Tragic story of young nurses' fate in Battle of Okinawa goes overseas

These women are heroines. To go from high school to saving lives at the front lines of one of the bloodiest battles of the war is probably inconceivable to most. Their courage and sacrifice is to be applauded by all. I will visit this place on my next trip to Okinawa. I don't know how I've missed it all the times I've been there.

Times have changed. When I first visited the Himeyuri site, before the museum was built there are few here today who can relate to the downright hatred and evil looks I received when I visited the cave where many of the nurses died.

It is the ONLY place in Okinawa that I will never visit again.

Their story is one that should never be forgotten.

Their courage and sacrifice...

They had to no choice in the matter. They were there because the Japanese military forced them to be there not because they wanted to be there.

""It is very significant to hold the exhibition at the site of the attack on Pearl Harbor," adding that he is considering bringing the exhibition to Asian countries such as South Korea and Taiwan, in the future."

So... they took the story of these young women, forced into certain death by their own Emperor, not only to the place where Japan's sneak attack destroyed many, including innocent civilians, but they now want to take it to where Japan colonized, raped, and murdered tens of thousands in order to portray Japan as victim??

The women, aged 15 to 19,...

I always saw them as young teenage girls, not women. They never had a chance to grow up into one.

Another thing they might want to stress at the exhibition is that many of the Himeyuri kids were forced to commit suicide by their own country's troops. Some even at gunpoint.

Of the group, 123 girls and 13 teachers lost their lives, dozens of them even after the dissolution order. Many committed suicide using hand grenades, cyanide or by jumping from cliffs above the ocean.

This is a truly tragic story. Is is documented that many civilians were coerced or forced into comitting suicide. But there was also the widespread belief that the women would be raped if captured. Unfortunately that aspect turmed out turned out to be true. Historians all believe that the numbers of rapes by US soldiers during the invasion of Okinawa is in the thousands. And many more continued after WWII was over. With or without coercion from tje Japanese military, many girls and women comitted suicide rather than be raped by the enemy. This is something that both US and JP governments would rather keep under wraps for the sake of the present alliance.

War is a stupid decision that old men incapable of dialogue decide to sacrifice young people. 123 out of 222 idealistic young nurses lives were sacrificed prematurely, may their death not be in vain and incentive all people alive to resolve disputes by non violent ways, by diplomacy, by sharing and cooperating instead of killing each other.

OssanAmerica: "But there was also the widespread belief that the women would be raped if captured."

Spread by the IJA to encourage its war of attrition.

"Unfortunately that aspect turmed out turned out to be true. Historians all believe that the numbers of rapes by US soldiers during the invasion of Okinawa is in the thousands."

Strange, usually you call them "willing prostitutes who wanted better employment". What's different here, and where is the proof? Who are the historians you are speaking of -- same ones who believe what you do about the sex slaves?

"This is something that both US and JP governments would rather keep under wraps for the sake of the present alliance."

Convenient for your argument, I guess.

Unfortunately that aspect turmed out turned out to be true. Historians all believe that the numbers of rapes by US soldiers during the invasion of Okinawa is in the thousands. And many more continued after WWII was over. With or without coercion from tje Japanese military, many girls and women comitted suicide rather than be raped by the enemy. This is something that both US and JP governments would rather keep under wraps for the sake of the present alliance.

Back it up. If you are going to make a comment like this, back it up with proof, your comment alone is not enough.

These Okinawan children deserve respect and admiration. They were forced into duty by a fascist Imperial Japanese regime that cared nothing for them.

Thankfully, modern Japan is democratic, peaceful and famously loves freedom - things becoming less popular around the world by the day.

YubaruToday  07:47 pm JST

Unfortunately that aspect turmed out turned out to be true. Historians all believe that the numbers of rapes by US soldiers during the invasion of Okinawa is in the thousands. And many more continued after WWII was over. With or without coercion from tje Japanese military, many girls and women comitted suicide rather than be raped by the enemy. This is something that both US and JP governments would rather keep under wraps for the sake of the present alliance.

Back it up. If you are going to make a comment like this, back it up with proof, your comment alone is not enough.

Look it up yourself. I’m sure you know how. I don't get paid to educate anyone,

https://allthatsinteresting.com/us-war-crimes-ww2/2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_during_the_occupation_of_Japan

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13860131

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220630/p2a/00m/0na/026000c

https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/wpj/wpj_fall00b.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_Katsuyama_killing_incident

Could go on and on....

Shimizu-san, your words were very well put together and so on point not only for Japan, however, they fit for all the wars that are going on around the world.

These words fit Putin to a Tee and others like him, unfortunately, so many more lives are going to be lost before that war and others will end.

