Civilians in the Crossfire: Remembering the Caves of Okinawa
Remembering the caves of Okinawa on the 77th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa
Life and death rest in the space between the trigger and the quivering finger of a Japanese soldier.
“Shut that baby up,” he whispers.
The soldier lines the barrel of his gun to the crying eyes of a young Okinawan mother and her infant child.
I picture this scene in my mind as I read a survivor’s testimony at the Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum.
From the many books I’ve read and movies I’ve watched about the Pacific Theatre, the grand strategy and the gruesome tactics between soldiers always took my full attention. For the first time, my focus shifts to the civilians caught in the crossfire — all too often forsaken by the history books.
My cousin Kirk and I are standing in front of a heavy book of testimonies in a dimly lit room. A column of ceiling light bears down on us like sunlight breaking through the opening of a cave.
Coals of an old fire lose their glow to the damp cave floor. Other Okinawans, huddled together beside the fading heat, turn their eyes away from the loaded rifle.
