[niteowl77]

My dad had gotten posted to Okinawa in late '49 or early '50, and when he arrived, there were still signs of what had happened on the island in WWII, and plenty of people who could give him an idea of just how bad taking it had been. After having been there a while, he was detailed to go with a detachment to Ie Shima to staff a radar installation. This was a duty that nobody wanted, as Ie Shima was universally considered a "s**thole" (dad's term) that the native Okinawans said was crawling with poisonous snakes ("Habu! Habu!").

There is a long story I won't tell about how dad managed to stay off the snake-infested outhouse - it was one of two absolute freaks of fortune dad had while on Okinawa - but the result was that dad did not go to Ie Shima. Nonetheless, when he tells the story and mentions Ie Shima, he always, ALWAYS, mentions it as the place where Ernie Pyle was killed.

Mr. niteowl77

[EternalVigilance]

A few days back I posted a picture of my Dad’s from Okinawa which he took as he was heading home from his stint in Korea. It’s of a half-sunken Japanese ship in Naha Harbor. Or at least I’m assuming it’s Japanese.

[EternalVigilance]

Oh. I’m pretty sure my Dad’s pic was from ‘54. The evidence of that mighty battle was still quite evident.