Free Dragon of the Mangrooves by Yasuyuki Kasai Page B

firing at the rushing Chinese, which had kept their positions intact.
    Kasuga had heard old regulars speculating many times about why Tomita
    didn’t get the Order of the Golden Kite. He surely was worthy, thanks to the initiative he showed in Hill 353 when they had tried knocking P-38 interceptors out of the sky, or for the fact that he kept the composure in the Battle of Ondaw when the enemy started firing first.
    But now the Sixth Company retreated like a moonlight flit. Tomita always made them set the gun further back than ordered, at his own sweet will. Even when they engaged with enemies, he was noncommittal and wouldn’t order them to open fire. Sometimes he even let the whole squad draw back from a designated position without Second Lieutenant Jinno’s permission.
    Kasuga wasn’t sure whether the fact that Tomita Squad hadn’t suffered any casualties yet was thanks to him. Anyhow, he couldn’t believe the attitude of his squad leader.
    Yet he also noticed days when Hirono tended to protect himself. Hirono was a big guy, well over six feet tall. He could lift a heavy barrel of machine guns as if it were nothing. He had a Judo black belt. Though Kasuga was slightly better in marksmanship, Hirono was more than a match at bayoneting skills or wrestling.
    He was a strong warrior, without a doubt. But all of this man’s concern was limited to his own life. For weeks he had been worrying about a banzai charge.
    Arakawa Squad, their fraternity under Jinno Platoon, went out to support tank-busters and got hit with a mortar shell. It killed three men, including the squad leader himself. It was natural for any man to flinch in terror. But they were fighting a war now. There was nothing for fearing death at that late date.
    If the enemies got Ramree, sooner or later, they would also get the mainland.
    Then Malaya and Java would be added to the list. If the British reopened the Burma Road blocked by the Japanese Army for a long time, a tremendous amount of supplies would flow into China. What would become of the Japanese Expeditionary Force fighting against heavy odds there? The Japanese Imperial Navy had already lost the Pacific. If the Army lost Indochina and China, it would get harder for the Japanese to retain even their homeland.
    It was time to shield their land and families from the evil design of foreign sav-ages. However far they may flee, as long as their retreat is blocked—as Hirono says himself—there was nothing to do but resist. It was a little late to worry now.
    The only thing needed was the fortitude to die silently. Kasuga thought he was prepared for it.
    “Hey, you! What’re you doing here? Go back right away!” a raucous shout pierced the ears of two taking a rest after a meager lunch.
    Kasuga looked back and found Second Lieutenant Jinno standing there. Jinno was excited. Since the machine gun of Arakawa Squad had been destroyed, Tomita’s was the only one under him now. So Jinno had stayed with Tomita Squad all the time for those several days, continuing to nag and pick holes in them, always hysterically, and making himself a real nuisance. Motivated by his cantankerous look, Kasuga and Hirono got up and began packing their bags. But Jinno abruptly ordered, “Leave your equipment here. We’ll move out soon.”
    British-Indian forces had already brought the northern half of Ramree Island under control. A river named Yanbauk flowed across its central part. It almost divided the island into two pieces and drained into the Bay of Bengal. It was more of an estuary than a river, but everyone called it a river because of its impos-ing appearance: it was over fifty meters wide, stretching across the inland for miles. Utilizing this as a natural obstacle, Ramree Garrison had reset a defensive line along its south bank.
    From January 26 to 27, enemy troops had intended to cross it forcibly by rubber raft near the mouth. Just when they were bogged down at the opposite bank, Seventh Company had intercepted