A TOUCHING DOCUMENT.
One of the most touching documents ever written was that of lieutenant Sakuma, commander of the Japanese submarine, No. 6, which sank in iqio, and all hands were lost. The closing passage was as follows ;—“The water began rushing in ; the switchboard was drowned ; all electric lights went out ; the electric fuses blew out ; the boat filled with poisonous gas, so that we could only breathe with extreme difficulty. We worked our hardest to empty the main ballast tank with hand pumps, and I believe we succeeded, though being in darkness we could not read the guages. I write this in the dim light from the conning tower, 11.45 amI earnestly beseech His Majesty to forgive me, and aid the families of my comrades, my men who must lose their lives with me in this boat now being lost. This is my last wish, 12.30 p.m. It is only with extreme difficulty that I can breathe, I cannot continue any more.”
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MH19140407.2.28
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Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1230, 7 April 1914, Page 4
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164A TOUCHING DOCUMENT. Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1230, 7 April 1914, Page 4
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