Posted on 06/22/2020 12:52:03 PM PDT by ransomnote
I hadn't known the battle losses were that great.
ALL heroes!
Was stationed in Okinawa in 1980 and visited most of the battle sites. Very sobering. God bless them.
The Japanese thought very little of the Okinawans. How many did they themselves kill? You history buffs please explain.
My Grandfather was involved in the battle of Okinawa Shima.
That’s why we dropped the Bomb.
If the invasion of Japan was going to be like that, it wound up saving a lot more Japanese lives than even American lives.
Watch for the democrat politicians race to applaud the greatest generation on this historic day.
crickets.
Arguably the worst, most brutal and horrific battle for the Americans in all WWII. The number of TSD and PTSD was astronomical, and this was with battle-hardened Marines. A 2 or 3 star general was also KIA, the highest ranking battle loss of WWII.
My mother was always a peaceable person but she NEVER LIKED the Japanese. Their invasion plan of the west coast was real. Scared her to death.
I think 200,000 Okinawans were killed. The IJA often used them for human shields.
As clearly documented in "The Pacific".
I saw an interview of an Okinawan girl who was 16 at the time. the Japanese forced her and many others into worse than slavery.
She said the Americans treated her much better.
Also unusual in that the commander on both sides were killed.
Semper Fi
Do or Die!!
..Operation Downfall would have been such a nightmare, the magnitude of which most people cannot even imagine. Thank the Lord for the Enola Gay and Bockscar. The bombs saved hundreds of thousands—on both sides...
I urge everyone who is able: Buy, rent, borrow “The Pacific.” It’s HBO’s companion to “Band of Brothers.” Written by Hugh Ambrose (Stephen’s son), it is difficult to watch, but pretty accurate historically.
I had two Uncles in WW2 and they bumped into each other on Okinawa during the War. One was a 1st Marine Raider the other was in the Navy on an LST, both made it back.
Not only that, but Japan would have been divided, like Korea, with the likely outcome a Civil War between the Communists and Allies.
It made the European Theater look like a cakewalk in comparison.
Read “Downfall, the End of the Imperial Japanese Empire” by Richard Frank. It’s a very detailed account of the last battles and the infighting in the Japanese government. Good book.
American casualties:
Personnel:
14,009 dead[5] to 20,195 dead[6][7][8]
12,520 killed in action[9]
38,000 wounded[10] to 55,162 wounded[6][7][11]
Materiel:
221 Tanks destroyed[12]
12 destroyers sunk
15 amphibious ships sunk
9 other ships sunk
386 ships damaged
763[13]–768[14] aircraft
Empire of Japan Japanese
Personnel:
From 77,166 killed[15] to 110,000 killed (US estimate)[16]
More than 7,000 captured[16]
Materiel:
1 battleship sunk
1 light cruiser sunk
5 destroyers sunk
9 other warships sunk
1,430 aircraft lost[17]
27 tanks destroyed
743–1,712 artillery pieces, anti-tank guns, and anti-aircraft guns[18]
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