Finding your way around a WWII battlefield.

May 26, 2014 9:03 PM

I will shortly be in Okinawa and am very interested in visiting the Maeda escarpment -- specifically the summit where Desmond Doss earned his Medal Of Honor. I'd like to arrive there confidently knowing I am in the right place and oriented such that I could find the referenced cliff with certainty. Is there a right way to gather the information I need?
posted by Tell Me No Lies to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

This is probably a good place to start: the US Army history
OKINAWA: THE LAST BATTLE.
posted by zamboni at 10:02 PM on May 26, 2014

Best answer: I haven't watched the whole thing, but starting around 57:20, this documentary about Desmond Doss called The Conscientious Objector shows a bunch of guys, I think including Doss himself, walking around the memorial area and pointing to exactly where everything happened. With some breaks, that goes on at least until 1:22:00 or so, maybe longer.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 11:20 PM on May 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

Here's Needle Rock
posted by at at 11:40 PM on May 26, 2014

Best answer: This geocache is apparently on the correct part of the escarpment, and the page includes photos of Doss standing on the site.
posted by zamboni at 7:34 AM on May 27, 2014

Look at the
-Battle of Okinawa Historical Society (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Battle-of-Okinawa-Historical-Society/144999915515486)
-BATTLE OF OKINAWA HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM (http://okinawarelics.com/battlemuseum.html#.U4ZXTWQY1EI)

I can't speak specific to the point, but I was stationed in Okinawa for 3 years, and Maeda point/cliffs are readily available... and I never heard of the MoH point, so it may take some digging.
posted by aggienfo at 2:40 PM on May 28, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. Particularly with the help of the video footage I was able to be 95% sure I was at the right spot.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 4:04 AM on July 28, 2014