George Rook was married with a three year old son when he went into the Marine Corps in 1944. Assigned to the Military Combat Police, Rook was sent to various places in the Pacific, including the invasion of Okinowa.
The island of Okinowa, a strategic island eighteen miles wide and sixty nine miles long ,held over a hundred thirty thousand Japanese solduiers, many of them hiding in the underground caves that riddled the island.
Rook's friends were being killed all around him. His best friend was killed in an ambush. He was standing right next to him when he was shot and yet Rook was unharmed. At the age of 89, Rook still wonders why he was spared. And yet he feels only pride to have served his country.
Joan Hallmark, Reporting joanhallmark@kltv.com
