70 years ago the battle of okinawa.

[Sergio Natali]

Just found it on the Net and I thought it would have been interesting to remember:

Seventy years ago, the Battle of Okinawa drew to a close after two and a half months; it would be the final major land battle of World War II. It was the costliest engagement of ‪#‎WW2‬ in the Pacific. Japan lost 100,000 soldiers and an estimated 100,000 civilians as well. The Allies suffered over 65,000 casualties including 14,000 dead. Such imposing casualty figures, as well as the desperate nature of the kamikaze attacks, was on the minds of U.S. commanders as they contemplated the decision to deploy atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[cirelaw]

Thank You My Friend~ The History Channel produced a vivid documentary~~https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyVnNjLb2Ww

[sheepherder]

I spent a year on Okinawa [1971]. Many of the landing sites still retain their wartime names..."Red Beach", etc. Cute girls.

104º during day; 100% humidity. "Our Time In Hell" indeed.

(Lee Marvin narrated the above-named documentary of the Marine battles of WWII).

[mikedavid]

My father fought on Okinawa. 96th infantry, Dead Eye Division. He never spoke of it until a few years before he died. It was a terrible battle. He carried a BAR which made him first target. He saw many of his friends and people around him killed horribly. After the battle, on a ship for home, the next orders they had was opened, it was for landings on main land of Japan. He said that if the bomb was not dropped, he most likely would not have survived that attack directly on Japan.

[cirelaw]

God bless Him~

[John Sabato]

Originally Posted by mikedavid

My father fought on Okinawa. 96th infantry, Dead Eye Division. He never spoke of it until a few years before he died.

Mike, my Dad was 9th Infantry, and fought in eight different campaigns in Europe. Over the years I got to know many of my father's friends who survived the European battlefields.

I have come to the conclusion that virtually all of them who saw WW2 combat first hand suffered from what would years later be diagnosed as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

In my experience, PTSD affected them primarily in one of two ways. Either they rarely or never spoke of their war experiences because the memories were too gruesome, or in the case of my father, he seldom spoke of anything else. It was like a pressure relief for him.

One of his closest friends, a mortar sergeant, never attended any reunions, but did send my Dad a Christmas card every year until his death. About 3 years before he passed away, by father and I drove to Kentucky to meet with him one last time...he had just turned 84 years old. At first, he was reluctant, because he said the memories were too hard to endure, but my father's insistence finally prevailed when he told him that he wanted ME to meet him. This guy who was 6 and half feet tall in my imagination because the bravery my father had told me about so many times turned out to be about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, was frail and walked slowly with a cane...

This is the guy who my father told me was awarded multiple valor decorations and multiple purple hearts. He had been in counseling every week since the war's end. He never even learned to drive. He never married. He lived with his sister, and took public transportation even to just go buy groceries. He never left his hometown again. Despite his heroism, the war had decimated him personally. I am grateful that you and I both got to know our fathers personally... They and men like them are, and always will be heroes of untold dimensions.

We are grateful for their unselfish service, what they accomplished and for their great personal sacrifices... but I know we will never be able to fully comprehend their personal losses. God bless them every one.

-John

[roadkill1]

As indicated by Sheepherder, the History Channel link outlining the Battle of Okinawa described the tactics/battles the Marines fought there. In fact, the Marines had two divisions there, the 1st and the 8th. The Army had four divisions fighting there, the 7th, 27th, the 77th and the 96th.

Like Mike D., my father fought there. He was with the 7th Division, wounded and evacuated. Although he spent over a year in Army and VA hospitals, he recovered and was fortunate enough to experienced a relatively normal life.

Bless all who fought there.

[Eugen]

Interesting accounts of those that served and 'set foot' on Okinawa. Watching documentaries and the few photos and films taken at the time probably doesn't really convey the personal horrors endured. The body counts and casualties, however, do clearly speak to the death and destruction of that campaign.

My father served in the Army Air Corp during WWII, but was relatively safe from the war as he was stationed at an air field in Brazil. In case you wonder why South America presence, cargo planes and B-17s flew from the states to the Africa theatre via South America.

[DavidJayUden]

Thank you all for sharing your very timely accounts. Please enjoy a relaxing but meaningful weekend.
dju

[Olle]

I have an M1 Carbine that was picked up on Okinawa, and then purchased by my father-in-law on the trip back to the US in 1946. I wish this thing could talk.

[cirelaw]

A Great Thing!!!!!

[Olle]

Originally Posted by cirelaw

A Great Thing!!!!!

The funny thing is that the Okinawa heritage wasn't a big deal back then. My father-in-law told me that it wasn't a selling point at all, it was "just another place to pick up guns".

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by roadkill1

As indicated by Sheepherder, the History Channel link outlining the Battle of Okinawa...

My bad; I haven't seen The History Channel piece on Okinawa. The Lee Marvin narrative was produced back in the late 60's or 70's, IIRC an hour long piece centering on the Marines battles there. The name was "Our Time In Hell" and comes from a Marine rhyme. I had not been aware that Marvin, McQueen, and other actors had been Marines, it was interesting that I shared (in a small way) the heritage of being a Marine with them.

I think the TV special has been released on DVD. Amazon might have it.

The whole island was infested with caves. There was a big one leading off our motor pool at Camp Hansen. The locals would sell you all kinds of battlefield pickups. My bootmaker offered me a M1A1 Thompson for $200. That was more than I was paid in a month.

My buddy & I were walking near a farmers field one day, and there was some kind of statue or shrine in the field. He took my picture with the monument in the background, and the farmer started screaming & chasing us with his scythe.

Typhoons hit Okinawa pretty much every year. I went through one and it was not pleasant. Speed limit on the entire island was 35mph. Some interesting nighttime rides in taxis, offering an extra $5 if the driver got us back before curfew (there was a lot of anti-US rioting in 1971).

We had a night exercise on one of the beaches that civilians sunbathed & swam off of. We got there in the afternoon, set up our equipment right on the beach (Green Beach I Think) and went about our business. When night fell, the sand suddenly erupted. Every square foot had a big sand crab buried during the day, and they all came out at night. The sight of hundreds/thousands of crabs digging out where people had been lying still gives me nightmares...

Ah! Amazon has it on VHS - 1967 -

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Time-Hell-...TF8&qid=146427
4618&sr=8-1&keywords=%22our+time+in+hell%22+lee+marvin

[cirelaw]

A different war but same title! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPWl0Q0W2CM

[cirelaw]

Sergio, I found it~ 4 parts~https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zQsYPkT6JY Part One~

[cirelaw]

Part 2~https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-FfsB4IeA8

[cirelaw]

Part Three~https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sbYbdNqT7E

[cirelaw]

Part 4~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVmrUVFb4gM

[Sergio Natali]

Eric

Goodness, you're simply unbelievable, thanks, I've found plenty to watch and learn from!

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by luger.parabellum

Eric

Goodness, you're simply unbelievable...

I'm unbelievable too!...

Well maybe not! Anyway, I added the Amazon URL for the 1967 Lee Marvin narrated VHS piece in my post. Marvin seems to have done several other WWII narrations since then, in '96 and '98.