Letters from Iwo Jima Page #3

I think your general has gone mad.

Look at the gun he has.

He probably took it

from a dead American.

Maybe.

Break time is over.

Back to work!

Are you all right, Kashiwara?

You look pale.

I'm fine. It's just the damn water.

But... I... really... need to go.

There will be a major change

in our strategy.

We will dig caves in the Motoyama,

Higashiyama, and Suribachi-yama areas.

We will build these underground

fortifications, and fight to the end.

- What about the beach defenses, sir?

- Not needed.

But, sir, the beach trenches

are our first line of defense.

Without the beach trenches,

how do you expect us to win?

Hayashi, do you know how many cars

America produces in a year?

Five million.

The Americans' technological

advancements cannot be underestimated.

They will cross the beaches eventually.

If we waste our soldiers there,

there is no hope for victory.

It is inevitable that men will die...

but I never heard of an island operation

without beach fortifications.

General, it will be a futile waste of time

to start digging tunnels now.

We should force the enemy

near the island...

and launch a pincer drive

from the sea and air.

I agree. That makes the most sense.

Ohsugi...

doesn't the Navy know?

The Combined Fleet has been completely

destroyed off the Marianas.

The island is now isolated.

What's more, I received a new order from

the Imperial headquarters this morning.

The remaining fighter planes

are to be sent back...

to Tokyo to defend the mainland.

Outrageous! How are we to fight?

We do not have time for discussion.

We should head back.

Dear Mother...

I have been commissioned

to a new troop today.

I cannot talk about this transfer now.

Take good care of yourself.

Look at this picture.

That's some fancy castle.

You know who this castle was built for?

Someone who was already dead.

They must have had

a lot of money back then...

to build a castle like that

for a dead person.

Why are you reading that book anyway?

We're never going to war over there.

We'll be lucky if we even get

a hole in the ground when we're dead.

Don't talk about that. It's bad luck.

Is this the 312th?

That's right.

I'm Nozaki. This is Saigo.

Shimizu, you can put your bedroll there.

There's an empty space in the back.

Don't mind him.

His friend Kashiwara just died.

That used to be his spot.

But we are all going to die.

That's the plan, isn't it?

For our country, it is an honor.

Kashiwara died of honorable dysentery.

Shimizu, where are you from?

Kanagawa-ken.

Ozawa is from there, aren't you?

That's right.

Where were you trained?

Maybe we were at the same school?

No.

I trained in Tokyo.

I trained in Tokyo, too. Where?

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