The women, aged 15 to 19... the schoolgirl corps was given an abrupt order to disband...The girls suffered mass casualties as they attempted to escape the battlefield...Of the group, 123 girls and 13 teachers lost their lives, dozens of them even after the dissolution order.

Many committed suicide using hand grenades, cyanide or by jumping from cliffs above the ocean.

What an awful ending! The dark and terrible fate for those involved aside, it seems that people are having a hard time (again) defining what a woman is. Aged 15 to 19, so are they women? Or are they girls? Schoolgirls?

JeffLeeJune 16 05:51 pm JST

Their courage and sacrifice...

> They had to no choice in the matter. They were there because the Japanese military forced them to be there not because they wanted to be there.

So. Because they were forced means that everything they did has no meaning? Standing in front of enemy fire and watching your classmates perish has no meaning?

The women, aged 15 to 19, assisted military doctors, surgeons, medics and nurses while also being given perilous tasks such as transporting ammunition, supplies, food and water to the front lines while artillery shells rained down around them. Part of their detail included burying the dead.

You are absolutely incorrect.

As with Tower of Princess Lily, it is well known in Japan that the women took their own lives before being raped by American soldiers. This is not something that is particularly hidden.

In reality, I think that if they had simply surrendered, this would not have happened.

The American army is at least different from the Soviet army.

However, the American troops who occupied Tokyo were not well behaved, and the fact that many women were raped is not widely known.

In the end, the situation settled down to a certain extent after Japanese prostitutes were provided for the American soldiers.

Agent_NeoToday 02:22 am JST

Are you under the impression that Japan didn't rape its way through Asia in a systematic fashion?

Even long gone, this story still made me cried and stronger than ever oppose war. Can we all just get along?

Historians all believe that the numbers of rapes by US soldiers during the invasion of Okinawa is in the thousands. And many more continued after WWII was over. 

Which historians are claiming there were thousands raped during the invasion? There isn’t any evidence to suggest this is even close to true

Look it up yourself. I’m sure you know how. I don't get paid to educate anyone,

https://allthatsinteresting.com/us-war-crimes-ww2/2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_during_the_occupation_of_Japan

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13860131

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220630/p2a/00m/0na/026000c

https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/wpj/wpj_fall00b.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_Katsuyama_killing_incident

Could go on and on....

I just looked through all of these anrticles and not a single one substantiates your claim that “historians all agree there were thousands of rapes in the invasion of Okinawa”. If you can’t prove your claim it’s fine, it’s okay to be wrong.

Boom. Historians also all agree that the J gov coordinated with the USA military to set up "comfort stations" for the USA GIs occupation force.

Strange, usually you call them "willing prostitutes who wanted better employment

TaiwanIsNotChinaToday  02:47 am JST

Agent_NeoToday 02:22 am JST

Are you under the impression that Japan didn't rape its way through Asia in a systematic fashion?

Actually not as much as widely believed. While there were undoubtedly incidents of rape by IJA during WWII, the Comfort Women System was specifically created to minimize them.

Actually not as much as widely believed. While there were undoubtedly incidents of rape by IJA during WWII, the Comfort Women System was specifically created to minimize them.

Wait, do you think comfort women weren’t raped?

Such a tragic story about these young school girls, most, if not all, were forced in to doing this by wonderful Japanese military leaders and the hierarchy. That must never be forgotten.

＠TaiwanIsNotChina

The Soviet army raped German women in Berlin.

The Soviet and Chinese army and Koreans raped Japanese civilians all over China.

You believe that the Japanese army committed even more horrific acts in Asia, don't you? If that's true, how relieved you would be.

In reality, rapes of women occur in every army, but the Japanese army was merely a customer who bought prostitutes recruited all over the country, but do you believe the nonsense of Chinese and Koreans?

Apparently 200,000 people, including young girls, were taken away by the Japanese army without witnesses and disposed of in secret. And the victims must have had families, but no one complained after the war. It's scary.

JBoneintheZone: "I just looked through all of these anrticles and not a single one substantiates your claim that “historians all agree there were thousands of rapes in the invasion of Okinawa”. If you can’t prove your claim it’s fine, it’s okay to be wrong."

I wouldn't bother... he has been saying for years things that he has yet to ever back up, or else he "backs them up" with the Daily Yomiuri articles. He won't give any proof of his comments or said "historians".

"Wait, do you think comfort women weren’t raped?"

He won't even call them what they were -- sex slaves! He has LITERALLY said in the past they were "Well paid prostitutes" that were happy to have gainful employment, and if forced to admit some were sex slaves he would say it was South Korea that forced them into it and essentially Japan should be thanked for taking them on. It's no surprise he's pushing the unproven notion that these young women were raped en masse by US soldiers.