Prayers for My Beloved Grandparents (Okinawa's End of the War Memorial Day)

Okinawa's End of the War Memorial Day is approaching soon.
The ground battle, often called a living hell, left prayers and sorrows among the people of Okinawa that have not faded even today.

I remember this day every year because my grandparents were from Amami.While Amami is not Okinawa itself, it shares many geographically and culturally similar aspects.

At the time, as the war dragged on, air raids on Okinawa and Amami became increasingly fierce.Since Amami had a Japanese military base at the time, it became a target for concentrated attacks.

With enemy bombers flying right over their heads, my grandparents, who were still children at the time, fled desperately just like the other adults.The time they spent in air-raid shelters must have felt like they were barely clinging to life.

“I still remember that terrifying scene clearly even now.”
Considering the depth of the scars left on a child's heart at that time, it is beyond imagination.
I could never find the words to say to my grandparents whenever they talked about it.

After the war, my grandparents looked for work and moved to the Kansai region on the mainland (Honshu).My grandfather joined a shipbuilding company and worked relentlessly.

Every day after work, he would attend English conversation classes, which were rare at the time, studying desperately to handle tasks like communicating with foreign ship crews, and he became highly valued within the company.My grandmother supported my grandfather through all of this in an unfamiliar environment.

What began to torment my grandparents' hearts was, once again, the irresistible “tide of the times.”

After the post-war chaos, the era pushed forward into a period of high economic growth.As Japan became wealthier, the rate of young people advancing to high school and university rose dramatically.This country steered heavily toward a society based on academic credentials.

It was around this time that the number of high school and university graduates entering companies began to increase rapidly.Naturally, that wave also crashed into my grandfather's company.

The core of the company shifted rapidly from the generation of “middle school graduates who worked their way up” like my grandfather to young people with high academic backgrounds.

My grandfather, who had been highly valued for his language skills, began to be passed over for promotions one after another by younger people in the company, simply because he was a “middle school graduate,” regardless of his actual abilities.

How frustrated my grandfather must have felt at that time. How painful it must have been.How unbearable it must have been for my grandmother, who watched it all from up close.

The one thing my grandfather always said to us grandchildren was, “I just want you to graduate from university.”
His face was always filled with an indescribable sadness whenever he said that.

Even with bosses who were all younger than him, my grandfather did his best.He worked hard to support his family and stayed at that shipbuilding company until his mandatory retirement at age 60.My grandfather was truly a man of effort.

After retirement, both of my grandparents were very affectionate toward us grandchildren.I don't think they were particularly dexterous people, but their overflowing love was more than enough to reach us.

Whenever I passed my high school entrance exams, university entrance exams, or job interviews, the first people I called, even before my family, were always my grandparents.Each time, my grandfather would cry with joy, and my grandmother would watch him with a smile.

So, that is the extent of the memories I have shared with my grandparents.What kind of memories will I be able to create from here on?

Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away a few years ago due to illness.The sight of my grandmother fighting her illness until the very end was truly admirable.

On the day of our farewell, I gently placed a letter in the hands of my grandmother sleeping in her coffin.
It read, “You worked so hard. Thank you for everything.”

My grandfather, who turns 90 this year, is still alive and living in a care facility.He has developed some dementia and can barely walk on his own.

Once a month, when I visit the facility where my grandfather stays, he says,
"Every day, my late wife appears in my dreams while I'm sleeping, so I can't sleep at all."
"We went on so many trips together, you know."
My grandfather's eyes, now prone to tears, well up.

You two must have cherished each other so deeply...

Being someone who isn't good with words, I find myself unable to respond once again. I just want to let my grandfather and grandmother meet one more time. But that would mean my grandfather leaving the world I am in.

That is why, whenever I see my grandfather, I am always left with an indescribable, complex feeling.
I even lose track of my own feelings.

My grandfather and grandmother lived their lives to the fullest while being tossed about by the waves of their era. When the time comes for fate to come and collect my grandfather, my grandmother in heaven will surely be the first to send him a letter with her address on it.

This is a note of love dedicated to the two of them in that future.
A day to renew our prayers. Okinawa Memorial Day.

Comments are very welcome💡