More lives lost at Okinawa, than at Iwo Jima.
My father enlisted in the Marines at age 17, and was discharged after two years including Okinawa, before he turned 20 yrs. of age.
Purple heart war wounds.
When young men like me, their sons, went through basic at the peak of Vietnam, just a few cried.
Today I sincerely believe most young males, would break down crying in basic. (Army basic, not AIT infantry. )
Yep. Mine had a couple of Purple Hearts. Back then, they just kept fighting regardless of being wounded. These boys were no little pussy-whipped whimps for sure....some tough SOBs actually. He was in the 1st Marine Division, G27.
After Okinawa, he was assigned to China. He was there when the commie revolution just started. They could have easily stopped it but were told “NO” and couldn’t even give the Nationalists a single bullet.
After that, he went at Great Lakes as a “hand-to-hand” combat instructor until he finally got out. They tried to get him to stay in, but he’d had more than enough and had met my mother. Those in his unit that stayed in were all killed in Korea.
By the time I was age 6, he had me shooting a little single-shot .22. By age 8, he had me “throwing just the right punches”. Not many messed with me all thru school after a few good scraps. He taught me how to hunt, fish and to respect my elders and my country. To say I miss him badly is an understatement.