James Furukawa

"One Solder's Reflections"

This is the story of one soldier's experiences during and after the invasion of Okinawa in April 1945. It began with a landing from one of the 1,500 ships anchored off Okinawa to a field hospital near Kadena Airbase. The ships and airbase were subjected to Kamikaze air attacks. As an interpreter, I was assigned to the field hospital caring for sick and wounded civilians. One night, an air raid caused the tents of our field hospital to burst into flames, and the civilian patients had to be evacuated. Looking out from the bomb shelter, I saw that the darkness of night had been turned into fiery, roaring flames. We dashed out and began evacuating patients.

During the turmoil, a young, crying boy, all alone and dressed in a light kimono, caught my attention. When asked, he said that he couldn't find his mother, but he was afraid to go home by himself. Escorting him there, my flashlight selectively highlighted parts of the damaged home-rubble-strewn yard, a gaping hole in the side of the building, and a partially collapsed slate roof. In the exposed bedroom, his mother lay seemingly peacefully asleep except for a few drops of crimson blood surrounding a breast wound that had caused her instant death.

What do you say to console a child who discovered his dead mother? I don't remember what I said, and I never saw the child again, but I often think about not only that boy but also the many civilian casualties that we treated during and after the devastating war. Our forces also sustained very heavy casualties.

After the war, I was assigned to the Education and Cultural Affairs Department, Military Government. I had the good fortune of serving under Commander Willard Hanna, a true gentleman, scholar, and omniscient leader. Under his guidance, we aided in rebuilding the educational system of Okinawa from the ground up, including the sponsorship of educators to do the writing of new textbooks. These were mimeographed and distributed to the few schools that existed, mostly in the North. In addition to the Okinawan educators, artists were also moved into the area and given art supplies from water colors to parachute silk "canvass." Furthermore a group of performers were gathered to begin cultural performances for Okinawans as well as for Allied forces. Thus, both education and culture were encouraged and supported by the Education and Cultural Affairs Department.

Commander Hanna also had the foresight to direct us to build a museum out of parts of crumbled homes and to collect and house as many cultural artifacts as possible to protect them. One of my more pleasant duties included being the master of ceremonies for the troupe of Okinawan performers. Overall, as NCO in charge of enlisted personnel, I did my best to coordinate the disparate activities. As a 20-year-old whose education ended in ninth grade, there was little else that I could contribute.

When my tour of service ended, in appreciation of my efforts, each in-house artist that we supported painted a picture in a theme that I had requested. More than a Bronze Star for Valor award received, I treasured the memories of the paintings and my experiences on Okinawa. I say memories, because the masterpieces along with many photographs that I had taken as official department photographer were donated to the Ryukyu-American Historical Society. Thus, the people of Okinawa can continue to appreciate the artistry of past masters and remind themselves of the devastating effects of war.

Some years ago, I had the pleasure of being invited to visit the new National Museum of Okinawa and to speak at a major symposium attempting to recover additional treasures of Okinawa, including the Emperor's crown. At the museum, some of the artifacts that we saved were on display. Proudly, I thought, my time on Okinawa was wisely spent; I wish I could have done more.

My military service in war and peace had a profound influence on my life. I have tried to emulate the scholars, both American and Okinawan. Consequently, my service time and post-military life has been spent in securing a good education (GED for a high school diploma, B.S., M.Ed., Advanced Certificate in Education, J.D., and Ph.D.), developing a universal principle of teaching and learning, and helping others to improve the quality of their education.

From the devastation of war, a beneficial lesson had been learned and is being shared with you: Even in the midst of war, we must build for a peaceful and fruitful future.