The following account is by a former Japanese army officer who was in China in 1945.
On 2 March, our unit encountered the Chinese Nationalist forces at a village in Shantung. At about 3 pm my company charged their position as Suzukawa, the squad leader who was my subordinate and was from Korea, climbed onto a roof to give his commands. Just at that moment he was struck in the chest by a single bullet. He died immediately and fell from the roof. In that instant the afternoon sun shone on his fresh blood seeping into the mud wall.
When I think of his emotions at having to die fighting for another country, I am haunted by a complex sense of remorse. I wonder how his parents lived. No doubt they received no compensation for his death.
以下是一名前日本軍官的記述。他一九四五年在中國。
三月二日，我們的部隊在山東一個村莊遇上中國國軍。下午三時左右，我的一連士兵衝向敵陣。鈴川是我下屬，來自朝鮮，負責帶領一小隊士兵。他爬到屋頂上發號施令，一顆子彈就在這一刻打中他胸膛。他馬上死去，從屋頂上掉下來。下午的陽光這時正好照在他染紅了泥壁的鮮血上。
我想到他要為別國戰死的感受，心裏泛起複雜的內疚之情。我不知道他父母怎樣過活，但他們一定沒有因兒子之死而獲得賠償。