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On April 1, 1945, U.S. forces invaded the island of Okinawa. When the island was declared secure on the third week of June, military and civilian casualties per square foot exceeded that of any other battle of World War II.
The U.S. Navy suffered more casualties in this battle than any other of the war. The casualties lost in the sinking of the battleship Yamato during this battle exceeded U.S. casualties in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
A few historians maintain that it was the extreme loss of life in this specific battle that prompted the U.S. to use the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I think it was because 40 percent of the U.S casualties were listed as “combat-induced psychosis.”
The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of the flag being raised on Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima gives many people the impression that Iwo Jima was the last land battle of WWII. Okinawa was so horrific that veterans and civilians who survived that battle just don’t want to talk about their experiences.
Paul Ajifu
Kahului