DW: Japan marks 75th anniversary of the end of Battle of Okinawa
More than 200,000 people died in the battle for Okinawa. The US has maintained a heavy military presence on the island since WWII, with the base highly unpopular with the locals and yet of crucial importance to Tokyo.
People on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa commemorated the 75th anniversary of the end of the WWII battle for the island on Tuesday.
More than 240,000 people died in the three-month battle of 1945, including 150,000 civilians, 77,000 Japanese soldiers, and 14,000 Americans, among others. It was the bloodiest battle in the Pacific War.
Unlike most other battles in the Pacific Theater, Okinawa was not evacuated and Okinawan people suffered immensely from both sides.
Many of the civilian deaths came from the forced drafting of locals by the Japanese Imperial Army, from forced suicides and from indiscriminate killing by US soldiers. More than 90% of the buildings on the island were destroyed
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Update #1: Japanese island marks 75 years since Battle of Okinawa (AP)
Update #2: Okinawa marks 75 years since end of fierce World War II battle (Japan Times)
WNU Editor: This is sobering .... More than 240,000 people died in the three-month battle of 1945, including 150,000 civilians, 77,000 Japanese soldiers, and 14,000 Americans, among others. It was the bloodiest battle in the Pacific War. I have always believed that the bloodshed from this battle is what probably drove President Truman to drop the atomic bombs 6 weeks later.
Here is a good description of the battle of Okinawa .... 75 years ago, the US's largest invasion in the Pacific may have prevented an even bigger fight with the Japanese (Business Insider).
