Okinawa 1945: Typhoon of Steel
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- Опубликовано: 12 янв 2023
- “Okinawa 1945: Typhoon of Steel” is the second in a two-part series covering Operation ICEBERG and the U.S. Tenth Army’s securing of Okinawa. This documentary follows the actions of the invading U.S. forces against the fortified Imperial Japanese Army on Okinawa. Current doctrine concepts pertaining to defense and Multi-Domain Operations are covered throughout the film.
You can watch part one here: • Okinawa 1945: Planning...
Doctrine:
04:14 Multi-Domain Operations
04:31 MDO Tenets
12:14 ADP 3-90, Strong Point
12:47 ADP 3-90, Commanders and Strong Points
13:01 FM 3-90-1, Defense In Depth
13:44 ADP 3-90, Area Defense
14:32 FM 3-90-1, Reverse Slope Defense
21:04 ATP 3-21.51, Subterranean Operations
32:27 ADP 4-0, Reconstitution Operations
34:10 ADP 3-21.51, Complex Battle Positions
Credits:
49:31 Credits
50:58 Special Thanks
Thank you for watching! To view more of our films, check out our full collection at www.armyupress.army.mil/Films/Feature-Film-Catalog/
As a marine, I was stationed on Okinawa for 18 months in the late 70s. I went from one end of the island to the other, and I found Okinawas some of the most friendly people in the world. I road motorcycles with them, boated, diving, and partying. Never was there a hint of animosity or hostility , only hospitality and friendship.
You see the great spirit and strong heart of these humans, after all that, what USA do with this nation!!! The same are we Germans!!! We have honor till the end!!!
Why would there be ?
@DannyPepprs I don't understand the context of the question? I was just trying to make point what a great race of people the vast majority of Okinawas are.
as you say "...in the late 1970s..." a lot of crimes and rapes committed by u.s. and a. forces since then.....
@@zigbeegooblesnort125😊😂❤
Free educational documentary is something precious and I'm happy you provide more of them.
Bravo
Your study of The Battle For Okinawa is not complete until you read: WITH THE OLD BREED, by E.B. Sledge.
Amen to that!!
That story had me in tears 😢
It was. Viciously fought..😬
@@phillipburns8818 VERY FEW books on WW2, even those written by combat veterans, "PUT YOU THERE." 'Sledgehammer' does just that !
Best book ever
P
Check☑️
Eugene "SLEDGE HAMMER" Sledge! You and men like you will not be forgotten! Semper Fi
I,m so glad to see this documentary. My father was 19 years old and a sailor of the US Navy, seabees, 147th naval construction batallion and on Okinaw. In the 60 years of my life before he passed away at 90 years old, he never uttered a single word about okinawa and i never heard a single story of his time there. I always assumed it was too rough on him and he put it in his past and wanted to forget about it.
I appreciate this documentary for now at least i know the history.
19...... that hits hard. just a kid still.
So many of his and my dad's story's were never spoken! Now living in the time FB and constant crying of people I understand a solders silence!
@@rcdogmanduh4440 Learn how to read the room. This is neither the time or place to whine about the current generation.
🇺🇸 My Dad.... First Marine division ...first wave to land...only 19 yrs old. God Bless them All...Never to Be Forgotten..🇺🇸🇺🇸
USA! USA! USA!
That was a fantastic production . The narration of the tactics really helped to understand what was going on . My full respects to every US serviceman who fought in this battle . Those guys went through hell .
Best organized description of these battles ever! Thanks so much.
My dad was a US Marine stationed on the Battleship USS Arkansas BB-33. His main job was an anti-aircraft gunner on a turret above a crane. They had quite a time with the Kamakazi's. Sometime after the air threat had subsided the Marines were pulled off ship for guard duty on shore supply areas.
My granddad was a anti-aircraft gunner on HMS indefatigable, in the Royal Navy. Served during the war and at Okinawa, yes the Royal Navy were there too.
