooting and reloading. Then I saw Reisens(Mitsubishi A6M Zero) and Suiseis(Yokosuka D4Y) flying to the American ships. I expected them to save us from the hell. Explosion was everywhere, and marines were coming closer and closer. However, what I saw was a calamity. The dive bombers and fighters of the glorious empire were brought down in the matter of minutes by fighters that we call “Guruman”(F6F Hellcat). The Gurumans were with P-47s, shooting down all the imperial fighters nearby. We were overwhelmed on the land, and in the air. After that, we had retreat everyday. Everyday was repetition of shooting and retreating. Japanese soldiers were constantly killed or captured by U.S marines. Even in my platoon, there were one or two missing everyday. In my mind, I could not deny the Empire’s defeat. Then something happened one night when I was leading a squad for a reconnaissance mission. I believe it was on the 27th of June. In the jungle, we found an American pilot. I gave him a little bit of food, even though my men strongly disagreed, and asked him several questions. He said his name was Mr. Klein, without telling me his first name. His plane fell to the ground. Everyone in the squad told me to kill him. I recalled the fact that no one, not even officers, really knows about the Geneva Conventions. Japanese soldiers are taught to kill every POW they capture and attack medics first. But I decided to hide him. I thought killing one pilot would not make the United States to lose the war. I kept him in a shed for couple of days, then I told him to go. Just like me, he had a family in Washington D.C. For a week or so, soldiers of the imperial army had to retreat everyday, losing men every time they do so. There was no doubt that America conquered Saipan. By the 7th of July, there was nowhere to retreat. Then as I expected, the final order came down. Every soldier had to fix his bayonet and charge. All the civilians on the island were ordered to commit suicide. I became sick of all the insane things that the soldiers do for the emperor. That night, I escaped from the island with one of the NCOs in my platoon. When I was escaping, I had a chance to look around Saipan. Dead bodies were everywhere. It was insane; it was incredibad. We took whatever supplies we could take.(there was almost nothing to take) We took a small boat to the corner of the beach where there was no marine stationed. We left the island. Now here I am, in the middle of the ocean. I honestly do not know if I can survive this and go back home alive. However, if I go back home alive, I will take my wife and friends and move to somewhere safe. Dear God, please help me.