Venture Magazine September 2017 | Page 16

travel EVERY PLACE HAS HISTORY. W hen we moved to Okinawa, I must admit I didn’t know much about this little island. Once we arrived and began exploring, the beauty of Okinawa captivated us; I would have never thought it was once a battlefi eld. When I went on the Battle of Okinawa tour, I wasn’t sure what to expect since I’m not a history buff, but I’m so glad I went because the experience changed my perspective about Okinawa. Before the tour started, we watched a short video made by a US veteran commemorating the 50 th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa. The video summarized the battles, the casualties, and the effect on the citizens of Okinawa. It was a great precursor to what we would learn later in the day. The tour consisted of stops to the Tomori Stone Lion, Big Apple Cave, Himeyuri Peace Museum, White Water Cave, Lieutenant General Buckner Memorial Site, Okinawa Prefectural Museum, and Kakazu Ridge. 16 WWW.KADENAFSS.COM