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Okinawa battle sites 2014/10/19 07:53
I've seen this brief guide: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7105.html
but I'm hoping to find a map with detailed information about where major battles of WWII took place in Okinawa (preferably with an indication of roads and how to get there). So far can't find anything with Google or books....
by KarlMarx  

Re: Okinawa battle sites 2014/10/19 15:05
The battle was the whole island. My father was there so I tried to find anything along the coast north of Naha as well as other places. All I found were some used car lots until the coast got too steep for businesses. I'm sure there are artifacts buried in the ground. Occasionally, you might find some old destroyed Okinawan tombs, but the island is pretty well cleaned up.

Once landed, US troops crossed the island and turned north and south. The northern group went pretty fast and didn't get a lot of resistance (comparatively). The southern group fought about every foot of the way southward until they got down to Arasaki, the southern tip. It's around here that you'll find most WWII information. There are memorials to the dead from each prefecture. There were also stands selling old shell casings and other war time stuff. At the south end there is also the cave where the student nurses killed themselves (Himeyuri no Tô). There's a momument and a museum.

There's also a monument where Gen. Simon Buckner was killed by artillery fire to the east of Nanbu Hospital at
https://www.google.com/maps/place/26%C2%B006...

On Ieshima, just off the NW coast, there's a monument where Ernie Pyle, the war correspondent was killed.

Even though heavy fighting took place at Shuri Castle and leveled the place, it's all been restored to commemorate the Ryukyu culture and not the war. When my father went through the the castle area, nothing was whole, so when he saw a small bowl that was unbroken, he picked it up and we still have it.

There are memorials here and there, but most are in Japanese.

Check out the history and see if a famous ridge or gulley is something you want to look for.
http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/okinawa/

On a side note, I was taken to a friend's uncle's house a long time ago in Hitoyoshi. He had a bad leg and used a cane so I asked him what happened. He said he got wounded on Okinawa and was captured. I said my father was also on Okinawa and he left the room only to come back with a bottle of sake and we had a few drinks.
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