Day 151 Tues June 13, 2023 Okinawa (Naha), Japan

 Day 151  Tues June 13, 2023 Okinawa (Naha), Japan

Battle of Okinawa  - Visited the Peace Memorial Park and Museum.  It was a bit rainy when we were there.  The Park and Museum are on the ocean front where the Battle of Okinawa took place.  There are walls of names and we located the section for Americans that lost their lives.  After ninety days of heavy bombardment there wasn’t much left in Okinawa.  The landscape was disfigured and much of the cultural heritage was destroyed.  Over 200,000 people lost their lives.  We saw remnants of bombs and learned that there are still bombs being found today and people are maimed and lives are still being lost.

The United States had an advantage of more men and more fire power,  Sadly civilians were caught in between these battling nations.  The civilians moved from cave to cave looking for safety.  Some were killed by Japanese troops and some starved to death.  

Our second stop was the Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters.  Rear Admiral Ota and his men fought to the end on June 13, 1945.  There was a ceremony honoring this day (today, 6/13/2023) when we arrived.  We descended into the tunnels and saw the commanding officers’ meeting room, radio operations, operation rooms, etc.  The tunnels and rooms were constructed with hoes and picks and still exist today.  

The Okinawa Islands were the only populated Japanese land to experience the large scale land battle.  

 

                                                Cornerstone of Peace at Okinawa

                                            American section of names

                                                Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters Tunnel. 

                                            Piles of bombs fired from the air or from battleships.  People are still being injured or losing their lives as there are many shells are still coming to the surface.

                                            American that lost their lives in Okinawa

                                                        Battle site at Okinawa

                                            Fountain at Okinawa Memorial Site

Promoting everlasting Peace throughout the world.

                                            Remains of shelling.

                                                Japanese Navy Underground Radio Room

                                        Japanese Navy Underground Officers' Meeting Room

                                            Japanese Peace Memorial above and below