The town of Nishihara, at the center of Okinawa Island, lost half of its residents in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa.
Yoshiko Goya, 88, who was born in the town’s Kohatsu area — the site of fierce fighting between Japanese and U.S. forces during World War II — has never forgotten the days when she desperately tried to flee the ravages of war with her family and relatives.
Then age 8, Goya saw her younger sister killed by the bombings right before her. Her other sister, who was a baby, died in her mother’s arms while they were trying to get away from the carnage.
Battle of Okinawa 1945: Memories of fire, flight and loss
