Saturday, June 23, 2007

Remembering WWII in Okinawa

Since it was the anniversary of the WWII Battle of Okinawa, we decided to visit Peace Prayer Park on a very nice (but very hot) Saturday. It is a venue we have been planning to check out for a while now. John, Amanda & baby Cayce were our chauffeurs & companions on the excursion. And we were certainly not the only people on Okinawa in our decision to do something so appropriate on such a day! The park was quite busy, as were the roadways nearby. Let's just say parking was an adventure (& not a quick one)! There were special memorial services set up that attracted the largest crowds. The language barrier did not make those quite as meaningful to us, so we mostly concentrated on what we could definitely absorb.

Peace Prayer Park
We absolutely recommend a visit to the park, if you're able. It was HIGHLY informative in regards to Japan's history related to WWII, especially what happened on Okinawa (both during & after the fighting). The Battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of World War II, with more than 12,000 Americans and 107,500 Japanese troops killed, along with at least 42,000 Okinawa citizens dead. Make no mistake, it was sobering to learn of the horrendous effects of war, especially on innocent civilian lives that are most likely taken for granted by both sides of the conflict. But it was good to see such a venue for us, dedicated to achieving peace through understanding the experiences of others. Since we did not experience any of that piece of history first hand, this type of memorial allowed us to get as close to being there as possible. Time ran out on us before we could visit the Memorial Hall monument (including Butterfly Garden & Art Gallery) so we'll probably be back at this park again! Come join us!!

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