"The beaches were calm, and there were palm trees." "I remember looking down at the palm trees and wondering... if I was about to die in this peaceful place." "I never thought about dying or anything like that." "I was only focused on my target." "The Imperial Army and Navy, before daybreak on December 8th went into battle against the U.S. And British forces in the West Pacific." "The precision of the attack was perfect in every way." "As long as the U.S. Navy had a large presence in the South Pacific" "Japan's military was not able to succeed." "That's why the decision was made to attack America." "To avoid the constant attacks, we hid in underground tunnels." "The caves were dug about thirty meters deep, so it was very hot." "It was around 104 degrees Fahrenheit." "We had to lick each other's sweat." "When there was no more sweat, there was urine." "But then we began to urinate blood." "We had nothing else, so we came up with the Nikaku attack plan which was to put explosives underneath the tanks and destroy them." "We were taught that the Americans and the British were animals." "We were afraid of the big American soldiers." "We thought that we would be subjected to horrific deaths in the hands of the evil Americans and British." "We thought that men would have their ears and noses cut off." "Women would be raped." "We thought that we would be run over by tanks." "Therefore, we would rather be killed by our own families." "We didn't know where our father was." "My older brother and I had to assume the role of killing our family." "The first family member we had to kill was our mother." "At first we tried to strangle her with rope." "But finally, we had to use a more dependable method." "We bashed our mother's head with a rock." "I made sure that our mother was dead." "Then we had to kill our younger brother and sister." "Afterward, it was time for me and my brother to die." "We realized that the Americans were near, so we hid." "When we came out, we were found by the Americans." "I felt honored to fight against the Americans... such a great military force." "The Americans were better equipped." "But the Japanese were courageous and strong." "At that time, Japan was fighting against the A, B, C, D's." "A for Americans, B for British, C for Chinese, and D for Dutch." "We could not win man for man." "One of our Kamikaze pilots had to crash into a ship full of a thousand men to equalize the war." "A Kamikaze suicide squad was a special attack corps." "Soldiers who were prepared to die would throw themselves with bombs at the enemy ships and planes." "The pilots were trained to fly planes and hit their target but they never learned how to land." "The training was short." "Kamikaze pilots are unique to Japan's spiritual beliefs in "Kami" or God... where they believed their Emperor was God." "It was an extreme concept." "To give your life for this God was the most noble thing to do." "Attacking at night was a traditional Japanese tactic." "We stayed at our posts during the day." "In the evenings, we attacked." "When we shouted "Kesshi" and if they didn't reply "Kanto"" "whoever threw the grenade first would live." "It was our duty to fight the enemy." "It was war." "If we didn't kill them, they would have killed us." "There was no time to regret our actions." "Every morning... the Americans tried to entice us with chocolates and water to come out." "We thought it was honorable to not leave our underground positions while the Americans thought the opposite." "There was no food to eat or water to drink." "So we all decided that, since we hadn't seen the sun in three months we would go outside and get killed." "And when we went out we were captured by the Americans." "I was so weak." "I couldn't even hold up my arms to surrender." "Then I realized there were others captured before me." "When I looked around, there were quite a few other men I knew." "I thought we would all be machine-gunned to death together." "I was glad I was not alone." "That's how I was captured." "We were out of medical supplies" "so the Americans treated our injured." "Life in the prison camps was much better than I expected." "In preparation for the arrival of the U.S. Forces we made swords, spears, and sickles to fight with." "I could hear the distant hum of planes." "About 500 meters above, I saw a large red fireball as large as the sun." "And from this fireball, multi-colored sparkles flashed everywhere." "And these sparkles came down like rainfall." "This light pierced my face and I immediately felt pain and heat." "I touched my face with my left hand and slid it down my face." "The skin on my face peeled off and was hanging down to here." "For as far as I could see, houses and other buildings were destroyed." "The town was in ruins." "The atomic bomb surely made the war end quicker." "But I think the Japanese would have surrendered without it." "The Americans I'm sure felt that... casualties are a result of a long fought battle, like in Vietnam." "But I wish the Americans had come up with something different instead of the atomic bomb." "The pilots of the Enola Gay should go to Hiroshima and Nagasaki to apologize for what they did and never speak of the positive effects of the atomic bomb." "When the war ended" "I was disappointed that I hadn't died for my country." "I thought I would have to live my life in dishonor." "This was my fear." "I was more afraid of living in dishonor than dying at war." "I was able to overcome my feelings of hatred." "I suffered immensely from radiation poisoning and was hospitalized many times, with many surgeries." "A few times a year I get the urge to commit suicide." "I must resist this urge and continue to live." "I must continue to fight for my cause which is to abolish nuclear weapons." "This gives me a reason to live." "In olden days, there were no surprise attacks." "You woke up the enemy before dueling." "That was the way of the Samurai Warrior." "Japan's sneak attack against the U.S. Was not a fair fight." "If war had been declared" "I wouldn't mind having risked my life in battle." "But since it was a sneak attack, I feel guilty about what I did." "I've carried this guilt for fifty years." "Mr. Fiske was a good man." "He was a signal man and a bugler." "It is my way of expressing my apologies to the people who lost their lives as a result of our sneak attack." "That is why I bow my head and pray, and dedicate a rose." "I met a retired U.S. Veteran and he told me he was sorry." "It brought tears to my eyes." "I told him it wasn't his fault or mine." "We were enemies at war time, but friends now." "When I'm asked about the war... it's so intolerable to think about it even now."