Tony Armstrong

In June 1945, in Okinawa, a 22-year-old teacher named Keiko Mori was ordered to tell her 30 students to commit suicide with hand grenades rather than surrender. She refused. And she told her students, "Live. No matter what they say, you must live." While Japanese soldiers—who imposed death in the name of honor—searched for them, she kept her students hidden in a cave for 12 days. Even when their food ran out, she sang songs and taught them arithmetic using stones. When the American soldiers finally discovered the cave, she came out first, holding a white shirt aloft to shield her students. The American soldiers were about to shoot her, but seeing the children behind her, they lowered their weapons. And they shared chocolate with the children. After the war, some Japanese people branded her a "traitor to the nation," but her 30 students survived. In 1975, a small statue was erected in her honor in Okinawa. The statue, which depicts a teacher holding a white shirt, bears these words: "She taught us the bravest lesson of all: to 'live.'" Despite being ordered to accept death, this young teacher chose to fight to protect the lives of 30 children.