Chapter 21 19. What happened to the innocent mother and daughter

The train is speeding towards Tianjin on the Jinpu Line.Looking out from the window, it is the boundless North China Plain, a black and fertile land.At this time, the past events 13 years ago appeared clearly in my mind just like what happened yesterday. At that time, I was a corporal with three stars on my collar badge, and I believed in my mind that "war is the only way for Japan to survive".I lived in Shandong Province for nearly 4 years. I committed various crimes such as beating, cursing, plundering and massacring those unarmed farmers who made their living from farming, and those innocent mothers and children. I became a war madman.

It was the end of 1943, and we were stationed in the Bohai Bay area for about a month.When I left there, Lieutenant Shirai said to me: "How is it? It will be abandoned for at least 10 years! Haha... How about coming back in 10 years? Waiting for soldiers on Fushima Island!" "Yes! Your Excellency, Company Commander! You are right." I looked at his face flushed by the setting sun, and said with a smile, "Your Excellency, Company Commander, Fushima has to work harder!" In this way, whenever I met a Chinese man, no matter how old or young, he was either beaten or killed; whenever I saw a Chinese woman, regardless of whether she was a woman or a child, I would say: "If you want to survive, you must listen to me", and then wantonly insulted and bullied.If you encounter someone who resists, torture them to death first, and then kill them.

Here's what happened on December 8th. Two or three days ago, we came from the coast of Bohai Bay to camp with a few families in this bushy area.Today is December 8th, the "Dazhao Bong Dai Day".To this end, the troops held a "jihad" commemorative ceremony in the morning. Lieutenant Lieutenant Shirai said: "The supplies in this area must have been hidden!" Today, two Chinese civilians aged about 40 years old were specially arrested and burned alive as a "sacrifice" for the "holy war ceremony" ! The smell of the burning of the living is a foul stench!And the yellow smoke is very pungent.

Less than an hour later, the platoon leader, Second Lieutenant Shiro Aoki, and Warrant Officer Kazuo Tanita commanded the two platoons to go north to "sweep". Although it is "Remembrance Day", the soldiers do not rest.They marched in big leather boots, and they had been walking for more than 20 minutes, but they could still smell the stench of burning people. "It's unlucky!" I said very dissatisfied: "It's really meaningless to march in such a barren grassland without even a woman!" Mizushima also said: "That's it!" Then, he handed the light machine gun to a recruit, and took out his cigarette and smoked it in big mouthfuls.

Suddenly, came from the right, "Hey! Come here! Your Excellency, platoon leader, there is a woman!" This is my fellow soldier Ozawa Masaichi shouting over there.He was called "Koshu Mountain Monkey", was born in Yamanashi Prefecture, had a big beard, and was a private first class. In an instant, everyone's emotions immediately became excited, and they ran to the right quickly just like cats and dogs finding their prey. "Wait!" Second Lieutenant Aoki and Warrant Officer Gu Tian glanced at each other, smiled, and chased after the soldiers themselves. Passing through the bushy country, came to a field.Next to the field is a dug earth pit about one meter deep.It was the remains of a house that was burned down by the Japanese army.On the sunny side of the pit, there are 8 women.Wearing tattered clothes, they crowded there tremblingly, and around them, a group of Japanese soldiers were chattering and laughing loudly.

"Oh, I saw something good this time! It's a pity to kill them! Now show us their good place! Okay? A condolence group! Hahaha, today is December 8th, so..." "Translator Quan Teng! Bring the woman who is second from the right here!" Second Lieutenant Aoki shouted, holding his saber, and Warrant Officer Tanita who was standing beside him also nodded in agreement. "Yes!" Quan Teng, an interpreter from North Korea, ran over there immediately like a tame hound, called a woman from the pit, and escorted her over.At this time, the soldiers were swallowing and saying: "Hey! Damn it, this bastard, his hands are stretched too long!" Although the soldiers waved the wooden sticks, the women still hugged each other tightly. Together.

Suddenly, "Wow... wow..." baby cries came from among them. "Ouch, what are they going to do? What crime did the lovely baby commit?" the women protested.Startled, the soldiers raised their bayonet rifles.The women were holding three babies at this time. I kicked the soil from the top of the pit, and cursed: "These little hungry ghosts, if they grow up, they will also pick up knives to deal with us Japanese! These beasts!" "Get rid of it! Get rid of it!" The soldiers yelled.The voice of Quan Teng's translator was even more violent.A woman in her 30s was grabbed by Gondo's hair and stood up.Tears streamed down her face, falling drop by drop on the black ground.

