Henry J Neils’ Travelogue 03 April 1959

Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands

H.J.N.…
Clear. Temperature: 70°F.
The Caronia entered the narrow military harbour at 7am escorted and assisted by two U.S. Army tugs. She is the largest ship ever to enter this harbour.

Weather conditions were ideal, or we would have come in by ship's launch. A troop ship, fully loaded, was ready to leave from a pier just across the channel.

The soldiers were probably scheduled for manoeuvres to be held next week, or to be taken home after their stretch in the Army.

H.J.N.…
Tour No. 83 by bus, took us through the city of Naha where we docked, over to the island to Air Force Base Kadena. This is a big base - cost $174Million.

It has runways over two miles long and accommodates jet fighters of the latest vintage that can reach the China Coast in thirty minutes. How many is a military secret, but the layout is tremendous with all facilities to make it a very effective first-line defence for the U.S.A.

Your tax dollars are very well invested here. It gives you a feeling of security to know that a deterrent so far away from home is ever ready to protect our interests. Besides this base, the island is covered with Army, Marine Corps and Navy installations.

The new Army Hospital, costing $6 million is a modern structure, replacing the old Wooden building. The main roads are all black-topped and kept in good condition for military purposes. The side roads and side streets are rough and dusty.

H.J.N.…
Naha has been completely rebuilt after being practically demolished in 1945. The people are definitely different than the Chinese of Hong Kong. The Japanese influence and culture are predominant.

The able-bodied men were practically all killed during the war, so there is still a shortage of males in the population. They seem to be a busy people and friendly. It appears they did not particularly relish the domination by the Japanese.

National income is much dependent on the military disbursement of the U.S.A. The currency is the U.S.A. dollar since 1958, even though the yen is still in circulation.

H.J.N.…
The island subsists on agricultural products such as rice, wheat and barley. There is little manufacturing, but efforts are being made to enter this field. Transportation is by buses, taxis, scooters and bikes.

The contours of the island made it ideal for defence - hills and valleys, shallow beaches, coral rock, natural caves and man-made tunnels. These contributed so greatly to the terrible loss of life and other casualties during the invasion.

Here are some of the startling figures…

Ships sunk

American 36, Japanese 16

Ships damaged

American 368, Japanese 4

Planes destroyed

American 763. Japanese 7,830;

Men killed or missing

American 12,520, Japanese 110,000;

Wounded

American 36,631

Prisoners

Japanese 7,401

These statistics lead us to the fervent prayer that never again will it be necessary to shed so much blood and cause so much hardship to civilians, of whom 100,000 died as a result of being caught between the battling forces.

The Okinawans are building for a hopeful future, although they realise that their little island will again be a target if war should come again in the Pacific.