A very busy and epic day!

Today started off with the same routine as the previous days at the Thomas household. I was excited today for I was going to go on a tour of Okinawa Battle sites from World War II. We also were busy getting ready for leave at 0745 to arrive at Kadena Information, Tickets, and Travel (ITT) for an 0815 show time. We left the house around 0746, and we then arrived at Kadena at 0806, and we then realized that I had not had any breakfast, so I ran into the exchange and bought a blueberry muffin at the coffee shop and made my way over to the ITT to check in and board the bus for the Battlefield Tour.

When I boarded, I found out our tour guide had actually lived through the Battle, she was born on 7 January 1945, so she was four months old when the battle began. She said we would first head to the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, and Hill 89 where the Japanese forces made their final stand on Okinawa and also where the Japanese Commanding General Mitsuru Ushijima committed ritual suicide on 22 June 1945. Our guide showed us the exact spot where he committed suicide.

Then after lunch we would be headed to the Japanese Navy Underground Tunnel near Naha, then Sugar Loaf Hill. And finally we would wrap up the tour with Hacksaw Ridge. When we arrived at the Peace Memorial, we debarked the bus and headed to the Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum, which discussed about Okinawa history from the Ryukuku Kings to the Japanese aggression in the early 1900s to World War II battle history.

Then, we headed out to the Peace Memorial and saw the cornerstone which was placed on the 50th anniversary of the ending of the Battle for Okinawa. We then walked up the hill, passed all the prefunctures's various monuments, and the monument for the American and Japanese soldiers who died in the Battle. At the top, I saw the spot where General Ushijima committed ritual suicide. It was a moving place, to think of all the fighting that took place over 69 years ago this month. It was peaceful and calm and emitted a sense of historic nostalgia.

We then headed back to the bus and headed to the Southern Okinawan Beach Island Resort Hotel for an all you can eat buffet. I had some mushrooms, shrimp, salad and fish for buffet and two servings of Beni Emo ice cream! And aceltone juice! I only wish I had a second serving of the food! We then headed to the imperial Japanese navy headquarters, located in Hill 74 near Naha. It is located in a large underground tunnel system, first constructed by Korean laborers in August of 1944, as the main HQ for the navy forces on Okinawa. During the Battle, about 2,400 Japanese naval soldiers were killed in this tunnel, as their remains were found in and around the tunnel.

The commanding officers and petty officers killed themselves in their rooms. I saw in one room the remains of the hand grenade fragment impact points from the ritual suicide. It was haunting to imagine the last moments of these soldiers, despondent and wanting to join their "Emperor". It was an eerie feeling and unsettling to be in that same room. It was as if a dark cloud was within that room, trapped from 1945.

The complex was steep at times, sometimes the light was dim and it was damp, as an underground tunnel system should be. It was a very impressive place! After we finished touring, we headed back to the bus. Our next stop.., Sugar Loaf hill!

Sugar Loaf Hill in 1945

Sugar Loaf Hill was one of the most hard fought battles on Okinawa. The Japanese were well entrenched on this hill, and a good 2,200 + Americans were killed taking this hill. Today, it is surrounded by a shopping center, the other hills of Horseshoe, and Half a moon which were on either side of Sugar Loaf, are now mostly gone. They have been replaced by a commercial zone. There is a large water container on top, but what is left of Sugar Loaf, is tall and intimidating. I could tell that the battle for this hill had to have been particularly awful. The steepness of the hill to climb, made me think of the Marines who climbed under enemy fire. The Marine who Camp Courtney was named after, Maj Henry Courtney was killed on the crest of this hill. He had been wounded not long before, and with bandages still on, charged up the hill and was killed not long after he reached the crest. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously.

I reflected on the stories of Henry and James Day who the tour guide told us about, who fought on the hill that I was now standing on. The feeling was almost overpowering at times, when I realized I stood on ground that many Marines had fought, bled and died on, that I would be free. It was impressive to see the sheer size of Sugar Loaf Hill, the part that remained.

We then headed for the last stop of the tour, Hacksaw Ridge. It was near an ancient castle that in ancient times was the capital of the Ryukuku Kingdom, before it moved to Shuri castle. There was a formidable defense system the IJA put in place around the ancient tombs at the castle, with the walls, made a rather difficult fight for the U.S Marines, with the steep hills, bunkers and pillboxes everywhere presented a challenge for our troops that were advancing towards Shuri.

The engineers who made the walls originally came from China, at least if I understood the tour guide correctly. This is why the walls look rather similar to the Great Wall. We also saw a Buddha statue with a reverse swatizka, that is a Buddhist symbol commissioned by a Japanese veteran of the Okinawa Battle. Finally, it was time to leave and head back.  As we finished the tour, I reflected on what I had seen and the history of all the sights I had seen. When I met back up with Mary, I got a bottle of water, then we got pizza and I had a donut! Then we returned home, where I am current relaxing, and hydrating with more water. It is a challenge to stay hydrated here!

I am having a ton of fun and having an epic time!

Jack

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