On the 71st anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Attack let me tell you about another war memorial, the former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters (also known as the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum) on Okinawa. During World War II an elaborate underground series of hundred-long meter tunnels were built under a hill in Tomagusuku. On June 4, 1945, the U.S. 6th Marine Division landed and a battle ensued. Instead of surrendering, Rear Admiral Minoru Ota and members of his staff committed suicide. The U.S. Marines never retrieved the bodies and instead closed off the entrances. When it was finally unsealed over ten years later in the 1950s, the remains of over 2000 sailors were found. Blast scars from hand grenades are visible on the walls as well as farewell messages left by the dead. In 1970 the Tourist Development Board removed the remains of the soldiers and restored 275 of the original 450 meters of tunnels, including the commander’s office, storerooms, medical and staff rooms, and kitchen, and opened the site to the public. There is also a memorial monument set up near the entrance as well as a gift shop and park, everything you’d expect to find at a museum.
