Synopsis – Spoiler Free
82 Days on Okinawa is an old man, Colonel Arthur Shaw, recount of his time on the island off of Japan. From helping natives move out of the crossfire, confronting the full force of the kamikaze mindset, Colonel Shaw spears no details on his grueling 82 days on Okinawa.

Review

Maybe I will be saying this with the books I will read this year, but this one truly moved me and will stay with me for a long time. It’s not a book that should be taken lightly or read with the same criticism as a novel. This truly is an old mans recount of wartime that had lived with him for the majority of his life. That deserves to be handled with care

Now I do understand why someone would have trouble reading this, especially when he drops random ranks and names. There were many times I did skim over or brushed over them myself. Because while yes they mattered, I always viewed it as more of how the author remembered them or emphasizing that these at the end of the day, men who truly existed and lived. Which in itself is powerful then anything else I have ever read.

It is also why I think so many things were mentioned, including events Colonel Arthur Shaw was not present for. Such as when he talked about the fight on Love Hill, and what a massacre that was. In another part, someone mentioned that it would’ve been impossible for Colonel Shaw to know what was being said in a conversation far away. To me, this was not a flaw. What we are reading is the scenes that play in the mind of a survivor who has been carrying so much for so long, that so much has been blurred of “I was there” to “I heard this”. Which he it is very apparent at times that he was not truly there, but he might as well have been. Especially with how long he has lived with these memories.

I think it is also showing how much survivor’s guilts Colonel Shaw has. As if he needs to get out every detail of the war, down to someone’s name/rank, in order to pay them respect or to say, “I’m sorry that you died and that I did not.” Truly no other story will last this long in my life such as this one. There were many times that I had to put the book down in order to digest what I read and sit with the weight of it.

An interesting part of this book also wrestled with the idea of being a ‘hero’. This is where Colonel Shaw would mention those who perished and what awards they won, if they did. Doing so begged him to ask the question: what makes a man a hero? Colonel Shaw concluded that anybody who signed up to the army, no matter what position that is done, is a hero. After reading this book, I whole heartedly agree.

Which, after reading this book, my respect for soldiers has grown immensely, which was always there but now it’s entirely different. I have more of an appreciation for the men and women who fight for our country and don’t pause in wondering if they are heroes. I just had an encounter with a veteran not too long and for the first time, saying, “thank you for your service”, was very easy to say. Which almost makes me feel guilty because this should’ve been easy to say in the first place. It’s really super simple to do. I think it’s just I always felt as in the back of my mind “well sure thank you, but what did you actually do for service of our country?” Which now thinking on it sounds pretentious.

Another thing I want to point out this book highlighted: there is no end to war. Yes, obviously WWII is over, and has been for 80 or so years. However those who went to fight in the war, are still living there. As Shaw has stated, they have one foot on the island and another off. The amount of horrors these men have seen, having friends die in front of them, or the enemy killing themselves instead of surrendering. It stands to reason as to why these men lived with the trauma for decades. And sure, for us born decades afterwards, this book seems impartial. Who is thinking of WWII in 2020? 2026? Then again, who is bothering reading blogs when there are other spaces to get reviews.

It’s entirely useful to get thoughts out of the mind, and if others want to spend time reading it, great. If not, that’s also fine.

Lastly, this book also made me think a lot more of my cousin who did join the army and was in Afghanistan for awhile. The first in our family to do. I feel as I should’ve always known that he was a hero. Leaving his family, his kids could not have been easy, but he still did it, and he held a lot of pride in what he did. He was by no means a perfect man, but a good one. I truly miss him. And I’m also immensely proud to have had him in my family.