3 Monument for the Volunteer Army Corps
Date of completion: August 6, 1964
Established by Bereaved families in the Nukui area of Kawauchi Village, Sato City, Asa-gun
Shape
Monument made from natural rock. Engravings: "Monument for the Volunteer Army Corps" (front), victims' names (back)
Motive for the erection
To transmit the cruel situation of the atomic bombing and the precious sacrifice of the members of the Volunteer Army Corps and appeal for the preciousness of peace.
Epigraph(epitaph)
"Devoted with reverence to the souls of the members of the Volunteer Army Corps, we will never forget that day of horrible scenes and outmost grief. After suffering in anguish in the pandemonium when the atomic bomb was dropped on these grounds on August 6, 1945 at 8.15, our brothers and sisters are resting here..."
Noteworthy characteristics
1. Civilian Volunteer Army Corps
In 1945, the government issued the "Civilian Volunteer Conscription Act" in preparation for a decisive battle on the Japaneses mainland. Volunteer Army Corps units formed in various regions of Japan organized around workplaces, schools and regions. All males between 15 and 60 years of age and all females between 17 and 40 years of age were eligible.
2. The victims of the Nukui area of Kawauchi Village
On August 6, 250 Volunteer Army Corps members from Kawauchi Village were working on building demolition in the vicinity of Nakajima-shin-machi, around 600 meters from the hypocenter. All perished. The Nukui area suffered a particularly great loss as a single area with 180 of the total number of victims coming from here.
3. Families left behind
As the dead corps members had been their family's bread-winners, the elderly, children, and women they left behind had trouble surviving.
4. Memorial tower for the souls of the A-bomb victims
In the Mitaki cemetery in Hiroshima's Nishi-ku, there is a memorial tower the people of Kawauchi village had built as a common memorial before the "Monument for the Volunteer Army Corps" was erected.
