Kadena Air Base (Former Japanese Middle Airfield)

Kadena Air Base (嘉手納飛行場), located in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa in Okinawa Prefecture, traces its origins to the Imperial Japanese Army's Middle Airfield (中飛行場, Naka Hikōjō). In April 1944, following Japan's escalating losses in the Pacific, the Japanese military forcibly requisitioned approximately 473,170 square meters of farmland spanning the communities of Yara, Kadena, Higashi, Nozato, Nokuni, and Kuninao in what was then Chatan Village. Construction began in May 1944, employing conscripted laborers working day and night to build the airfield. It was opened by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service as the Middle Airfield in September 1944, featuring a single runway oriented northeast-southwest with taxiways and revetments.

The airfield suffered severe damage during the devastating October 10, 1944 air raid (十・十空襲), when U.S. carrier-based aircraft attacked military installations across Okinawa. Despite repairs, the facility was further battered by preparatory bombardments preceding the American invasion.

On April 1, 1945 — L-Day of Operation Iceberg — the U.S. Tenth Army launched the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater. Elements of XXIV Corps, specifically the 7th Infantry Division's 17th and 32nd Infantry Regiments, advanced inland from the Hagushi beaches and captured Kadena Airfield on the first day of the invasion, encountering only light resistance as the Japanese 32nd Army had concentrated its defensive forces in southern Okinawa. What the Americans found was a 4,600-foot strip of badly damaged coral runway.

The 1901st Aviation Engineer Battalion and Naval Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit CBMU 624 immediately began repairs. By nightfall on April 4, the runway could accept emergency landings. Eight days later, after adding six inches of coral surfacing, the airfield was declared operational for artillery spotting aircraft. By April 9, U.S. Marine Corps F4U Corsairs of VMF-312 became the first combat aircraft to operate from the captured field. Marine Air Groups 33 and 14 subsequently flew interception and ground support missions throughout the Battle of Okinawa.

The airfield was rapidly expanded with a second parallel runway, eventually reaching configurations of 6,500 × 200 feet and 7,500 × 200 feet. On July 16, 1945, Headquarters Eighth Air Force transferred to nearby Sakugawa, tasked with training B-29 Superfortress groups for continued bombing of the Japanese homeland. The war's end in August 1945 redirected the base's mission toward occupation support.

During the Korean War, Kadena became a critical staging base. The 19th Bombardment Group flew the first B-29 combat missions against North Korea from Kadena on July 13, 1950. The base continued to grow in strategic importance throughout the Cold War. In November 1954, the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing relocated from South Korea with F-86 Sabres, and nuclear weapons were stored at the base beginning in December 1954.

During the Vietnam War, Kadena served as a rear-area logistics hub. KC-135 Stratotankers refueled B-52 Stratofortresses conducting Arc Light bombing missions from January 1965 to September 1970. SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft operated from Kadena's Detachment 1 of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, conducting surveillance missions over Vietnam, China, and North Korea.

Following the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty, Kadena Air Base continued as a U.S. facility under the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement. Today, it remains the largest U.S. Air Force installation in the Pacific, with two parallel 12,100-foot runways, approximately 80 aircraft valued over $4 billion, and over 18,000 personnel under the 18th Wing. The base spans approximately 19.95 square kilometers — together with the adjoining ammunition storage area it occupies about 82% of Kadena Town's total land area — a fact that remains a source of deep resentment and ongoing political friction between local residents, the Japanese government, and the U.S. military. Kadena stands as the most visible symbol of the continuity of American military occupation in Okinawa, nearly eight decades after the end of World War II.