UNTOLD STORIES OF THE BATTLE OF OKINAWA: Women and Teens on the Frontline
The final stages of World War II... The islands of Okinawa turned into a theater of war the United States military called "hell." The Battle of Okinawa claimed the lives of at least 120,000 islanders. Women and girls were forced in as army cooks or nurses, boys in their mid-teens molded into soldiers... and sent to the frontline. As most records were lost, families are still wondering how their loved ones were mobilized... and what became of them. But recently discovered documents reveal their unknown stories.
On a hill in central Okinawa, above Nakagusuku village, lies a remnant of the first fierce battle between Japan and the U.S. military.
We meet resident Oshiro Tameichi whose mother was taken away as an army cook... He still has no idea what happened to her.
And based on the documents, we recreated survivor accounts with manga artist Higa Susumu, including the women mobilized as cooks and taken to the frontline.
As well as the boys aged 14 and 15 who were ordered to join the army from their homes and separated from their families on the very same day...