Peace Prayer Park is a memorial for the Battle of Okinawa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa.
I have been hesistant to go to this place as it is very sacred to the Okinawans and I wasn't sure if it would be the kind of place to bring our family to see. But, on a warm (!!) winter day, the Peterson family decided to join us to brave it. I am so glad we did!
The boys checking out one of the many shrines for us.
There were walls, walls and more walls with names of the fallen. It was sobering. It is so eye opening to see so many names (thousands) listed for one horrible battle.
The Okinawan's had heavy losses themselves. The local people endured such hardship and tragedy; war is a very ugly affair.
The kids looked for any familiar names they could find.
The park was full of beautiful monuments.
It was spacious, simple and serene.
They had a huge museum to display many relics, photos and stories.
Ever tried to get a picture of 6 boys after they have been "reverant" in an outdoor park for about 3 hours. This is what happens. :)
2 comments:
Happy to see all your new posts! I'm sure the Peace Prayer Park was very humbling.
My Great Uncle, Ballard Pead, was actually killed at Okinawa. This was really neat for me to see. He was my Grandpa's baby brother and only 24 yrs. old.
Sarah Parks
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