15. A Step Away From History (Part Three War and the Aftermath)

As many people know Okinawa was the location for the last major land based battle during WWII.  While this battle was going on, Hitler committed suicide, and the war in Europe was finished.  Also keep in mind that during and towards the end of the battle here the horrors of the holocaust starting coming out and in the US the American people had tired of hearing of the war and just wanted it over.

The battle of Okinawa was not a totally forgotten battle,not at all, yet it comes in some places more as an undeserving footnote to history, which is a disservice to all the people from all sides in the conflict to say the least. The battle of Okinawa was the largest amphibious assault in history. The Normandy invasion paled in comparison.  I can not put into words here without writing a history book the details of everything that happened during the battle, and that is not my goal either.  I have added this link for people who are unfamiliar or want to review or relearn about what happened here.

Link To A Wikipedia Article About The Battle of Okinawa

Okinawa was home to over 300,000 civilians when the battle began, and over the course of roughly three months over 100,000 were killed.  This is what I would hope you remember along with the number 230,000.  That is roughly the total number of  deaths from all sides during the battle.

After the war ended, all surviving Okinawan's were gathered together and put into internment camps for processing by the US Military which had begun an occupation of the island.  The US appropriated land for bases mostly in the central and southern end of the island seeing as it is relatively flat unlike the mountainous northern end, from which the military had been planning a massive invasion of mainland Japan.

The US Military occupied the island eventually under what was called the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands

Link To A Wikipedia Article Regarding USCAR; United States Civil Administration of Ryukyu Islands

This occupation ended in 1972 when the island was returned, some say "sold" back to Japanese government control.  Please remember too that the military occupation of Japan ended on April 28th, 1952 when the US returned Japan back to Japanese control.

There are people in Okinawa today that still believe the US military is "occupying" Okinawa.

The people of Okinawa have had to bear the brunt of "hosting" the US Military here in the form of nearly 100,000 active duty military personnel and many of their families scattered over the island.  They have been and still are an indescribable source of friction, sorrow, and sad reminders to many Okinawan people of the tragedy and horrors beyond horrors of WWII.  To many who experienced WWII the war has NEVER ended and still lasts until today over 65 years later because those bases and what they represent still exist here.

There have been countless numbers of "incidents" murders, rapes, theft, and other crimes that military members or their families have committed against the Okinawa  people that leave many of the people here yearning for the day that the bases leave.

Yet the bases today are no longer the main or only source of income and stability that they once were.  The impact on the local economy is now roughly 7% or so compared to 100% right after WWII.  More and more people actually have become very apathetic about the bases and view them as a necessary evil per say in that being an island that Okinawa is there is little industry here to support a population in the prefecture of now over 1.3 million people.  With over 1 million living on the main island itself.

Yet many of the remaining bases sit in the middle of highly developed cities and towns, and the people want those areas back.  But because of the Security Agreement between Japan and the US these bases can only be returned IF a suitable replacement facility is found ON the island.

I could go on and on about these issues, the media here is 100% biased against the military, every little "incident" gets published or shown on TV news broadcasts ad nasuem they will never publish anything positive that the military does here, and believe me it does do a lot, but sadly because of the press, the island never knows about it.  Excuse me, those that know, know, but you never hear about it locally.  That doesnt make sense does it?  But many people are realistic in knowing because of the location of the island and it's strategic importance to the security of Japan the reality is that without the bases things would be very different here.

Politicians here pass "resolutions" demanding the return of the bases,  yet many of these same municipalities that are calling for the return of the bases are receiving a substantial portion of their yearly operating budgets from the national government for hosting the very same bases.  There are mayors that grandstand and say get the bases out of here, yet out of the other side of their mouths they complain that businesses with their communities dont get enough base related work or contracts and demand more.  It's a seemingly never ending game.

There are anti-base demonstrations around some of the bases, and currently the major thorn in everyone's side and with one I personally agree with is the return of MCAS Futenma, (Marine Corp Air Station).  This base sits smack dab in the middle of a city.  At the end of one of the runways is an elementary school.

As you can see from this picture, it's literally surrounded by a city!

This base, which was agreed upon to be returned in a 1996 agreement between the Japanese Government and US Military, in the aftermath of numerous massive demonstrations in Okinawa, after a hideous kidnap and rape of a 12 year old Okinawan girl by 3 members of the US Military is the main focus of the current anti-base movement in Okinawa.  The base can only be returned is a replacement facility is built on the island.  But anti-base forces have demanded that the base be moved off island and the stalemate has continued until this day 17 years after the agreement was signed.

Link To A Wikipedia Article Regarding MCAS Futenma and Relocation Issues

All of these issues, the crimes, the locations of the bases, the history, the memories, and a host of other problems surrounding the bases continue to this day.  There is blame to be passed around to all sides, American, Okinawan and Japanese too.

It can not be understated either the Okinawan people's desire to balance the security needs of the country vs their own desire for peace.  More people died here in the battle of Okinawa than died in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki COMBINED.  School children have a course called "Peace Studies" and are taught about the horrors of the war and visit the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, a somber reminder of the war and it's aftermath.

Link To A WIkipedia Article Regarding The Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Park and Museum

The names of all the people, from all sides and countries are engraved on these walls of granite in memorial to their memories and the hope and desire that it never happen again.