News>Airman connects families to loved ones who died in Battle of Okinawa
Photos
Tech. Sgt. Victor Follis does a pencil rubbing July 15 of the name of a servicemember who died in the Battle of Okinawa. Sergeant Follis does the rubbings to help family members to remain connected to their loved ones who died in the battle more than 60 years ago. The memorial is located in Peace Prayer Park in Itoman City, Japan. Sergeant Follis is with the 18th Maintenance Group at Kadena Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Rey Ramon)
Tech. Sgt. Victor Follis does a pencil rubbing July 15 of the name of a servicemember who died in the Battle of Okinawa. Sergeant Follis does the rubbings to help family members to remain connected to their loved ones who died in the battle more than 60 years ago. The memorial is located in Peace Prayer Park in Itoman City, Japan. Sergeant Follis is with the 18th Maintenance Group at Kadena Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Rey Ramon)
Peace Prayer Park, located in Itoman City, Japan, has 94 wall segments dedicated to Americans and Europeans who died during the Battle of Okinawa more than 60 years ago. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Rey Ramon)
7/23/2008 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFPN) -- Although it's been more than 60 years since the battle of Okinawa, a Kadena Air Base NCO here is doing everything he can to ensure that friends and family members can remain connected to their loved ones who died in the battle.
Tech. Sgt. Victor Follis, a quality assurance inspector with the 18th Maintenance Group, saw the need to remember those who gave their lives in this devastating battle.
After visiting Peace Prayer Park in Itoman City, Japan, and seeing the war memorial there which contains the names of all those who died in the battle, he knew what he had to do.
Sergeant Follis created a Web site at www.okinawamemorialrubbings.org, which allows visitors to request rubbings from the war memorial of the names of friends or loved ones who died in the battle. His site contains photographs of the memorial, historical information about the battle and personal stories about some of those who died. There are more than 14,000 names of Americans inscribed in the memorial.
"The whole project of Okinawa memorial rubbings started with my grandfather at a family reunion," said Sergeant Follis. "My grandfather asked me if I wouldn't mind going there in search of a cousin's name."
The sergeant traveled to the memorial to get the rubbings and send them back to his family. What started as a family favor soon became a labor of love as the sergeant realized he could help others to remember their fallen heroes.
He first created a generic Web site that contained photos of 94 wall segments and was soon receiving feedback from visitors on how to make the site more interesting.
"From there it turned into its own generating circuit, and I was getting e-mails from radio stations and magazines," he said.
In order to maintain the site and get the rubbings, Sergeant Follis depends heavily on volunteers from the base. Veterans from the 7th and 96th Infantry Divisions as well as members of the Ryukyu American Historical Society have also been vital to the success of the project.
Sergeant Follis has been running the Web site for a year now and receives several e-mails every week requesting pictures and name rubbings.
"I send pamphlets about the Battle of Okinawa, pictures of the name, the wall segment and the memorial park," said the sergeant. "In the future I will be sending everything digitally."
In addition to the Web site and wall rubbing requests, he also works with the American Battle Site Memorial Commission to ensure the names of the fallen from the battle of Okinawa are entered into their database.
"I'm working with two Army names, 27 Merchant Marine names and working with the ABSMC to get these names added to their database so people can search for them," said the sergeant.
In addition to helping others preserve the memory of their loved ones, the project has spurred Sergeant Follis' interest in the history of the battle.
"There's so much history here and I feel like I haven't even scratched the surface," said Sergeant Follis.
The sergeant hopes more and more people will visit his Web site to reconnect with those who fought and died in the Battle of Okinawa.
"If it can help do something like what it's done for my family, I'm more than happy to do this," he said.