On the other side, a group of recruits were making noise around someone who didn't know who they were.We walked over and saw that surrounded by a very beautiful girl aged 17-18. "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" shouted the veterans.The recruits had to make a way out.I went first, followed by Masaichi Ozawa.We squeezed into the crowd together.Seeing the Japanese coming again, the girl was trembling with fright, and kept calling "Mom! Mom!" The woman next to her was called "Mom" by her daughter. She was a native working woman with gray hair who worked for many years .She knelt on the ground and kept pleading to us: "Please forgive her! Please forgive her!"

"Old woman, it's really in the way!" I lifted my right foot and kicked the old woman's shoulder, and she fell down with a scream.Then, Ozawa grabbed her hair and collar again, and pulled her up from the ground. "Ah! Mom, Mom!" The girl let out another heartbreaking cry.She hugged her mother tightly and cried loudly, her eyes filled with hatred and terror. "Beasts, if you don't want to die, speak quickly!" I smashed the butt of the gun at the girl's back.Knock her to the ground.She also lost one of the embroidered shoes she was wearing. At this time, someone shouted: "Quick! Quick! Take off, take off your pants!"

Ozawa grabbed the crying girl's pants with his hands and pulled them down hard. Suddenly, the pants were torn and pulled off. "Private First Class Ozawa, good! Let her learn how to crawl like a dog!" Second Lieutenant Aoki issued such an order from behind. "Wah ha ha! Good! Climb, climb!" The soldiers around shouted, and the circle they surrounded became smaller and smaller.The unbearable shame and sorrow made the girl's snow-white skin tremble.The 120 eyes of the soldiers and the fierce cold wind pierced the girl's body like knives.The cry of the girl crying to her mother for help echoed on the ground.

"Hey! Climb! Climb! If you don't climb, I'll kill you!" Ozawa shouted, forcing the girl to crawl around on the ground. I stabbed the young girl's white and tender skin with a bayonet, causing blood to prick all of a sudden.At this time, the girl's cries were already hoarse.Then, she couldn't make a sound.And her mother's wailing sound was extremely tragic to hear. "Wahhaha..." The soldiers who had long since lost their humanity burst into obscene laughter. "Bastard!" Ozawa swung the wooden stick and hit the girl's waist. "Okay! Have a happy anniversary today. Hey! Translator Gonto, today is a bit special, these women will not be killed. They will be assigned to each unit as a condolence team! Kill all those men!" Second Lieutenant Aoki sent out such an order. "Ha! Let's eat meat tonight! Let's do it like this!" Quan Teng said, looking at the common people. The crying of the women stopped.The old woman hugged her daughter tightly.She put the pair of muddy embroidered shoes on her daughter's feet again.They stared at us with eyes full of hatred and terror.Then the black ground under their feet has already been covered with their blood and tears. There was a biting cold wind blowing by the sea, and there was dust everywhere.The bushes roared horribly in the wind. That night, the captured men and children were all burned to death by Lieutenant Shirai and Translator Gondo in the place where they were set on fire the day before yesterday.This is what I saw with my own eyes when I was on guard that night. The next day, I ran to the woman with Mizushima and other soldiers.A mother who was holding a nursing baby, about 27-28 years old, forced me with a gun, kicked and beat me. I took advantage of the war and killed many innocent women and ordinary people in China. .In China, there are really countless people who have experienced this! I am the one who has committed such a despicable and shameful crime.Who made me sin?It is a hateful war! In a peaceful environment, such things may not have happened.From now on, I will never commit such a crime again.Those painfully insulted women still exist in the world, and they also exist in Japan.I sincerely confess to them. Author bio: Born in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, he was originally an electrical repair worker and graduated from an electrical school.After joining the army, he served as corps leader and squad leader in the 110th Battalion of the 54th Brigade of the 59th Division of the Japanese Army. On August 25, 1945, she was captured at the Women's Commercial School in Hamhung City, south of Hamgyong, North Korea, at the age of 38.