Your esteemed preferred consideration

From: Commander of Okinawa Military

To: Vice Minister of Navy Minisry

Regarding the actual situation of Okinawa citizens, the prefectural governor should report it. But the prefectural office has already lost communication means and the 32nd Army Headquarters does not seem to have the excess communication capacity neither. So I will inform you of the situation in lieu of the governor although it was not requested from the prefectural governor to the Navy Headquarters. I simply can not overlook the current situation as it is.

Since the enemy began to attack the main island of Okinawa, the Navy and the Army devoted themselves to defensive warfare and could hardly look after the prefecture's people.

However, as far as I can tell, among the prefectural people, all the young and middle-aged males responded fully to the defensive convocation altogether. Old men, children and women who were left behind to fend for themselves are now forced to lead starved miserable lives exposed to natural elements. They initially hid themselves in small air shelters dug in areas originally thought to be free from military operations after they had lost all their belongings, living quarters and household items, due to repetitive naval shelling and air raids. But these shelters also have been bombarded and so they have been forced to flee.

Despite the hardship, young women have taken the initiative to devote themselves to the military: many as nurses and cooks and some even offered to carry cannonballs and even serve in the sword-waving attack units.

Local civilians expect the ominous outcome once the enemy lands:, the old men and children shall be killed, and women shall be taken away to the enemy's territory for nefarious purposes. So some parents have decided to leave their young daughters at the gates of military camps seeking military protection for them.

I should add the devotion of young female local nurses: they continue to help the seriously injured soldiers left behind after the military movement and medics are no longer available. The dedication of these nurses is very serious and I do not believe it is driven by an ephemeral feeling of sympathy.

Furthermore, I have seen people without transport means walk in the evening rain without complaints at all when a sudden and drastic change of the military strategy dictated that these civilians relocate to a far away place at short notice at night.

To sum up, despite consistent heavy burden of labor service and lack of goods all the time since the Imperial Navy and Army proceeded to establish the front line in Okinawa, (despite some bad rumors of a few parties) the local citizens devoted themselves to the loyal service as Japanese (illegible) without giving (illegible) Okinawa Islands will become scorched land where no single plant will remain unburned.

It is said that food shall be sufficient only up to the end of June.

The Okinawa citizens fought this way. I would humbly request your esteemed preferred consideration to the prefectural people in the future.