Grits and Sushi: Nuchi du Takara

Hi BT'ers! Here is a very interesting documentary by my friend Mitzi Uehara Carter titled, Nuchi du Takara (Life is a Treasure), about two women that survived the Battle of Okinawa (Operation Iceberg). Mitzi writes:

Well, it’s finally done and uploaded.  The 15 minute documentary on two survivors of the Battle of Okinawa in Northern California.  This was a collaborative project that was made possible by the women interviewed and those of us who helped give their stories this platform: Prof. Wesley Uenten, Prof. Keiko Yamanaka, Daisuke Miyake of Crosswater Media, and myself (Mitzi Uehara Carter).

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx-_w-wNL-0&feature=player_embedded#at=97[/youtube]

The battle of Okinawa proved to be the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. During my service in the US Marine Corps, I was stationed in Okinawa for a total of four years (during the early 80's and 90's) and visited many of the battle sites, shrines and museums dedicated to the war. To give you a some background on  the Battle of Okinawa:

"Okinawa was the largest amphibious invasion of the Pacific campaign and the last major campaign of the Pacific War. More ships were used, more troops put ashore, more supplies transported, more bombs dropped, more naval guns fired against shore targets than any other operation in the Pacific. More people died during the Battle of Okinawa than all those killed during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Casualties totaled more than 38,000 Americans wounded and 12,000 killed or missing, more than 107,000 Japanese and Okinawan conscripts killed, and perhaps 100,000 Okinawan civilians who perished in the battle." You can read more about the Battle of Okinawa here.

You can read more of Mitzi's post on the 15-minute documentary here on her "musings on okinawa, race, family, militarization, blackness, & the south" via the Grits and Sushi blog. I truly look forward to additional Grits and Sushi videos and posts..