Harold Okumura with his family in front of the Okinawa Prefecture Peace Memorial: (left to right, standing Hiroyuki Kunugihi, curator; grandsons Trevor Tokishi and Dean Tokishi; a member of the media; (seated) Rowena Kumabe (with back turned, Ione Tokishi; Masue Okumura; Harold Okumura; granddaughter Tarrah Tokishi and Gwen Martino.
Harold Okumura Returns to Okinawa
“A
With a loudspeaker in hand, he ctually, I didn’t want to to persuade civilians who took refuge in the deep caves along the coastline to eswould fervently urge them, “Please return to Okinawa, because cape the devastation of their homeland. come out. Don’t worry. You can trust I was afraid of reliving Please turn to next page the bad memories of my experiences there,” said WWII Veteran Harold Okumura. “But because of the request from the curator of the Okinawan Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, I went. Now I’m glad I did.” Okumura’s initial reaction upon his arrival was one of complete amazement. The resilience and fortitude of the Okinawan people led them to rebuild their cities and country from complete devastation into the modern country that it is today. In April 2015, Okumura returned to the site of one of the deadliest and most destructive battles of the Pacific in World War II. Seventy years earlier, he had been as- Upon their arrival in Okinawa, and here at Sobe Beach, Harold Okumura and his family signed as a Military Intelligence Service were greeted by many reporters, photographers and cameramen from local newspapers, TV and radio stations. interpreter, whose initial function was 18 – October 2015