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Long-time employee recalls U.S. support for Okinawan recovery

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Rey Ramon
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFPN) --  August 15 marks the 63rd anniversary of the cessation of hostilities between Japan and the United States at the end of World War II. Shuusen-kinenbi, known in English as "End of War Commemoration Day," is an important milestone in Japanese history and marked a new beginning in Japanese-American relations.

Soon after the announcement of a cease-fire and subsequent peace treaty, American troops, working together with Okinawans, began the arduous task of rebuilding the island's devastated infrastructure and returning life to some sense of normalcy.

For one Okinawan whose ties to Kadena Air Base are longer than most of its Airmen have been alive, this rebuilding process provided a unique opportunity to work alongside American forces while helping revitalize his community. It also provided him with a unique perspective on the American military and its presence in Okinawa over the years.

Mr. Eiichiro Shimabukuro was the first Okinawan to work in the medical group at Kadena AB. He was hired in June 1950 and worked in the radiological section of the hospital, earning 3,000 yen a month. After a year, he transferred to the laboratory section and was trained on how to use various instruments.

While his own prospects improved once he began working for the base, he recalls stark conditions and a lack of basic services on the island in the aftermath of the war.

"I remember after the battle's end there was no sewage system, no plumbing, no water, and there were many diseases with no medicine for treatment," Mr. Shimabukuro said. "We did not have good hospitals in Okinawa so we depended on American hospitals. By 1950 we were given medicine from Americans to cure us from diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis."

Mr. Shimabukuro himself was a victim to the rampant spread of malaria in the southern part of Okinawa.

"The U.S. gave me yellow tablets that cured my malaria," he said.

Mr. Shimabukuro said that sometimes Okinawan hospitals were unable to treat certain patients, so they would transport them on base by ambulance. The patients came from the local area as well as the other islands of in the Ryukyu chain.

Mr. Shimabukuro worked his regular hours during the day and was on-call if an Okinawan patient arrived at the hospital needing treatment.

"[Sometimes] I worked 24 hours a day," he said. "When I received a call, they would say, 'emergency patient.' If I did not go, they would not treat the patient because I was the only Okinawan working at the hospital."

In August 1964, the Kadena clinic began taking blood donations, and they often shared blood with the Chubu Hospital off base. Before then, there had been no way for Okinawan hospitals to give blood to their patients, he said.

"Okinawans always depended on Americans because we had nothing until 1964," Mr. Shimabukuro said. "Things were getting better."

The road to reconstruction was a long one and took a great deal of cooperation between the Americans and the local community.

When the United States began establishing military bases and housing, they also built water systems on the island. Prior to that time, Okinawa relied on wells as their main water source.

"The Americans began helping in 1950 when they began construction of a water pipe all the way to Naha," he said. "Then a water plant was built in Ishikawa in 1959 and Americans helped in that project also."

Many years after the war, Okinawa established an education system, health services, and public work projects that were made possible largely by U.S. military support. 

Mr. Shimabukuro retired in 1996 but resumed his service as a volunteer at the clinic in 2000. At 77 years old today, his volunteer time is limited to two hours a week at the information desk, but his perspective on American-Okinawan relations following the war and his 58 years of service alongside U.S. forces in Okinawa have made him somewhat of a Kadena institution.

As Okinawa prepares to observe End of War Commemoration Day, Mr. Shimabukuro reflects on the changes that took place after the war and the close cooperation between Americans and Okinawans that made recovery possible.

If Americans had not supported the Okinawans, they would have been unable to help themselves, said Mr. Shimabukuro. "We should appreciate the U.S. Forces for supporting us to rebuild our communities."


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