Descent into Hell: Civilian Memories of the Battle of Okinawa

In 1983, concerned about the need to record and explain the experiences of Okinawans caught up in Battle of Okinawa, the Ryukyu Shimpo carried out several hundred interviews with survivors. With explanatory comment added, this was published first in serial form, then later as a book. More often than not, talking in detail about their experiences and visiting the caves and shelters where they spent weeks on end as the U.S. bombardment destroyed everything above ground was a cathartic experience for those who came forward to tell their stories.

Ten of thousands of Okinawans were killed in the bombardment by U.S. forces, ten of thousands more recruits died in Home Guard units, thousands of starvation and disease in places away from the fighting. Hundreds of evacuees lost their lives in ships sunk by U.S. submarines or aircraft. People took their own lives or the lives of loved ones to avoid what they had been told by the Japanese Army would be a far worse fate at the hands of American captors. Descent into Hell is the story of this apocalyptic struggle as told by those Okinawans who survived.