The battlefield of the Battle of Okinawa "Gogotai" can be found The secret team organized by boys June 21 19:56

During the Battle of Okinawa during the end of the Pacific War, a site of a guerrilla unit called "Gokyotai", which the former Japanese army formed secretly with local boys, was found in the US military base in Okinawa. . It is the first time that the ruins of a war on this unit have been found, and experts are requesting a joint investigation with the U.S. military in order to verify the actual situation of the disastrous battle involving the boys.

During the Battle of Okinawa 75 years ago, the former Japanese army gathered about 1,000 local teenage boys to support the regular army and bring it to the endurance war. Was organized in secrecy.

When the U.S. troops landed on the main island of Okinawa in April 1945, the Gokyo corps engaged in a guerrilla battle in the mountainous area for three months, but 160 people died due to being exposed to heavy attacks. ..

Interviews with the U.S. Army revealed that the site of the base where this Gosho corps was based was found in the U.S. military base "Camp Hansen" in Okinawa. It is said that the U.S. Army found it near the summit of Onnadake (onnadake) in the northern part of the main island of Okinawa during the investigation of the remains of war on the base this March.

At the time of the Battle of Okinawa, the Gogo Corps built a base on Mt.Onna, which consisted of a command center, a field hospital, and a machine gun pit that attacked the enemy. Has been confirmed.

This is the first time that the ruins of the Goto war have been found by a local expert investigating the Goto corps.

On the other hand, since the area of ​​Mt.Onna has been used as a training field for the US military to perform live-fire training after the war, detailed verification of the actual situation of the tragic battle involving the boys has not been possible. That is. For this reason, experts will now apply for a joint investigation with the US military.

"Gogotai" Mostly teenage boys

According to the materials prepared by the former Japanese army, the former Japanese army dispatched personnel from the training institution "Army Nakano School" of secret war personnel before the battle against Okinawa, which was supposed to be inferior, and supported the regular army We have organized a unit specialized in guerrilla warfare in the northern part of the main island of Okinawa.

At that time, it was expected that the US military would first land on the central Okinawa island to seize an airfield nearby to set up a front base to attack mainland Japan, and then attack the southern part where the regular army is based.

For this reason, it is said that a guerrilla unit was placed in the mountainous area in the north, and an operation was made to attack the landed enemy from the rear and disturb it. The organized unit was named "Gogotai" because it was made up of a local teenage boy who occupies almost 1,000 members, and "a hometown protects it".

The "Gogo Corps" consists of two units. The "1st Gogo Corps" is located on Mt. Tano in the current Nago City, and the "2nd Gogo Corps" is located on Mt. Onna. Immediately after that, the guerrilla battle was deployed for 3 months.

Also, because the boy soldiers were young in appearance, they were sent to scout the enemy and messenger with the regular army in a way to impersonate the refugees.

According to a local expert investigating the Goto corps, 160 members of the troops lost their lives in battle.

On the other hand, since it was a secret unit, it was rarely known even in Okinawa for a long time after the war, and it is often the case that the actual conditions of the unit and battle have not been clarified.

"Gogotai" and "Mt. Onna"

Mt. Onna is a mountain with an altitude of 363 meters, which is located on the border of Onna village and Kin town in Okinawa Prefecture. During the Battle of Okinawa, the "2nd Gogo Corps" set up a position. According to the testimony of the former boy soldiers, there was a command center of the troops and a machine gun pit near the mountaintop, and there was a field hospital and barracks in the middle.

However, when attacked by the U.S. Army, the troops were hunted down to the summit, and the field hospital that was moved near the summit was flooded with injured boy soldiers.

Then, the troops were attacked by thousands of people, withdrew their position in early June 1945, and Mt. Onna was overwhelmed by the US military.

When the troops withdrew, the juvenile soldiers who were injured and unable to move were killed by military doctors and hand killed, killing themselves.

After the war, the U.S. Army has used the entire area including Onnadake as a practice field for live-fire training since 1922, and when the Korean War broke out in 1945, it will also carry out exercises involving ship firing and air strikes. became.

After that, the whole area was operated as a US military base "Camp Hansen" from 1957, and it has been impossible to enter without the special permission of the military until now.

