In this spirit, I would like to propose an overlooked opportunity — that of an at-sea memorial ceremony for those who died in the Battle of Okinawa.
On the U.S. side, approximately 5,000 of the 12,500 who died were Navy personnel, and most of them died at sea or in aircraft losses. U.S. Marines and Army (including Army Air Forces) personnel also died at sea.
On the Japanese side, the exact numbers are unknown, but experts estimate it to be in the tens of thousands. This not only Imperial Japanese Navy personnel, but also the Imperial Japanese Army personnel who died on sunken transport ships or in aircraft losses.
Moreover, there were merchant marines and civilians on cargo and evacuation ships, like those Tsushima-maru transporting 834 students from Naha to Kagoshima that was torpedoed. As a result, approximately 775 children died.
Despite the intensity of the fighting at sea, in the air, and on land between the two countries during World War II, they have built a strong alliance and relationship in the postwar. One of the key components of this was the relatively quick restoration of a close partnership between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy, which eventually became the current Maritime Self-Defense Force after a couple of iterations.
The development of this relationship has been well-documented by such writers as retired U.S. naval officer and Japan expert Dr. James Auer, a frequent commentator in these pages. Another example is Professor and one-time senior official in the Japanese embassy in Washington Naoyuki Agawa, who has described it as a “Friendship Across the Seas.”
I am sure both men, who have each worked especially hard in their own ways on behalf of the U.S.-Japan relationship, would heartily endorse such a joint ceremony.