@@pauliemc2010I never knew that mate , full respect to your grandad
My Dad was on Okinawa with the 6th Division, First Battalion of the 29th Regiment, USMC. It is true that they took the airfields quickly, just how quickly gave the Marines some amusement. A Japanese pilot landed his plane and left the engine idling for the ground crew. It was only then that he discovered that the "ground crew" were US Marines.
My grandfather was in the 29th Marines as well. He only started to talk about it shortly before he passed away. He said it was "rough." What an understatement. They were truly part of the greatest generation.
My Dad was in the 6th Marines also. Fought and wounded on Okinawa.
My Dad was there, also. He was 19.
My Dad was a Coxn' on the U.S.S. St. Croix APA 231. After the main landing he drove supplies till someone shot a hole in his shin. He was 17.
My grandfa dead in saipan marines raider regiment 💀
Thank you for providing this. I remember reading about the horrible losses suffered on both sides including a Marine company commanded by a private when everyone who outranked him was killed fighting their way over one of the escarpments.
its so crazy to hear the story of the battle for the island i grew up on as a child in the 80s, 40 years after the battle raged...
For anybody who's looking at this video the absolute must read is written by Eugene Sledge of the 3/5 Marines How Company and it's called With the Old Breed. I've read dozens of books on both theaters of War but this is without question the most complete and the most intensely descriptive book I have ever read. For all of us World War II buffs, particularly the Marines you have got to read this and at least put it on your bucket list.
Very well done. Glad you covered the suicides and Desmond Doss and general Buckner. Also glad you put in the Japanese names of places as well.
I spent two years on the rock. This illuminated much of the myriad of stories surrounding those days. Thank you very much. Arigato.
My father was an Radioman attached to the Infantry (Army) during this battle. He was also in the Phillipines under MacArthur. He said the most frightening thing about this battle (of which he only spoke if prompted to) was the Japanese artillery barrages at night against our forces. During these barrages, Japanese Infantry would attack and jump into our foxholes, and try to kill us hand to hand. Okinawa was the only Pacific battle where the Japanese had equal amounts of artillery as compared to US Forces.
One night in his foxhole, my father suddenly pulled back his head. Then, the end of his nose got shot off. Providence.
My 97 year old cousin who passed a couple of years ago was on the Bunker Hill at Okinawa when kamikazes hit the deck. 400 sailors died. All the planes were filled with fuel which was a major contributing factor.
This was really well done. Covered just about everything. People know "Okinawa" but not its place as one of the most significant battles of WWII and in American History.
My uncle was a SeaBee..he said it was rough and one guy drove the roadgrader or bull dozer while the other would watch out for sniper's or return fire....he didn't talk in detail and this being in 1966-67 it was still fresh in his memory Im sure looking back today. He was a fine man and many other's with him too.
Apostrophes don't make words plural.
Very well researched and presented. Thank you!
My grandfather was an enlisted US Army Air Corps. He was tasked to pick up dead soldiers & marines. He said they were ordered to eat. When they would open their rations, flies would swarm onto their tins. These flies have just hatched from the dead bodies scattered about. He was traumatized by it. He only shared it when his great-grandson joined the USAF and was stationed at Kadina Air Force Base.
thanks for sharing that.
My dad told me a similar story.
The flies were everywhere.
I believe that Okinawa was the most horrible experience of WWII for American troops. When l lived there with my family at age 12-13, ten years after the battle, we kids found expended cartridge casings, machine gun belt links, and small human bones and bone fragments in all the creek beds. I didn't realize how bad it had been until I was an adult.
Superman would have been mentally screwed by Okinawa. My old man became an alcoholic from surviving it. But goddamn shame is we got American Nazis and fascists in US government - right here - in 2023! Hitler and Tojo would be glad to see this in America today. There's a saying that fascists didn't really lose WWII - they have just regrouped for WWIII!