US Army shoot 170 photos

NHK has now obtained from the Army approximately 170 photos taken by the US Army at the site of a Gosho camp on Mt. Onna.

One of these is a trace of a machine gun trench used by the Goto corps during the Battle of Okinawa, partially filled with earth and sand.

According to a former boy soldier of the Gogo Corps, a machine gun trench was made by juvenile soldiers just before the Battle of Okinawa by digging a horizontal hole on the mountain slope, and sandbags were piled up near the entrance. Machine guns and ammunition are provided in the trench, and when the American troops attacked, the boy soldiers hid themselves inside and swept the machine gun and met.

In addition, you can see the stone wall on the other one, and according to the expert who is investigating the Goto corps, it seems that it is the base part of the building of the unit such as the headquarters or the storage hut of supplies depending on the characteristics.

In addition to this, you can also see tea bowls and pieces of drinking water that are believed to have been used by residents who have evacuated to the base from nearby areas.

Takahiro Seto of the Village History Section, Onna Village, who has been investigating the Gosho corps for many years, said, "It supports the testimony of former boy soldiers. There are testimonies of former boy soldiers who say that the remains are unclear, but it is necessary to go into the base and investigate further."

The beginning of "root mobilization"

In the Pacific War, the former Japanese army decided to expand the guerrilla warfare, which had been partially successful when the defeat continued and the war situation deteriorated, and formed the first specialized unit under the command of a person from the Army Nakano school. In March 1945, I was dispatched to New Guinea Island, and after that, I formed a second unit on an island in eastern Indonesia.

Then, in August 1946, the month following the fall of Saipan, a key point in the "absolute defense zone," we decided to form the 3rd and 4th troops in Okinawa. This is the "First Guardian Corps" and "Second Guardian Corps".

Until then, the group consisted mainly of adult soldiers, but the Gokyo Corps was to convene local teenage boys due to a shortage of soldiers. At that time, the age of the convening target, which was 19 years old at that time, was reduced to 17 years old by changing the military rules in November 1947, and in the next month, if you volunteer in Okinawa etc. I was able to convene.

However, according to the testimony of former boy soldiers, there were not a few cases of forced recruitment among the boys who were allegedly volunteered at the time.

After the Gokyo corps, the former Japanese army accelerated the movement of "root mobilization" that children also put into the battlefield, dispatched people from Army Nakano school nationwide and trained boys and girls in various places in guerrilla warfare etc. To prepare for the mainland decisive battle.

Then, on June 23, 1945, when it is said that the systematic battle by the former Japanese army has ended in Okinawa, the "Golden Military Service Law" was enforced, and boys aged 15 and over and girls aged 17 and over nationwide gathered. It was targeted.

Mr. Takahiro Seto, a member of the village history section, Onna village, who is investigating the Goto corps, said, ``The war of the Goto corps is not unique to Okinawa, there is a possibility that it was upgraded and it was held in the mainland decisive battle. I don't think that terrorist attacks in various parts of the world are distant in Japan, but I once recommended that I send teenage children to the battlefield in Japan and kill them. It's not a thing."

Former boy soldier "Hell called battlefield one after another"

Yoshimitsu Ryukeyama (91), who lives in Ogimi Village, Okinawa, was convened in March 1945 when he was 16 years old and was assigned to the "2nd Gogotai".

During the war against guerrillas, he was seriously injured by US grenades, and as a logistical support for his troops, he was used to transport wounded soldiers and bury the dead soldiers at a field hospital on the Mount Onna.

According to Mr. Zuikeiyama, a board was laid in place of the bed at the field hospital, and the injured soldiers who were housed were treated. And it is said that some soldiers who were injured and stuck when the American troops attacked were shot by a military doctor to avoid being leaked information by being taken prisoners. After that, when the troops withdrew from the base, the remaining wounded soldiers were killed without being handed grenade.

Mr. Mizukeiyama said, “We were fighting against the landed US forces, and we boys played the first battle. In the fear of when we would be killed, our colleagues died one after another yelling “Ammer” I went to the hell called the battlefield, and after the war I became a PTSD, and I had a hard time not being able to receive compensation as the Gokyo corps was not a regular army," he said.