MONTHLY NEWS
August 1998

Elderly People Convey War Experiences on the Net

A group of elderly computer users have set up a site on the Internet describing their memories of World War II.

Titled "My August 15, 1945," the Website was launched by a group calling themselves "Computer Grandmas Group" to encourage elderly people to use personal computers and remain socially active.

Group leader Kayoko Okawa, 68, came up with the idea of putting their war memories on the Internet and suggested it to several group members in June 1998. They were very enthusiastic about the concept, and so the group decided to ask its 170 members to send in their stories via e-mail.

"The reason for focusing on the war after more than half a century of peace is to make sure that the suffering of its victims--people who lost their lives or homes or were seriously wounded--is not forgotten," Okawa writes on the Web page. "The war has left deep scars in all of us who experienced it, whether we were on the battlefield when it ended or were still young children. My heartfelt desire is to keep our memories alive and to pass them down to the younger generations, who know nothing of the war's wretchedness and cruelty," so that the tragedy will never be repeated by our children or our grandchildren.

Michi Sanada, at 88 the group's oldest member, spent two days jotting down how difficult it was for her to flee Tokyo to her native Fukui with her four children when air raids began in Tokyo in March 1945. Her husband had to stay behind in Tokyo because he was a public servant.

On August 16, the day following Japan's surrender, she visited the grave of her husband's family and grieved over the death of her brother-in-law, who was killed during battle in Singapore. She also lost her own younger brother in the Philippines.

"Everyone would have had a great future had it not been for the war," she writes.

Toshiyuki Shimizu, 73, describes how he felt on the day of Japan's defeat. Then a university student, Shimizu lived alone in Tokyo. He recalls how he used to go to bed fully clothed, keeping his legs wrapped in cloth, so he'd be ready to dash outside in case of an air raid.

He learned of Japan's defeat on August 14, a day before the official announcement, by listening to shortwave broadcasts of the U.S. Army. He slept without wrapping his legs that night.

"I can hardly explain how relieved I felt when I realized I no longer had to worry about the war," he writes.

The group is looking forward to receiving comments from young people in reaction to the war essays. Visit the site at http://www.jijibaba.com/.

Photos: (Top) You're never too old to get on the Internet; (above) the Computer Grandmas Group works on their Web site. (Computer Grandmas Group)