With all the high energy that comes with exploring a new place, it is important to take time to reflect on the past that made the present possible. Okinawa is famous for its role during World War II. The Battle of Okinawa is remembered as one of the fiercest battles in history. The mix of [...]
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The Battle of Okinawa, better known as the “Typhoon of Steel”, was the only, on ground, battle fought on Japanese soil and is important because during this battle, more civilian lives were taken than military men. Of these deaths were Himeyuri nurses. More than 290 students and 20 teachers were dispatched as nurses to different [...] Flowers outside of the Himeyuri Peace Museum looked so beautiful in the rain. Every Himeyuri student looked so beautiful, too. Reading about the testimonials can be both interesting and painful. It is a process of wanting to know what happened but then wishing that I have never learned what happened; it is thinking that [...] The assignment for tomorrow will require you to work together and talk to Okinawa’s men and women working in kokusai-dori’s biggest marketplace, Makishi ichiba. Instructions are as follows: 1. Gather in the lobby at 10am 2. Divide into groups: a – Kaitlin, Jack, Lauren, Cody; b – Mao, Rachael, Yayi, Zach; c – Robbie, Mose, [...] When I started reading the “Testimonials from Himeyuri Student Nurses,” I had to stop halfway through the reading because it was so sad and upsetting. These girls are real life civilians who have to bear the consequences of war. The shock really hit me when we were in the Himeyuri Memorial, and we walked [...] Today we visited the memorial for the Himeyuri Student Nurses who served during the Battle of Okinawa. These women were between the ages of 15 and 19 and came from two of the schools for women that were in Okinawa. 219 students and 18 teachers were mobilized from these 2 schools with an additional 79 [...] I can hear the cries in the cave. I can hear the screams in the cave. I can even hear the sounds of grenade in the cave. Civilians are always the innocent victims in a conflict or in a war. During the battle of Okinawa, there were around 200 female students in high schools ordered [...] After reading the grim recollections from student nurses in the Battle of Okinawa, I got pretty depressed. All of the reading we’ve read so far is depressing. It’s unfortunate that the battle had to end the way it did, I wish the Japanese had just surrendered. Of course, if they had, would this carnage have [...] When reading the students nurse testimonials I was shocked that I had not heard this history ever mentioned. In America, we often hear the other side of the story: how brutal the Japanese were toward American troops. It is so sad not only that Americans (and other allies) killed so many innocent young girls but [...] The first thing I remember really thinking about during the museum was, “why are all these little kids here? They shouldn’t be seeing this stuff.” and then I realized that kids their ages died during that war. You don’t have to be in the military to die. Today brought home the fact that war is [...] |
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