Grandma Would Be Proud

Not your grandma's genealogy anymore

If family history and genealogy have a future, we are going to need young people to join the ranks. Everything is heading toward the digital world where the youth excel and some of us grandpas and grandmas struggle.  Click here for a story about some kids in Houston who have taken the challenge.

Young faces – Native Okinawans 1945

These are the faces of children and young adults captured in 1945 by Lt. Reinhart T. Kowallis while he was stationed on Okinawa as part of a photo interpretation team attached to the 10th U.S. Army. As I look at these photos, I wonder if any of these people are still alive today and, if so, I wonder if they will ever recognize themselves in these photos.

While on girl turns to run away from the camera, another gives a big smile.

A family of native Okinawans at home.

Two young girls on the side of the road. One of them carrying a boy who was not much smaller than the girl.

A young girl getting a haircut.

Three young girls along the road.

A young boy, comfortably dressed, playing with a hoop.

An Okinawan family with their catch for the day.

A group of native Okinawans reaching for something–the photo does not say what.

Another young native Okinawan boy dressed appropriately for a warm day.

Young Okinawan boys in the back of a truck.

A pretty, camera-shy girl.

Another girl. Not so camera shy.

Two stylish Okinawan ladies at the beach.

An American serviceman (perhaps Lt. Martinson from the photo interpretation group) visiting with a young Okinawan boy.

You can read more about the Battle of Okinawa on Wikipedia, PBS.org, and History.com.
Other good sites for information on the Battle of Okinawa during 1945 include:

• The Hawai'i Nisei Story site
• History.net's site
• MilitaryHistory.com's site
• US Army Center for Military History site

And for post-war Okinawa, this is a very good site with lots of pictures from 1945 through 1972: Remembering Okinawa

Note: Be sure to visit my other blogs on Okinawa in 1945: 

• People of Okinawa 
• Casualties of war 
• Capture of a Japanese soldier 
• LDS servicemen and women in Okinawa 
• The Unknown Soldiers -- Okinawa 1945
• More faces from Okinawa 
• 10th Army Photo Interpretation Group 
• Surrender Day on Okinawa 
• Young Faces in Okinawa 1945
• Older Faces in Okinawa 1945 
• Shuri Castle
• War Photos from Okinawa 1 
• War Photos from Okinawa 2
• War Photos from Okinawa 3