Uniquely Okinawan
Determining Identity During the U.S. Wartime Occupation

Courtney A. Short (Author)

9780823288380

Hardback, published 3 March 2020

272 pages, 12
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.542 kg

Uniquely Okinawan explores how American soldiers, sailors, and Marines considered race, ethnicity, and identity in the planning and execution of the wartime occupation of Okinawa, during and immediately after the Battle of Okinawa, 1945–46.

Introduction 1
1 Identifying the Enemy: US Army Wartime Occupation Policy 21
2 US Marine Discipline: Strict Directives in Wartime
Marine Military Government 32
3 "Japanese" Warriors? Okinawan Preparation for Battle 45
4 The US Fights Overseas: Americans Charge
toward the Battlefield 51
5 Having a Say: Okinawan Constructions of Identity 59
6 Policy into Action: The US Army Hits the Shore 74
7 Benevolent Captors? Okinawans Encounter the Americans 90
8 No Initiative: Unbending Policy, Rigid US Marine Action 102
9 The US Navy Period: Navigating the Transition to Peace 124
10 New Visions, New Interpretations of Identity:
The Expansion of US Navy Military Government 140
Conclusion 155
Acknowledgments 163
Notes 167
Bibliography 223
Index 237
Photographs follow page 58