One of the most tragic stories of the Battle of Okinawa is of the Himeyuri Junior High School in south Naha. The Himeyuri Junior High School was an all girl's school with 222 students and 18 teachers. During the battle, the Japanese army conscripted all of its 240 students and staff members to aid them in the fight against the US. The girls weren't very useful to the army as combatants, so they used them as a medical unit. They created a triage / mobile hospital in the caves underneath the school to help soldiers wounded in battle.
The girls were constantly told that they'd be safe and returned to their families after they defeated America, but both were lies. Throughout the battle, 19 of the girls were killed. As defeat seemed imminent, on June 18th 1945, 4 days before the Japanese army was completed defeated, the Japanese army dissolved the Himeyuri unit and told the students and teachers to go home.
They had no where to go. They had spent most of their time underground, and the entire landscape had turned into a burning ravaged warscape with constant gunfire and death. Some of the school stayed in groups and tried finding shelter. Within the next day, 5 teachers and 46 students were killed hiding in a building destroyed by the US forces. The army accepted some girls into another medical unit, but all others were told to go away and leave. All girls accepted back were killed.
Teachers would try to stay in charge of a group of girls, but would often leave the girls to try and find the best way to safety. They would not return. Through overwhelming fear of being captured by the Americans, girls would kill themselves by jumping off the cliffs, or using cyanide given to them by other soldiers.
In the end, only 2 teachers and 11 students survived the war.
The Himeyuri Peace Museum is built on the site of the junior high school and tells the story of these girls and the effects of war.
Note: This post was made in Feb 2025 and back-dated to the time of the events
