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.
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.
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!!
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.
My father was there on a picket destroyer.
He said when the kamikazes flew over trying to
take out a larger ship, they flew close enough
that he could see the pilots eyes.
God bless those brave sailors, soldiers and Marines.
The landing was the easy part, the rest was a bloody
grind that presaged what an invasion of the home islands
would be like.
The atom bomb was a blessing and most
WWII vets thanked God for it.
It occurs to me the reason that the statues are being pulled down is that the heroes of the past were dedicated and quite smart. It seems that the current generations can be given a College education, money and lots of praise. The the things they can’t be given is heroism and achievement except in some video game.