We should keep in our prayers and remembrances the many Americans (mostly young men and teens) who fought and sacrificed during this same day 79 years ago in the Battle of Okinawa. It was the bloodiest battle and the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, the Navy’s Fifth Fleet under Admiral Raymond Spruance attacked the Japanese-held island. They were joined by a British, Canadian, New Zealand, and Australian naval task force and more than 180,000 Army soldiers and Marines. This was the final push toward invading mainland Japan and putting an end to the war.
Military planners considered the capture of Okinawa and its airfields to be a crucial and necessary precondition for the invasion of the Japanese mainland.
Were the U.S. to invade Japan, estimates of potential American casualties were upward of 1.7 to 4 million, with between 400,000 and 800,000 deaths. The Battle of Okinawa only served to raise those estimates, as had the recent brutal battle for Iwo Jima, where U.S. casualties numbered 26,000 over five weeks of fighting. Only a few hundred Japanese had been captured out of the 21,000 troops who fought to the death.
God Bless my Father's Generation and all who've served.
One of my best friend’s dad was a WW 11 Navy vet and still alive at 102. He has one of those belt buckles that shows that he was in combat at Tarawa,Guadalcanal,Iwo Jima and Okinawa. I remember when we were kids he would always wear it to VFW meetings and any Post event.Boy he was proud of that baby and rightfully so
ReplyDeleteyeah. fun fact. they have no made any purple heart medals since 1945. they figured close to 4-5 million wounded
ReplyDeleteif they had to invade. my dad was off shore with the navy and he told me that was what he had most of his nightmares from. that time. say what you will. but I have heard from Japanese that the dropping of the bombs saved a lot of lives. as they where teaching the school kids to lie in holes and attack with sticks
this was at CGSC in the 1980's. the Japanese think a lot different about the bomb than we do.
My Dad who is dead now entered the Marines at 17 in 43 and Island Hopped. On Okinawa he was severely injured as he was blown up. He spent a year in traction in a Naval Hospital and was given Marine Retirement. He had a massive scar from left shoulder to right hip and all across his legs. The money he got each month was not much and he had to go into the VA about every 6 months to be put into traction and weights to straighten his back. My one uncle was on the USS Missouri and the other served with Patton as part of his supply and they were not injured.
ReplyDelete100k dead on both sides, 90%Japanese. All the explanation for the bomb needed.
ReplyDeleteWord. If Truman had not dropped the bomb, I probably would not be here. My dad was a Bombardier in B-17s. After 05/45, he was shipped back to B-29 school. While he was in training, Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred. He was discharged and began a family with my mom. I made it through VN. All wars are banker's wars.
DeleteThough the casualty estimate for the invasion of Japan was increased after Okinawa, in 1946 after finding and reviewing the actual preparations that Japan had for said invasion the casualty estimate radically increased.
ReplyDeleteWe may not have won the ground war if we invaded. If we won it, Japan and the Japanese would have been wiped off the face of the earth.