U.S. President Bill Clinton plans to visit a memorial to the more than 200,000 people who lost their lives in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa when he attends the July 21-23 Group of Eight summit in the prefecture, U.S. government officials said Tuesday.
Clinton will address Okinawa residents upon his visit to the Cornerstone of Peace memorial, built at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, the officials said.
The memorial bears the engraved names of all soldier and civilian victims, including approximately 14,000 U.S. soldiers, killed in the 82-day Battle of Okinawa during the closing months of World War II.
The officials said the president also plans to express his appreciation to local residents for hosting U.S. troops stationed in Okinawa.