F07, Remi (Lemi) Sekine ‘97, Grandfather, 1925, Shizuoka, Ibaraki, Gifu
In December 1995, I asked my grandfather about his experiences during World War II. He was born in 1925, so he is 70 years old now.
When my grandfather was 19 years old, he enlisted in the Japanese Army. It was on April 20, 1944 (Shōwa 19). He was assigned to the Mikatagahara military base in Shizuoka prefecture. He was trained as a bomber pilot. He was one of five airmen in his plane, including the pilot, co-pilot, and three bombing specialists.
Then he was sent to Hokota military base in Ibaraki prefecture, near Lake Kasumigaura. He practiced bombing near the lake. Although he pressed the button to release the bomb, there were no real bombs used. Next he was assigned to Kamigahara air base in Gifu prefecture. The war ended on August 15, 1945, and he was discharged from the Army on the next day, August 16. He returned home on the 17th. Before leaving the airbase, he removed the propellers and fuel tanks so that pilots would not attack the American soldiers when they arrived.
During the war, his military bases were attacked by American P-51 planes. They came from behind the mountains, so he couldn’t see the planes until they came flying down from the mountains. There were three attack planes together, followed by three more. He was also attacked by Grumman planes. When the attack began, he ran as fast as he could. He thought that if he lay down on the ground, it would be easier for the pilots to shoot him with their machine guns, so he stood up straight. There were also bombing raids with B-19 and B-29 planes, flying at 500 to 1000 meters, and it sounded like the attack was going on far above his head. He and his men hid their planes in a nearby forest. They covered them with a tarpaulin and laid soil and grass on top of it.
My grandfather said that he wasn’t scared, because he didn’t have time to think about it. Every night, he thought that he was happy to be alive. I learned many things from this interview. I hadn’t known that he had been in such danger in World War II. I am so glad that all of my grandparents are alive.