At 11:00 hours, we forded the river.
At about 14:00 hours, the enemy landed in front.
As we were a party of over 100 men, we were easily discovered. The command unit must have been discovered first.
The enemy blocked our first step that leads back to Japan.
We came to the last island.
How many days until we reach our last place?
There are no more diary entries.
The typed translation, has, at the bottom center of the page, the words:
THE END
Notes
The entries are being assembled in one document and sent to a former U.S. service man who lived in Japan and trained on Saipan, who has offered to correct, amend and enter additional citations. This diary, along with letters home from the Marine who recovered it, will be published no later than September 1, 2017.
Looking forward to the whole story at once.
What a story - starting out with confidence and "Esprit d'Corps" of soldiers convinced that they are the invincible defenders of their Emperor, and ending in despair and realization that their world is ending and there is nothing they can do about it ....