@@Axgoodofdunemaul My grandpa was in the 508PIR 82nd A/B Division , and a medic with Capt,s rank . From Normandy (DDAy ) to Holland in " Operation Market Garden " , an almost calamity , to being wounded in the Ardennes( " Battle of the Bulge " , and then , in mid 3/1945 assisting , assistants assisting concentration camp victims of a sub- camp , he definitely had some PSTD issues .He said the "Bocage " fighting , or hedgerow fighting , took a high toll on Allied troops . He seen some men he was in jump school with never return .
He did mention that it might of been for the 101st, 82nd , 17th , and 11th A/B Divisions to prepare for the Invasion of Japan . Grandpa said , after his stint in fighting in the ETO that he'd shutter the thought of invading Japan .
Mighty good job! Very informative and detailed account of the battle. Thank you for this video.
What an excellently produced piece of education. Thank you.
Great Video, my granps is okinawan and was a toddler when all this happened, in his 18's till he was around 23 he was a Police Officer near the Kadena Airbase where he worked along with you guys for sometime, after that he moved far away from Japan.
To this day we see the scars that the war left on him.
@Moosecake yep biggest japanese population after Japan itself and nice place to live without hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis
My father and Australian soldier told me when I was young that it would have cost a million men to take and defeat Japan on the main islands, we have to be grateful that this did not come about
If you use Google Earth/Maps you can get a glimpse of the battle memorial there.
Rows of walls symbolizing waves of the sea. Being there in person and seeing all those thousands of names was a quite sobering experience. And thinking back on it contrasts with how shamefully some revisionists try to downplay what the costs of invading the home Japanese islands would have been.
The Japanese were already screwed by then. It would have been costly no doubt but a million men is a huge exaggeration. No offense to your father.
My father was stationed there in the mid-50's in the air force. They still had to be very cautious due to unexploded shells and grenades.
i was there in the 70's. bombs found all the time. pillboxes. ammo. the ridge. came out one afternoon for chow and some marine was pounding a coral-encrusted grenade against the steps...he got a wide berth. marines still had a bomb disposal squad. i rode with ordinance in the jeep several times.
I was there in the 1980's and they were still finding unexploded ordinance.
My Great Uncle Sgt Everett Pyle lost his life on Okinawa. According to one of his buddies that told my Great Grandmother, it was a Japanese hand-grenade. He stayed alive for a day and a half in a captured cave. They could not move him cause there were so many snipers and taking him out of the cave was certain death. He was in the 383rd infantry.
😪
My grandfather was in E company,383rd Infantry Regiment, 96th Inf Div. I've walked some of the ground the 383rd fought over, namely the Kakazu Ridge. I've never felt unexplained anxiety like I did walking up that ridge, seeing the caves and a still extant concrete bunker. It wasn't until we got to the top and the guide started talking that I learned the 383rd had fought and gotten badly bloodied there. I'll never forget that feeling.
@@chrisfoote2918he must have went through hell there Chris and at such a young age too . All the marines and soldiers who fought there were heroes . What a courageous man .
My mother was a brainwashed 16yo suicidal bomber. She set off her grenade when captured by the Americans but it was a dud. She was lucky that the Americans shot and wounded her. Her father and two brothers were killed in the battle. She married an American soldier and became a proud American citizen.
Damn
Excellent! Thank you.
Well done. Thankyou for making this documentary; five stars. It must have been tough as a G.I. to still be slugging it out in close combat when VE day had been celebrated six weeks ago.
My dad was there . Tony panas 7 th division 184th infantry regiment 3rd battalion company I.
It never ceases to amaze me how Americans question whether or not dropping the A-bombs on Japan was necessary. Okinawa should've made it abundantly clear why it was necessary.
THIS is going to be...AWESOME!
Hopefully there'll be a good amount of colorization possible of the footage.
Both my uncle, a captain in the 1st Marine Division, and my father, a signalman in the US Navy on the USS Hornet, were at Okinawa. I once asked my father why he wouldn't consider buying a Japanese car and he said, "They tried to drop bombs on me." He took it personally.
