Thousands recall Battle of Okinawa

[cec]

Thousands recall Battle of Okinawa

By David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, June 25, 2007



ITOMAN, Okinawa — On Saturday thousands of people came to this park on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean to remember.
They came to remember the 240,609 lives lost during the final ground battle of World War II, when the Americans came with their “Typhoon of Steel” and changed forever the landscape of this subtropical island.
Under a blistering hot sun, elderly survivors of the battle brought their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to trace the names of the family members etched onto the black marble walls that stretch toward the sea.
Some 150,000 of the names written on the walls of Peace Memorial Park are the names of civilians who perished during the 83-day battle, representing one-third of Okinawa’s civilian population.
Other visitors were residents of mainland Japan who came to honor the 76,961 Imperial Japanese soldiers and kamikaze pilots who died defending the Motherland. They overshadowed a small knot of descendants of Korean forced laborers and comfort women who honored the names of those unfortunate victims.
In all, more than 5,000 people attended a ceremony to commemorate the battle’s end and pray for the end to war.
Also among them were about 50 Americans led by Marine Lt. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer, the new commanding general of all Marines in Japan, who assembled for a separate ceremony to honor the 14,007 Americans who died in the Battle of Okinawa.
“As we remember these brave warriors and their comrades in arms today, we must look to the future as well as the past,” Zilmer said. “In today’s world, freedom comes cloaked in uncertainty. America still relies on her sons and daughters to defend her liberty.”
During the main ceremony sponsored by the prefecture, Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima said Okinawans have learned “just how precious peace is.”
“Our beloved families and friends were lost, our homes and towns reduced to ruin, the cultural heritage founded by our forefathers extinguished,” he said. “Through the sacrifices of lives and possessions that can never be replaced, we were left with a keen sense of the importance of peace.”
He said many threats exist to peace in today’s world — something felt deeply on Okinawa.
“The heavy burden of military bases remains and subsequent incidents and accidents, noise pollution and other issues connected with these installations are a source of continuous distress,” he said.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acknowledged Okinawa’s burden.
“My heart is saddened when I think about the suffering, which is beyond what words can describe, that the Okinawan people had to go through,” he said.
“After the war, Okinawa rose from the ashes, overcoming numerous hardships and achieved remarkable development.
“The burden that Okinawa shoulders due to the concentration of U.S. military facilities must be reduced,” he added. “While listening to heartfelt voices of the Okinawan people, I will steadily carry out realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.”



Stars and Stripes: Thousands recall Battle of Okinawa




-