Battlesites Tour - Part 3 Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters

Undoubtedly the Underground Headquarters of the Japanese Navy is an important historical landmark. Those familiar with the Battle of Okinawa know the basics of their history. To escape the powerful bombardments from the United States the Okinawans had resorted to moving ever southward and finding what shelter they could in caves that pockmarked the countryside. The Japanese military officers found relative safety in a series of caves and tunnels they constructed in the hills above Shuri.


I have included photos I took of one of the tunnels and of the Commanding Officer's Room.

But for me the very most impressive part of this historical site are the photos to be found in the staging area before entering the tunnels.
The many photos of the innocent Okinawan children, hungry, homeless, often the survivors of bombings that sacrificed their parents and siblings. Children lost. Children in pain. Bewildered by a world turned upside down and plunged into hell itself.


But also photos of the children receiving aid from our soldiers. Food, shelter and medical help from the very enemy they are to believe will torture and kill them if they are so unfortunate as to be captured.
Yes, the tunnels are impressive. I am so glad to see them from an historical perspective. But the children. The faces of the children.
Those photos are the images I will remember of the Headquarters. The enduring memory of the children. The innocents.