Did he ever own a VW? BMW? Mercedes? Audi?
Oh, wait. He wasn't at Anzio, or Omaha.
@@buzaldrin8086 Actually he owned a VW and also an Opel but mostly American but he held his ire for the Japanese, whom he blamed for interrupting his life and putting him in danger. Far as he was concerned, the Japanese were the ones who got us into the war and who tried to kill him. As I said, he took the war very personally.
@@unbreakable7633 Fair enough. Sunni Iraq might someday make a very efficient and safe automobile, but if I associated it with what was done to a buddy of mine and how it was done, it'd be hard for me to drive, let alone own.
Dude that's a cheap shot .Shame on you.
@@buzaldrin8086 what kinda dumb comment is that ?
My Marine sharpshooter uncle was part of reconnaissance into Okinawa and received his 2nd Purple Heart there. He also fought on Sugar Loaf. Fast forward ~13 years and as an Army brat, I explored Sugar Loaf, which was kitty corner from our house in an Army housing area. Used to go up there and find spent shells, caves, and bones. Also, with some other kids, dug up a bomb in our backyard. We immediately knew to run inside and call the Bomb Squad. Our photo and story was in the military newspaper. As strange as it may sound to those who only know about Okinawa thru WWII, it was a wonderful place to grow up as a military kid. I still go back there; it's a beautiful island, with unique customs and traditions, and friendly Okinawans.
That was excellent, many thanks.
Excellent program.
What a nice production. Thank you!
Great docu! I know it's a lot of work but please do more! I love learning out the Pacific. All they seem to teach in public school was details of European conflict.
What an excellent documentary very descriptive very informative very well-researched
Very impressive both a male and female narrator
Wow
Tells our story of
History.
Funny,,,
How they R
#1 partners in Asia.
I'm really glad you went into so much detail about this battle! You got yourself a new subscriber 👍👍
As far as any marine is concerned, the 'dog-faces' in the army had NOTHING to do with this victory. I'm glad you're here to set the record straight
M in Marine is always capitalized yep I am a Marine !
My grandfather was the toughest man I have met, and although he rarely liked talking about his time in Okinawa when he did I can always see his eyes get watery especially when explaining how he had to kill young boys who fought in the war and watched his best friend battle buddy get blown apart by a grenade right in front of him. Too bad my family has all his accolades and things now. Not sure what company he was in but RIP Manuel J Francisco
I'm excited. Thanks for this! Huge fan of WWII history. You guys always knock it out of the park so I'm looking forward to see what you guys have produced.
My father (Harold Ray Eynon) served Navy and his ship (DD Calhound) was sunk doing picket just off shore. He retired from service in 1959.
The best doc I've seen yet on Okinawa,keep up the amazing fact finding work buddíes, I absolutely enjoy your work. Keep it up, I'm looking forward to .more beçause í a.m à truly a Binge documentarywatcher. THANKS Again PEACE!!!!!
Horrifying but also fascinating thank you so much for your content and your efforts sir
Well done, thank you!
I’m currently on Okinawa.
Very detailed and informative.ive a great deal of interest in military history due to my late Father telling me of his service with George S Patton during world war 2. I also worked with a veteran of the korean war who was present at incheon and wolmido and the retreat from "frozen chosen reservoir" as a member of the first marine division.while I am abhorrent to war I'm still interested in the history side of it.thank you for this presentation.
Everyone abhors war.
That is a great video, thank you!
Very well done. Really enjoyed it
A truly excellent documentary. Brave Americans of all battle forces proven the valor, commitment and tenacity to win. Makes me wonder how todays youth would answer the call.
Good job brother, good job.
My uncle was killed in Okinawa. 6 Marine, Military records show he died May 26, 1945 but death certificate and tombstone show May 20, 1945. He is buried at the Punchbowl in Honolulu, but the first interment there was 1949. Can anyone explain either of these mysteries for me? We only found out in 2019 that there is a memorial on Okinawa for all of the KIA from WWII and my uncles name was found by total coincidence on his 100th birthday.
