Fountain pen found in trenches returned to owner after 75 years: “It was a gift from my father when I passed the high school entrance exam”

Fountain pen found in trenches returned to owner after 75 years: “It was a gift from my father when I passed the high school entrance exam”

Caption: Eiko Taira (right) looking overjoyed at holding, for the first time in 75 years, the fountain pen discovered by Yasuo Minamino (left)in the 24th Division Headquarters trenches, on July 22 in Yoza, Itoman


August 4, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Ryota Nakamura

Recently, the owner of a fountain pen engraved with the name “Eiko Kakazu,” which was discovered in the 24th Division Headquarters trenches in Yoza, Itoman by a member of the group “Okinawa Ari no Kai,” which works on collecting the remains of those who died in the Battle of Okinawa, was found. The owner is Eiko Taira (formerly Kakazu), age 89, who was a student at the Okinawa Prefectural Daini Girls High School at the time her pen was lost. She is from Yoza, where the trenches are located, and still lives nearby. The pen was a gift from her father, Nio Kakazu, to celebrate her passing the high school entrance exam. “It brings me right back to that time,” Eiko said, explaining that the fountain pen brought back memories of her deceased father and her family.

Eiko was born in October 1930 as the youngest daughter of two boys and six girls to her father Nio, who was a doctor in Yoza in what was then Takamine Village (now Itoman City), and her mother Shigeko, who was a midwife. Eiko, who enjoyed history, worked hard at her studies and passed the entrance exam to the Daini Girls High School in 1943. When she did, Nio gave her a fountain pen and pen case to celebrate her passing the exam. Eiko, however, says that she has few memories of ever using the pen. It was too precious to her.

In November 1944, Eiko participated in volunteer activities for the Take Troops (the 9th Division under the 32nd Army). One day, when she was working, her cousin’s cry reverberated: “Your father is in critical condition!” Eiko was in shock and try as she might to rush home, her legs got entangled and it took all she had to make it to her home. “Father, father!” No matter how many times she called to him, Nio did not respond. Eiko had lost her mother Shigeko at 10 years old, and now her father Nio had succumbed to illness. She has photographs of her parents, but hardly any objects of memory remain, and the fountain pen from her father is a precious memento.

The pen and other articles were discovered in the 24th Division Headquarters trenches in early July by Yasuo Minamino, 55, of Naha, who is part of Okinawa Ari no Kai. The Ryukyu Shimpo published a notice to find its owner, and a member of Eiko’s family saw the article and made contact. On July 22, the fountain pen, pen case, and a spatula were returned to Eiko. “It feels unreal. But I’m so overjoyed,” said Eiko, clasping the fountain pen in both hands.

(English translation by T&CT and Sandi Aritza)

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