>> obmascik: he found the diary of paul tatsuguchi, whom he had killed as tatsuguchi was joining the banzai attack. >> wertheim: the banzai attack and the japanese occupation of day, when 500 defeated japanese soldiers gathered on this hill. harry sasser witnessed the mass suicide. >> sasser: they pulled the trigger on a hand grenade and just blew their stomach out. >> wertheim: a gruesome scene? >> sasser: it was, oh, it was. it was-- it was tough. >> obmascik: the code was death before dishonor, and of more than 2,600 japanese men who started, only 28 survived. >> wertheim: 28? >> obmascik: the only battle in the war in the pacific that had a worse casualty rate was at iwo jima. >> wertheim: 549 americans were killed on attu more than 3,000 were wounded or suffered weather-related injuries. dick laird survived. he turned over paul tatsuguchi's diary to superiors. instead of containing military secrets, the diary contained human sentiments. so much so, english translations began circulating. harry sasser read a copy in mississippi. >> sasser: well, it was-- it was a compelling accou