The Battle of Minds

[Butch Acuna]

Battle of the minds
July 24 1944-Tinian island part of the Marianas
Jung, an ethnic Korean and his family were inside a cave, awaiting for the American naval and air attack to subside. Continuous shelling by US Navy ships has been on going since the middle of July making life miserable for over 15,000 Japanese civilians, about 2,000 Koreans and a few Chammoro natives for lack of food, water and sleep. The over 9,000 Japanese troops have definitely decided to fight to death and have urged the civilians to commit suicide to avoid the " barbaric atrocities " that according Japanese officers said will surely follow American victory.
On the other side a Japanese speaking American soldier, using loudspeakers has been pleading to civilians not to commit suicide and to surrender instead, promising humane treatment, food and safety to all. As the battle commenced, hundreds of Japanese and some Koreans began jumping from a cliff to a deep portion of the beaches, so that over a thousand bodies are now floating along the shores.Those who remain alive were conscripted to fetch water and other supplies, making suicide unnecessary for them since the life expectancy of the conscripts are measured in hours. Meanwhile, they were told to await final orders to begin killing members of their family, don't ask them if hell is real, they live in hell.
Jung gazed at his family, they have two sons, the eldest is three while the youngest is one year old, they had no food for the past three days. At night, Jung crawls around looking for edible leaves, insects or combat rations from dead soldiers, he crawled towards the American lines knowing that their casualties are still in scene of the battle where they were ambushed by hidden machine gun nests, mortar and artillery. After crawling and crouching for about two hours he saw a dead body about twenty meters ahead he sat below a tree trying to count the frequency of artillery fired parachute flares from American ships.
Finding the right timing he dashed towards the dead soldier and cut the straps of his backpack which is bloodied and pierced by sharpnels, not bothering with cash or the watch he silently sprinted to a covered area and opened the backpack, throwing away ammunition and other non essentials, he placed his loot in a sack and went back to the cave, he counted four packs of combat ration and instant coffee marked Nestle. In the darkness of the cave Jung and his wife whispered on how to allocate the food so as to make it last as long as possible. Then Jung took a pail, and went out again to fetch water from a spring about two hundred meters away, during the night some civilians risk their lives to fetch water at the spring and Jung is hoping that someone will be there, for some news. He was right, two ethnic Koreans are there, he motioned the two to join him behind a mound of earth, then asked.
" When will the order to commit suicide be implemented ?" " More than a thousand have jumped from the cliff, but they still need some of us alive until the last day of battle to carry supplies particularly, water then as the end approaches we must kill our family." They remained silent for several minutes not knowing what to say.
" How about surrendering to the Americans?" "Then the Japanese will kill us, they will begin killing civilians tomorrow ." They separated without coming up with a plan, its every man for himself, but Jung is different, he is a Christian, he kneeled at the ground and fervently prayed. The next day saw an intensified, shelling by American warships and bombing and strafing by warplanes this told Jung that the end is in sight, on that same day the highest ranking Japanese officer issued the order for civilians to commit suicide, parents were ordered to kill their children, since the Americans are helping a lot by firing over 160,000 shells plus thousands of bombs, rockets and bullets, the Japanese army decided to assist the civilian by mass shooting. Then Japanese soldiers began to think that non Japanese women can give them a respite from the violence so they began to rape ethnic Korean women before killing them.
Thanks to Jung's foresight, the small cave they were hiding in is so well concealed that despite the lack of food they began dreaming of being able to surrender to the Americans and surviving. Then a Japanese non commissioned officer called Yamagata, became the commader of a sizable group of soldiers, besides the command he also gained the hatred of hundreds of surviving Koreans who were thinking of surrender. " It is better to die or be captured than to be raped " they said. The following days saw the diminishing numbers of soldiers and civilians as mass suicide and killings were done. The remaining soldiers took up sniping positions at elevated areas waiting for a chance to kill Americans or civilians. The Americans are now mopping up remaining stragglers using high explosives and flame throwers. More than a thousand civilians were able to cross to American side and surrendered but numerous others are still awaiting a chance to escape. Among those are Jung and his family.
Late in the afternoon, Jung's family went out of the cave intending to go down at the beach and maybe float themselves towards the American side. But misfortune struck, they suddenly found themselves at the rifle sight of a sniper, seeing thus he motioned to the sniper that they will jump from the cliff, on the other side American snipers are watching through their rifle scopes.
Jung, his wife and the two kids stood by the cliff unable to take the jump, the sniper rained bullets around their feet. Then Yamata saw that Jung's wife is pretty, an idea was formed in his mind he approached them intending to push Jung and the children down the cliff. Instantly five successive shots rang out, hitting Yamagata at the extremities, preserving his life for interrogation. After a brief battle with holdouts, ending in a flamethrower attack on a cave from where a Japanese came running out with his whole body burning with gasoline jelly, in a minute or two he was mostly ashes. At the American camp Jung and his family were surprised to find the surrenderees healthy, clean and smiling. Yamagata was carried in a stretcher, but he can move his right arm which is not wounded, the soldiers carrying him put him down a shaded area then went on to find a medic while another took some drinking water for Yamagata.
Jung watched Yamagata closely as his family was shown by a military nurse to the dining area for some food , he noticed that Yamagata took out something from his crotch, immediately Jung reacted, he gripped Yamagata's arm and twisted it before he can pull out the pin at the same instance an American soldier shot Yamagata at his right shoulder.
Korean women who knew Yamagata came running towards him with sticks and stones one has a knife, they dragged him out of the stretcher a while hitting him with sticks and their feet, they were pacified by the soldiers. After several tension filled minutes, a woman asked permission to speak with Yamagata, she asked him.
" What harm was done to Japan if you have allowed the Koreans to surrender?"
Yamagata had no chance to answer, the Korean woman stabbed him with a knife at the throat prompting the Korean surrenderees to shout in thriump.