On Friday I actually woke up at 5 AM in order to surprise my whole family with a Thanksgiving day Skype. My mom was shocked! It was well worthwhile and I am so glad I was able to share the holiday with those I love most.
After breakfast my classmates and I loaded into the tour buses for our last day of sightseeing. We traveled to the southern end of the island where the most famous war memorial on Okinawa island is located. It tells the tragic story of several girls' high schools whose students where all forced to enlist in the army as nurses. The girls, all between the ages of 14-19 were told they would be working on Red Cross camps and would be back home soon enough. They considered it a great honor to defend their nation and all readily committed. The truth was much harsher. They were working in horrible, dark, cold caves where they cared for the wounded around the clock. They constantly risked their lives in running messages, retrieving water and food, and transporting the injured. In the first several weeks, 19 of the 460 or so girls died. Yet as soon as the american soldiers were on the verge of victory, the Japanese army told the remaining girls that they had served their country well and that they were officially relieved of their duty. This may sound merciful, but in reality it meant that the girls were forced out of the caves in order to make space for the soldiers retreating from the coasts. So as the American forces began constant air raids, the 440 girls left were left to seek shelter in the forests and mountains with nowhere to run. Horrifically, about 420 of those girls were killed or committed honorific suicide using hand grenades.
If you read the reaction sheet I filled out afterwards you'll see that I simply cannot convey the emotions I felt after seeing the memorial and the museum that follows. It's terrible to know these girls were my age or younger. So sad.
Fortunately the flight back home and my time in Tokyo with Kathy Tegtmeyer Pak and her family were fantastic! My friend Ayano Baba met me at the airport and the two of us spent the evening with the family. I chatted with Kathy, her daughter Lia (in whose Spanish class I volunteered all of last year) and her son Evan for hours and it was some of the best conversation I've had in months. The kids are so enthusiastic, mature, and just plain cute, sorry guys it's true :) But Kathy is a Fulbright scholar spending the year studying in Japan at the University of Tokyo. She knows Japanese culture and language like a native, and was able to articulate points of my exchange that I had never considered before. I feel like I had a one on one college course on Japanese culture 101/Plain-Old-Life 101 and I now have a new window into my year abroad. I'm so thankful to her and her children for receiving me so warmly into their Tokyo apartment home.
The memorial is located above the entrance to one of the caves in which the girls worked. The stones at the base actually drop down into the inner depths of the island. I can't imagine it.
お花 - Ohana - Flowers
Our tour guide as she explains the memorial to my classmates
The area is meant to resemble the high school grounds where the girls attended classes
This memorial is one of the most famous in Japan and has been visited by emperors, presidents, prime ministers, spiritual leaders, tourists, and school groups alike
My classmates as they read story after story of the girls who gave their lives during the war
A reconstruction of the entrance to the caves where these girls worked
The faces of those who died while working, fighting, or fleeing the flood of American troops that overtook Okinawa. The girl in the center-top caught my eye because she looked so young. As I read her description is said that she was only 14. I honestly wanted to cry
The numbers of those who died during the battle for Okinawa:
Japanese side: 188,136 (65,908 Japanese mainlanders, 122,228 Okinawans- 28,228 soldiers, 57,044 non-military participants, 36,956 civilians)
US Side: 12,520
Total: 200,656
As an American, as a student to Japan, as a global citizen, and as a human being I NEVER want something like this to happen in our world again.
My reaction sheet: No words, only emotions. Sad, incredible emotions. That is why everyone must see the truth. There are no words to match such deep sadness -- Sam Estenson, Fri. Nov. 27th, 2009. Okinawa, Japan
To turn the subject. When we arrived at our airplane to head home we were all surprised and happy to learn that it was A POKEMON AIRPLANE!! That's Pickachu on our wing
Our head rest covers
Ayano and I on the train to meet Kathy and her family
Me in my uniform, Evan in his, and Lia in hers! Hey, where's your uniform Kathy?!
A night market we visited
The delicious Turkish restaurant we ate at
Lia and Evan showed Ayano and I a fun park. We were all children for a few minutes as we played and laughed in the Tokyo night!
Ayano and I! Yay for Rotary friends = )
More stories of the week below...
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