A Hell on Earth
	A Nurse's Waking Nightmare			3 of 8

Ruri Miyara 18-year-old student nurse in 1945 Survived a phosphorous attack on Okinawa

The [American] voice said, "We are going to blow up this cave if you don't come out!" No one responded. Then, explosives were thrown into the cave, the people near the entrance fell to the ground, and white smoke filled the cave. I couldn't see anything and couldn't breathe... Everybody started screaming, "Mother, help me!" "Father, help me!" "Teacher, help me!" "I can't breathe!" ...The more we tried to speak, the more we suffered. But we couldn't stop asking for help. Many people died while asking for help. I lost consciousness... The teacher came to me and removed me from the pile of dead bodies saying, "You are alive!" ...I could barely move. I crawled to my friend nearby and asked her to sit aside so that I could lie down next to her. She did not respond. I repeated my words. She still ignored me. And then, a friend of mine said, "What are you doing? She is dead. They are all dead. It's been three days since the gas bombs were thrown into the cave." I realized for the first time that most of my friends were dead. I looked around and found that there were bodies everywhere. Some were without heads or arms. I was like a living corpse at that time.

Read more about the battle on Okinawa.