Battle sites tours tell story of Battle of Okinawa

Pfc. Aaron Hostutler
OKINAWA MARINE STAFF

Hollywood’s romantic depictions of war often suggest one man can take on an entire army.

But on Okinawa, the lead tour guide with the Single Marine Program is determined to erase the delusion Hollywood has created.

SMP tour guide Chris Majewski leads battle sites tours on the island, educating tourists about the history behind several significant sites, including Hacksaw Ridge, the Battle of Okinawa Historical Display, the Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters and Peace Prayer Park.

“The Battle of Okinawa was one of the most ferocious battles ever fought,” said Majewski, a former Marine who has been conducting tours since 1996. “We had the Japanese in a corner, and they knew the Americans’ next stop was going to be at their front door. How hard would you fight if there was an enemy approaching your front door? The only thing standing between the enemy and your kids and wife is you and your rifle. That would give you something worth dying for.”

Majewski described how the Japanese fought outmanned and outgunned. They had to resort to defensive positions in caves, which protected them from bombs and artillery fire and gave them the element of surprise. Japanese soldiers also used hand-to- hand combat because they knew the U.S. wouldn’t fire their heavy weapons near their own troops.

“There were times in the battle when their rifles were only useful as clubs,” Majewski said.
The Japanese gained a better view on the battlefield by holding the high ground on various ridges throughout Okinawa.

The Battle of Okinawa was projected to last one month, but the Japanese soldiers’ style of fighting forced the U.S. into a three-month-long engagement.

More than 240,000 people died including more than 14,000 Americans, more than 149,000 Okinawans, and almost 77,000 Japanese.

“No one can truly grasp the size of those numbers unless they’ve seen it,” Majewski said. The Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, seats 68,756 fans. Imagine that stadium filled to full capacity three and a half times.

“While those numbers may show how bloody the battle was, the tour concentrates more on the experience of the individual Marine and soldier,” Majewski said.

One stop during the tour was at the Battle of Okinawa Historical Display on Camp Kinser. The display features several artifacts from the war, including weapons, uniforms and tools.

“When a Marine or soldier was going off to fight in 1945, he wasn’t wearing all of the protective gear we have today,” Majewski said. “He was going out to fight in what would be the equivalent of our utility uniforms and a (helmet).”

The next stop on the tour was the Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters, now a museum offering an insight into the Japanese soldiers’ daily lives as well as a series of underground caves the Japanese used during the battle.

“The caves give tourists an idea of what the Japanese used, but it’s important to remember the conditions that the caves were in during the war,” Majewski said. “There were hundreds of Japanese in those caves, with rotten food, dead bodies, disease and at times more than a foot of water.”

Majewski says the point of the tours is to provide an understanding of what the Battle of Okinawa actually meant to those who fought in it. No one can go back to 1945 and look at the battle themselves, and if they could, they probably wouldn’t live to talk about it.

The final stop on the tour was Peace Prayer Park. The park has an indoor museum, outdoor memorials for fallen warriors and an observation tower that looks over the entire park. The main memorial at the park, the Cornerstone of Peace, is a series of marble walls with the names of all those who died in the battle.

The walls offer another perspective on the gravity of the loss felt by both sides, according to Majewski.

For more information on battle sites tours, call SMP at 645-3681.