ペリリュー島帰還者永井さん死去
11月06日 14時46分
太平洋戦争の激戦地、パラオのペリリュー島から帰還した元日本兵３４人のうちの１人で、戦争体験を語り継ぐ活動を行ってきた茨城県茨城町の永井敬司さんが４日、大腸がんのため亡くなりました。
９８歳でした。
永井さんは大正１０年に今の茨城県笠間市に生まれ、太平洋戦争末期の昭和１９年、日本とアメリカの間で激しい戦闘が行われ、旧日本軍のおよそ１万人が２か月あまりの間でほぼ全滅したパラオのペリリュー島での戦闘に参加しました。
ペリリュー島から帰還した元日本兵はわずか３４人で、なかでも永井さんは最後の生存者として、近年、戦争体験を語り継ぐ活動に力をいれていました。
家族などによりますと永井さんは去年、大腸がんと診断されて治療を続けていましたが、４日茨城町の病院で亡くなったということです。
ペリリュー島の犠牲者の慰霊活動を長年一緒に行ってきた「水戸二連隊ペリリュー島慰霊会」の影山幸雄事務局長は「永井さんは最後の生存者として『戦争は絶対にやってはいけない』ということを、説得力のあることばでいつも伝えていた。かけがえのない人を亡くし大変残念だ」と話しています
Translation
Keiji Nagai from Ibaraki-cho of Ibaraki, who had been
carrying out activities to pass on his war experience and was one of 34 former
Japanese soldiers returned from Peleliu Island in Palau that was a place of
fierce battlefield in the Pacific War, had died of colorectal cancer.
He was 98 years old.
Mr. Nagai was born in Kasama City of Ibaraki Prefecture in
Taisho 10th year. In 1945 at the end of the Pacific War, fierce battles took
place between Japan and the United States. He joined the battle on Peleliu
Island of Palau with about 10,000 former Japanese troops participating, and
almost all were completely annihilated in about two months.
There were only 34 ex-Japanese soldiers returning from
Peleliu Island. Nagai, as the last survivor, in recent years had been focusing
on activities in passing on war experiences.
According to his family, Nagai was diagnosed with colorectal
cancer last year and had been treated, but died on the 4th at a hospital in
Ibaraki.
Mr. Yukio Kageyama, Director of the Mito Second Regiment
Peleliu Island Reunion Society who had been performing the memorial activities
for the victims of Peleliu Island for many years, said, “As the last survivor,
Nagai always communicated in a compelling language that war should never be made.
I'm very sorry to lose this irreplaceable person. ''
So, Mr.
Nagai has used his time meaningfully after returning to Japan to preach about
the horror of a war.
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