VOSHN 222

<body><a href="../index.html">HOME</a><br><table summary="207"><tr><td class="etesti">207</td><td class="edate">August 9<sup>th</sup>, 1945.  In the afternoon</td><td class="eage">No age at the time available</td></tr><tr><td class="ei_midasi" colspan=3>An Imperial Navy crewman will never die of an injury like this.</td></tr></table><div class="largep"><p>There was a young girl near the bomb shelter.  She had serious burns with her skin coming off from her chest and stomach.  It was dangling down around her waist just like she was wearing an apron.  I never knew that human eyeballs are that big.  With her eyeballs protruding, she was at a loss, not knowing which way to go.  So, I lead her by the hand into the shelter.</p><br><p>Victim after victim came into the shelter, which was now packed with tens of thousands of them.  It was very hot inside the shelter.</p><br><p>6 or 7 crewmen from Imperial Navy brought in one of their seriously injured, who was struggling in pain. They must have been on duty, and working naked on their top in the hot weather. It seemed that he was hurt inside, but there were no apparent wounds on his stomach.  A chief petty officer, so called at the time, said, "Don't you cry!  An Imperial Navy crewman will never die of an injury like this."  As he got yelled at, the crewman stopped groaning, clenched his jaw but writhed around.  10 minutes later, however, he became quiet and we knew he was dead.  I was horrified.</p><br><p>Fires were raging in Urakami (district) where I had been until a while ago.  Flames were being belching out of the windows of the prefectural office building.  It would collapse soon, I thought.</p></div></body>