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| Monument with American Soldiers' Names Carved Into It |
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| Paper Cranes Made by School Children |
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| Underground Caves Where Native Okinawans Hid from the Japanese and Americans During World War II |
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| Reading Room Displaying Testimonial Stories of Survivors Who Described Their Experiences |
The Peace Park at the southernmost tip of Okinawa island is a lovely seaside park, but a grim reminder of World War II. The memorial museum is perched on a spectacular spit of land overlooking the South China Sea. A low-walled stone monument bearing American names carved into its sides, snakes through a shaded park, evoking a very strong similarity to the Vietnam memorial in Washington, DC.
A short stroll away is a beautiful sculpture garden with different monuments, each representing a prefecture of Japan. One monument looks like a soaring torch, cradling a globe in its center. Another shelters 1,000 colorful origami paper cranes. The cranes follow an ancient Japanese legend that promises that anyone who folds 1,000 cranes will be granted a wish. Cranes are revered by Japanese as special creatures who are said to live for 1,000 years. School children folded the cranes for the memorial.
If you ask, the entrances to the underground caves will be pointed out. Although the entrances are covered with bars now, it is possible to visit some of the spots where the Okinawan natives hid and lived for months while the Japanese and then the Americans invaded their island home. The Okinawans lived in underground caves for months, fearing violent death from the soldiers who battled on their island. As portions of the island were conquered, Okinawans fled thier homes, migrated and congregated in the south, eventually retreating to live in the hills. They were led to believe that if they were discovered or captured by Japanese, or later by Americans, they would be tortured and killed. As the armies approached, many preferred to control their own destiny by running to the ocean-edge cliffs and killing themselves by jumping into the sea. Over 200,000 Okinawans died in the World War II battles on their island.
A beautiful simple room in the Peace Memorial Museum has Testimonies from survivors on display to read. Some of the transcripts are translated into English. The stories are gory, heartbreaking and riveting.