My Dad was there, 77 th Infantry. Statue of Liberty division.Great video.
Daniel, my Grandfather was also in the 77th. Richard Sinclair, he passed away in 2002.
@@boomer7485 RIP. My dad passed in 1998. My dad was in the signal company. The 77th was a tough outfit, the Marines called them the 77th marines out of respect. They fought side by side with the marines on Okinawa.
God bless you brother 🙏.
The battle that took place on Okinawa in 1945, really did make one thing crystal clear, that being the special new bombs dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki helped save a lot of lives: American AND Japanese.
Thanks for this!
Excellent 3d images
Incredible documentary!
Stationed on Okinawa 1969-72 US ARMY.
I explored many of the caves where the Japanese soldiers, and civilians held out in.
The early 70's was tensions were high as the Okinawans protesting the America's occupation.
My grandfather was a pacific theater vet from ww2 he died years before I was ever born but the stories he either written down in his journal or told my grandmother and mom he said that the Japanese military man is a tenacious brave and willing to die for their beliefs and they would come in waves like it was never ending and the tunnels were absolutely terrifying to go in
My dad was in the Coast Guard, one brother was in the Navy, one brother was in the army in Italy, and one brother was on Guadacanal, etc (I am told that he did not stutter before he was drafted). When they all came home (four brothers from the same family went), they all had to curb their potty mouth when around Grandma) I was in the Navy and in VN and my sister was a Navy Nurse. We all appreciate sacrifice and honor those who served, and wonder at the stupidity of war.
Knew 2 men who fought on Okinawa. Marine both.
War hurts.
Lived there for 10+ years and it’s awesome to hear stories of the people who most of the bases are named after.
My father was there...the few, the proud, the Marines. Thanks Dad. Uncle Ed never made it back. RIP
Great video 👏👏
Great vid.
My Dad was in the 6th division, first battalion of the 29th regiment. He carried a flame thrower and saw a great deal of combat.
Its hard to imagine such a war happened..
My dad was there for Thanksgiving, so it started in summer but was still going on by the end of the year, 1945
Ah... allied invasion was March of 1945, Japanese surrendered on Okinawa in June, Japan surrendered and the war was over August 1945. You have the wrong year and location.
I understand the Royal Navy sent several carriers and the supporting ships and logistic ships as well. Nimitz apparently asked for them to get in closer to Okinawaas their armoured decks made them virtually impervious to Kamakazi aircraft.
Good work.
It would be greatly appreciated if the Army University Press could provide a list of recommended resources regarding each of its battle studies. What histories and memoirs best reflect the actual event on the ground or the planning behind each event? Do the battle studies adhere to the "standard history" or are there parts of these studies that differ slightly from the academic narrative? As a former infantryman I have my own thoughts regarding the transliteration of battle events into historic events. Regarding Okinawa I am interested in how the Army's Battle Drills (if they even existed at this time) were adopted at the company level. Who drove the innovation on the front the Colonels, the Captains, or the Corporals? Was there one particular battalion or company that created the procedure that worked to reduce the bunkers? Were the innovations Marine innovations and not Army innovations? I would appreciate it if the AUP could do another series that focuses on "The Soldier's-eye View" of combat!
Excellent
My grandfather was in the U.S. Navy at Okinawa, and he still hated the Japanese untill he passed away !
Well done I thank you.
My grandpa was at Okinawa, Leyte, and Phillipines, as well as the occupation of Japan. He never spoke about the war. There were very painful memories that he locked deep inside him somewhere. Maybe he had to in order to go on after the war. I suspect many of those impossible memories came from Okinawa.
I was raised a poor inner city boy in the northeastern US. I somehow made it out and did a lot of traveling - Naha was one of those places I was lucky enough to go to.
My dad was on one of the only ships that survived the typhoon. They went out to sea and rode the storm out. All other ships anchored in shore and were washed out.
good doc, well detailed very informative, thank you................................
