culture and traditions who don t consider their needs or prioritie priorities, and they are huge areally disproportionate shouldering of the u.s. military presence for the entire country. currently, there are close to 30 military installations on o okinawa, and even though it is one of the smallest japanese prefectures in terms of the livable area, they accommodate more than half of the foreign military presence. even more problematic, much of okinawa s arid land that is suitable for farming, and whose whole island tradition was suitable for farming is eaten up by the military bases. the military base issue, is this more important for older people or younger people? it is for the older people. the older people? yes. so when you actually go to a place where they have a, like a protest going on, i would say that over 80% of the people are all retired persons.
invasion fleet of nearly 1,500 ships, and a landing force of 182,000 people which is 75,000 more than normandy approached okinawa. what came next was what okinawans called the typhoon of steel. having island hopped across the pacific, allied forces saw okinawa as a key base for fleet anchorage and troop push for the japanese mainland and victory. the fighting was brutal for both sides and the cost of lives and resources for the allied forces was tremendous, and when it was over, the military planners look ed at the mainland and looked at what okinawa had cost them, and projected even more appalling losses. what came next, we all know. what is not widely known is that
yes. and there was not many asian americans at all. right. and i always had this kind of like identity complex. there would be like times where people would come to the house, and they would say, oh, where is your mom from? chai? china. and a open up the are refrigerator and say, what is that weird stuff? i thought, am i different, and one day my mom says, we are going back to okinawa on a family trip. i was 17 years old. you had not been to that point? no. but when i got off of the plane, i said, i m here, this is my home. and being able to connect my r heritage felt something. i was like, wow, i belong here. how about the food, and what was in that refrigerator? because i know a lot of kids who grew up with that same sort of uncertainty when they brought their friends home from school to their house and opened the
more people died main the battl of okinawa than all of those killed in the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki. the japanese invasion was only 60% when the u.s. military landed on okinawa, so that they had to keep the u.s. military force forces on okinawa to prepare the defense. and so, it seemed that battle of okinawa, and the okinawa people say we were sort of what you call sacrifice. yes. hmm mm-mmm. this is the former governor of okinawa. in 1945, he was a young conscript in the japanese imperial army and he fought hard
incredible accomplishment and president obama recognized him on veteran s day last year. he was there at pearl harbor when the battle ships were smoldering, he was there at o okinawa. after serving in the military he moved back home to texas where he lives today in the home he built. he said he still smokes a cigar every day and on special occasions he puts a little whisky in his coffee. here is more on his incredible life. i m in there somewhere. i was 18. so i stayed with her and took care of the kids. she said nobody to take care of i ll send money back.