Photo/Illutration Chris Majewski gives a briefing at the Battle of Okinawa historical display in Urasoe, Okinawa Prefecture, in June. (Shohei Okada)

URASOE, Okinawa Prefecture--For decades, an exhibition here has shown thousands of items related to the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, including a uniform worn in one of the bloodiest combat zones in the Pacific War.

But relatively few Japanese have heard about the display.

That’s because the items are exhibited within the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Kinser and are geared toward U.S. military personnel and their families. The display explanations are only in English.

However, word is trickling out about the Battle of Okinawa historical display.

The death toll from the battle toward the end of World War II exceeded 200,000. An estimated one in four civilians in Okinawa died in the carnage.

The display was initially opened within the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture in 1992 by a former U.S. service member. It was relocated to Camp Kinser in 1994.

About 3,000 genuine articles and replicas from both the U.S. and Japanese sides, such as a land mine and a hand grenade, are on display. A bag, canteen and other personal belongings of female students mobilized for the war effort as well as showpieces representing the damage inflicted on civilians are also shown.

The items have been amassed through donations and other means.

Thousands of people mainly from U.S. forces in Okinawa Prefecture, home to about 70 percent of U.S. military facilities in Japan, visit the display annually.

Chris Majewski, 46, a former U.S. Marine and director of the exhibit, said he became interested in the battle because his grandfather had been stationed in Okinawa as a U.S. serviceman during World War II.

Majewski pointed to a canteen of a U.S. Marine involved in the Battle of Okinawa that was terribly distorted by more than 30 bullets.

“What's the price you're going to pay if something does pop off again?” he said. “This is the price you're going to pay.”

According to the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa, similar exhibits have been set up within U.S. military bases around the world to show the history of warfare.

“They are great for teaching because they can show how battles were fought and what lessons were learned back then,” said a representative of the Marine Corps. “They also remind us of the many realities of war--that sometimes mistakes do occur and by knowing about them we can try to prevent them now.”

Admission to the display at Camp Kinser is free for groups that apply through the Urasoe government, even though the city has no direct connection with the military facility.

Riho Sato, 22, a senior at Okinawa International University, who has served as a guide around old battlefields, and Nitsuki Karimata, 21, a peace activist, visited the display in May.

Sato said she viewed artifacts from the Battle of Okinawa at another local museum and was inspired to learn more about the conflict and renew her determination for Japan to “never again go to war.”

But Camp Kinser showed her that “war is a thing that could happen in the future” because the U.S. military has been operating bases in Okinawa since the battle.

“We have to see things from diversified viewpoints (when thinking of peace),” Sato said.

Karimata said the display gave her a perspective on the battle from the side of U.S. soldiers. She said photos showing a girl in a blood-stained kimono and other victimized residents left an especially strong impression.

She also said the venue, at a U.S. base, stimulated her curiosity, adding that American military personnel can also recognize the possibility of heavy civilian casualties in war.