Though dozens of remains are recovered every year, about 12,000 Japanese are still classified as missing in action and presumed killed on the island, along with 218 Americans…

The Marines who arrived Tuesday from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force on the island of Okinawa, many of whom have been to battle either in Iraq or Afghanistan, said they were visiting hallowed ground.

“I can’t imagine fighting in this kind of terrain,” said Cpl. Daniel Flynn, 24, of Mount Airy, North Carolina. “I fought in Afghanistan, but that was in open desert. I probably would not have had the same experience here had I not been to Afghanistan.”