Ishigaki Then and Now: The Battle of Okinawa, Grief and Forgiveness

Japan Forward

2 days ago

The Ryukyu Kingdom was formally absorbed into the Empire of Japan in 1872. It was then reorganized as Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. Until the Ishigaki City Council launched an initiative to properly console the souls of the 128 Chinese who died on the island due to diseases such as measles and malaria, malnutrition, or suicide, the Robert Bowne Incident was largely forgotten.
Last of two parts
Read Part 1: Then and Now: Ishigaki Island and the Story of the Tojin Tombs
With the support of local residents, overseas Chinese, and the government of Taiwan, which sent craftsmen for its construction, the Tojinbaka arose in 1971. It even includes calligraphy by Chiang Kai-shek. A pair of shisha guardian lions flank the steps leading up to the monument. The Tojinbaka, or Tojin Tomb, on Ishigaki Island. (©John Carroll)
That was the same year that the United States and Japan signed a treaty providing for the return of Okinawa to Japan. The Okinawa reversion took place in May 1972, after 27 years of US administrative control. Then, in September 1972, Japan recognized the People's Republic of China. At the same time, it severed formal relations with Taiwan.
Today, as in the past, Ishigaki finds itself caught up in the maelstrom of history, a witness to great power rivalries. Tokyo is 1,950 kilometers away, Shanghai a little over 800 kilometers, and Taiwan a mere 270 kilometers.
A few yards from the Tojinbaka stands the Ishigaki American Servicemen's Memorial. This monument consists of three six-foot-tall stone triangles that symbolize spirits rising to heaven. It also has two large plaques in English and Japanese below that tell another sad tale.
The Battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. It was a conflict that the historian John Dower has aptly characterized as a "war without mercy."
From the initial landing of the US invasion force on April 1, 1945, to the American declaration of victory on June 22, an estimated 240,000 people were killed or went missing during the combat. That number includes as many as 100,000 civilians. There were also 110,000 Japanese regular troops and Okinawa conscripts. As well, there were more than 12,000 American and allied troops among them.
The US Army Air Force had already begun low-altitude nighttime firebombing of Japanese cities in February 1945. And the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were to follow in August. T he American Servicemen's Memorial on Ishigaki Island. (©John Carroll)
That was the background to an atrocity that occurred on Ishigaki, which became a tragedy for all concerned. The inscription on the English monument reads:
On the morning of April 15, 1945, in the closing days of World War II, a Grumman TBF Avenger, assigned to the carrier USS Makassar Strait, was shot down off the coast of Ishigaki Island by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The three aviators parachuted into the water near Ohama and swam to a coral reef where they were captured by Japanese sailors. After being interrogated and tortured they were executed during the night at the foot of Mount Banna, at the Imperial Navy Headquarters. The torture of prisoners of war was a violation of the Geneva Convention on the rules of war signed by the international community in 1929.
Vernon L Tebo and Robert Tuggle Jr. were beheaded. Warren H.Loyd was beaten and stabbed with bayonets by numerous numbers of sailors and soldiers. This incident was a tragedy which took place during war.
Lt Vernon LTebo, 28, a Navy pilot of Illinois,
Aviation Radioman 1st Class Warren H. Loyd, 24, of Kansas
[And] Aviation Ordnance 1st Class Robert Tuggle Jr, 20, of Texas
To console the spirits of the three fallen American service members and to honor their deaths, we jointly dedicate this monument in the hope that this memorial stone will contribute to the everlasting peace and friendship between Japan and the United States, and that this monument will serve as a cornerstone to convey to future generations our keen desire for eternal peace in the world and our determination to renounce war.
August 15 2001
The Avenger in question was part of an early morning strike mission that targeted anti-aircraft emplacements, structures, and Ishigaki Airfield. It had also destroyed or damaged two dozen Japanese planes. Intense antiaircraft fire ensued, and the aircraft piloted by Lt Tebo crashed a few kilometers south of the airfield. The airmen parachuted from their aircraft and swam to a coral reef where they were taken captive by Japanese sailors. After their executions, the ashes of the POWs were scattered at sea.
Japan had signed but never ratified the 1929 Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Nor was the Soviet Union a party to the international accord. And although Germany was a signatory, the Nazis often treated prisoners in line with their theory of racial hierarchy. That meant Jews, Slavs, and others were considered subhuman, fit only for slave labor or extermination.
The Ishigaki executions represented only one small incident in the horrific Battle of Okinawa, in which no quarter was given by either side. But the repercussions for those involved were tremendous.
The incident only came to light two years after the end of the war. Occupation authorities then arrested and prosecuted the former Japanese Navy captain who had been commander of the Ishigaki Garrison and 45 other former Japanese military members involved in the incident. In 1948, the Yokohama Military Tribunal also sentenced all 46 to death. Later, however, through commutation, that number was reduced to seven. Others received prison sentences of five years to life. Shown left to right: Robert Tuggle Jr, Lt Vernon L Tebo, and Warren H Loyd (Archives/Open Source)
Imagine the impact of the incident on the small community of Ishigaki. Although residents could not forget, they were naturally reluctant to talk about it since some of their relatives had taken part in the murders. Not until over half a century later was this monument built. Its construction came at the initiative of the late Takeo Shinohara, a professor at the University of the Ryukyus, who had been deeply moved when he heard about the tragedy.
Shinohara worked closely with US Air Force Tech Sergeant Tim Wilson to develop the project. They collected financial donations from Okinawa residents and the American military community. After the memorial was unveiled in 2001, it became a symbol of remembrance, shared grief, and forgiveness.
An annual ceremony is held at the memorial on April 15 to remember the three slain airmen and reaffirm the commitment of Japan and the United States to a shared future.
Once enemies, now allies, as the wheel of history takes another turn.
After visiting the Airmen's Memorial, I crossed the highway to have lunch. The fashionable café I entered featured a bright nautical décor, with white tables and chairs on the outside veranda. I sat outside and gazed at the low hills of Iriomote Island off in the distance. The deep blue sea was calm, and any terrors it might hold remained hidden.
I took the young Japanese couple seated at the table next to me to be honeymooners. A couple of tables away sat a family speaking French. Earlier, a local had told me that some wealthy French working in Tokyo or Osaka had started purchasing vacation homes on Ishigaki. Violating Japanese airspace, a Chinese helicopter also takes off from a Chinese Coast Guard vessel near the Senkakus on May 3. (©Japan Coast Guard)
I assumed that few, if any, of the diners around me had an inkling of the horrors that occurred nearby in the past. It was hard to believe that this beautiful area had witnessed such awful events in its history.
And thinking of the Chinese naval vessels lurking not so very far away, I prayed that this peaceful scene might never be disturbed.
Author: John Carroll