Most people don't realize more Sailors died in the battle of Okinawa than Marines or Soldiers.
Captain Julian Dusenbury of Company "A" ( The men called it "Rebel Company".), 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Division, USMC on the night prior to the assault on Shiri Castle crawled through mud, over bodies, and sneaked past Japanese sentries over nine times to drag back boxes of ammunition through enemy lines to his men. During the mopping up process a sniper shot him, which put him in a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. After he was evacuated, his men found a Confederate battle flag he had been keeping in his helmet and since they had no formal US colors to fly they flew it over the castle in his honor and of the Company to which they belonged.
General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. (Son of Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner Sr.) thought it was not appropriate for the flag to remain in its place because "Americans from all over are here" so he ordered it replaced with the US flag.
Captain Dusenbury was written up for the nation's highest honor the Medal Of Honor for his actions in bringing ammunition to his men under extreme conditions. However it was knocked down to a Navy Cross. After the War he was elected state senator of the state of South Carolina and he often advocated for Veterans as a member of the Marine Corps League and his state. He died on January 29th, 1976.
He didn't mind that he didn't get the MOH.
www.findagrave.com/memorial/63904409/julian-delano-dusenbury/photo
____
Time Magazine, March 21, 1949:
Before the South Carolina House of Representatives last week was a $60 million bonus bill for veterans. Representative Julian B. Dusenbury of Florence, an ex-Marine captain whose legs were crippled by sniper bullets on Okinawa, asked for the floor. He rolled his wheelchair to the microphone. Said Dusenbury:
"I am a citizen of South Carolina first and a veteran second. In a state as poor as we are, I would be for $60 million for roads and for schools. We have [only] so much wealth, and we have to help the state by making it go around ... I certainly am willing to put my political life on the line any time for this country."
The bill was tabled, 90 to 16.
____
marines.togetherweserved.com/usmc/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=AssignmentExt&ID=396683
Semper Fidelis.
My father was part of the Invasion with the 7th Infantry Division.
The ferocious defense of the Japanese at Iwo Jima and Okinawa sealed Japan to be the first nation to be hit by nuclear weapons. Today many young Americans think that was inhumane and racist. Would they want to be the parents whose sons were killed in the invasion of the main islands and learn that Pres Truman hesitate to use the atomic bomb because he had moral qualms on using such a weapon to end the war swiftly????
37:20 one of the greatest true stories of humanity over brutality & devotion to life I’ve ever heard. Desmond Ross is a inspiration to us all.
@Harold Davis my husband was stationed in Okinawa as a Marine in 1975 to 76. I was able to be with him. I also remember the protesters at that time. We went on a tour with the uso to see the caves. We were in Futema.
I was at Camp Hanson all of 1976. I also went on a tour to those caves. Semper Fi.
@@jerrysullivan8424 actually I was mistaken with the year it’s 76/77. We lived in apartments in Futema and he was either at Camp Foster or Hasen. Maybe you knew him. He was the Chaplian’s assistant.
@@imeldaaleman1498 I may have known him and you, there was a Christian ministry rin a house near the front gate of Camp Hanson that was run by civilians every sat. evening they would have Dinner and then a Bible study for Marines. I would attend those meetings. I remember a few Marine wives also attending the Sat night Bible study.
@@jerrysullivan8424 we never went to bible study. It was nice chatting with you. It’s always nice to share memories .
@@imeldaaleman1498 Thank you. have a blessed day. Semper Fi
No Airmen battled here as they were still Soldiers
A long time ago I crawled around in those caves. It was forbidden but I left no trace. I was but a child in those days. If I was to be sent back today the treasures I missed would be so much more appreciated.
My grandfather was a marine during the battles of peleliu and Okinawa from what I’m aware. He was with the 5th Marines and got hit twice in peleliu. May family doesn’t talk much about it being that my dad was in Vietnam but I’ve heard some stories from uncles and my mom.
Stationed in Okinawa in the 1980's, I got my hands on a copy of Masahide Ota's "The Battle Of Okinawa" hardcover. It goes into more detail about the dismal conditions of the Japanese troops inside those tunnels and caves, as well as the poor treatment of the native Okinawans, who were not considered 'true Japanese' by the Japanese military that was stationed there. They didn't get the deplorable treatment that the Japanese Army rendered to the Koreans, Chinese, or Filipinas, but it wasn't good. Ota suggested that one of the reasons for the larger number of surrenders in Okinawa than other battles was that there were a large number of Okanawan conscripts that didn't have the same buy-in to the Emperor-god that the 'true Japanese' soldier had.
Even in the 90s, the Japanese still looked down on the Okinawan people as less than 2nd class citizens and Okinawa Prefecture as the low class element in Japan's territorial domain.
The relationships stand in extreme contrast to the many similarities one sees when looking at the Hawaiian islands, a fully acknowledged State not looked down on at all, but prized by so many as a paradise location.
@@paulrevere2379 Wow!! What an original opinion.
I've lived in Japan for over 50 years, but this is the first time I've heard of "2nd class citizens
".
Please let me know if there are any sources that mention "2nd class citizens".
In 1972, Okinawa was returned to Japan from the United States.
This is because the people of Okinawa campaigned for a long time to "return us to Japan."
100% guaranteed.
Everyone in Okinawa says, "We are Japanese."
If you have any doubts, ask the Okinawa Marines.
By the way, have you graduated from high school?
In which country did you build your history education?
Nice
The very first phrase apparently quoting some Japanese soldier catches the situation brilliantly: "It's like a frog, meeting a snake, and waiting to get eaten!" Clearly the mood of the average soldier in the Japanese Army was not the same as the mood of his superiors in the highest command-positions.
My only reservation about this otherwise fine video is that the Doctrine narrator, LTC Nikki Deane, sometimes sounded a little too chirpy given the grim context of the Okinawa campaign phases she was commenting on.
My Grandfather , Richard D. Sinclair was in the 77th and was the greatest man I've ever known.
1925 - 2002
I miss you Pops.
The 27th inf.div. seemed to have a bad reputation, specially among the Leathernecks.During the battle of Saipan , the NYD was trying to overcome the Japanese positions but she met a hard resistance that, according to the Leathernecks, was thwarting their thrust."Howling"Smith was very upset because of this.Did somebody speak for this division?.
Yes, General Robert Richardson Jr., the administrative commander of US Army forces in the Pacific, took the issue up with the War Department which then took up the issue with the Navy. As a result, HM Smith was reassigned to a position where he would not lead any more Army units in battle.
Great
My uncle Lenard Smith a US Maine with the 6th Maines I think was wounded there on the 4th or 5th day of the invasion of Okinawa. He saw no more action until the Korean War since he stayed in the Marine Corp reserves. He was wonded in Korean too..
In reply to Skankhunter420 my father was in Japan two weeks after their surrender, as part of the Occupation forces, he did travel extensively around and what he noticed was the huge number of defence installations that were dug in not only at the beaches but right across the country. He felt that judging by the loss of troops in the Island campaign that it would have been a total slaughter of the Japanese, but worse for the Allies a huge cost to crush them. Think about the determination and willingness to die rather than surrender, that was why the one million figure came to mind. The Japanese even when facing defeat would rather die than surrender, crushed or not they were not going to give up. Only the Emperor could and did bring about a surrender.
I met a man that fought there. The stories he told me were unreal. He was shot in the neck and when they air lifted him out the medics told him another American soldier shot the Japanese soldier that had shot him and they had the riffle the Japanese soldier shot him with. He still had it when he passed about 10 years ago. He told me when he was being air lifted their helicopter flew by some cliffs and hundreds of Japanese soldiers were jumping off the cliffs committing suicide.
No helicopters in Okinawa. There were film crews at the cliffs however.