DOORSTEP TO JAPAN: OKINAWA

[Music] con [Music] [Music] in early 1945 US forces focused their attention on an imposing objective okanawa lying only 350 mi from Japan property okanawa would make the perfect base from which to launch the proposed invasion of Japan itself but though the Japanese were losing more and more outlying territory on the home Islands the Japanese military forces would be able to muster sufficient manow to fight a strong defensive battle in early 1945 President Roosevelt returned from yta and reported on the most significant developments of that important conference with Great Britain and Russia we haven't won the wars yet with an s on Wars It's a long tough road to Tokyo it's longer to go to Tokyo than it is to Berlin in every sense of the word the defeat of Germany will not mean the end of the war against Japan on the contrary we must be prepared for a long and costly struggle in the Pacific but the unconditional surrender of Japan is as essential as the defeat of Germany in the the far Pacific three divisions of US Marines were engaged in wiping out the enemy on a small strategic volcanic island named iojima Japan still managed to supply its troops on the Asiatic Mainland where the emperor's forces were firmly entrenched if okanawa were taken by the US Japan's supply line to those forces would be effectively severed in March 1945 at othy and the carollyn group the US Navy amassed an amphibious force of unprecedented proportions that Force moved North directed by one of the Navy's top amphibious Fleet commanders vice admiral Richmond Kelly Turner carrier planes of Admiral spru an's fifth Fleet hit the home islands of Japan and then softened up the target island of okanawa [Music] meanwhile the warships of the mighty fifth Fleet moved toward the objective and on March 25th enemy positions on the island came under attack by a score of us warships which fired Salvo after Salvo on March 26th 7 7th division GIS assaulted the Karama Islands a valuable subsidiary base of operations and on April first the Key island of okanawa was invaded the assault was made by the US 10th Army which was composed of GIS of the Army's 24th core and Marines of the third amphibious Corp 16,000 men were in the first wave to land on Japan's doorstep on the western coast of okanawa it seemed hard to believe but there was no opposition most of the veterans in The Invasion Force old campaigners who had fought at Sian pelu and leate suspected that this was an April Fool's Day trick on the enemy's part the soldiers and Marines pushed across the island and were followed by thousands more the men Advanced quickly across the neck of the island toward the east coast against very light resistance only scattered enemy troops fired on the [Applause] Invaders US troops gained ground easily the American plan was to bisect the island and thus divide the enemy's forces during those first few days on okanawa US soldiers and Marines encountered only feeble resistance it was difficult for the men to understand only in the advance across the Island's neck the American fighting men did meet some enemy Patrol but no opposition strong enough to impede the 10th Army's progress the island was cut in two by April 4th when US troops reached the East Coast during the next 3 days a considerable amount of territory was seized in the northern section the beach head was firmly established and supplies were being brought ashore in impressive quantities to keep the men of the 10th Army fed and equipped put a heavy burden on the Navy which employed more than a thousand ships of all types during the okanawa campaign at se the men of the vast Fleet standing off the island were growing concerned about the enemy's heavy air [Music] attacks off okanawa the Japanese made maximum use of their frenzied kamakazi attack plan the Navy took heavy losses as further waves of suicide planes dove into US ships [Music] the waters off okanawa became as violent a Battleground as the island [Music] itself at airfields on kushu southernmost island of Japan proper more and more hastily trained pilots were inducted into kamakazi service no honor was considered greater than the privilege of making a suicide dive against an American ship fortunately not all the kamakazi missions were [Music] successful do the men in the fleet the skies seemed always full of [Music] kamakazi in the waters between okanawa and the Japanese home Islands some us ships were hit in enemy bombing attacks on the US carrier Franklin casualties were very heavy in the struggle to save the ship chaplain Joseph o Calahan of Cambridge Massachusetts played a memorable part and was subsequently awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor it appeared that most of the crew were dead and at the living almost everyone was wounded the few survivors of Franklin will never forget that cold March morning in the far Pacific Flight Deck LED with dead and dying and Nom many amen more than 250 us ships of all types were sunk or damaged by the enemy's air attacks in the okanawa operation on April 12th 1945 us fighting forces lost their commander-in-chief while while a Sorrowing Nation mourned his passing a new chief executive took the oath of office President Harry troman was well aware of his heavy responsibilities as America's War leader in Washington the nation's grief was mirrored in the faces of the crowds which Lin the route of the procession [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Halfway Around the World on Okinawa many of the combat troops paused to attend a memorial service not far from the front President Roosevelt's de at this critical point was a real blow to the servicemen who had felt a close bond with their late commander-in-chief some officers worried about about a drop in morale but most of the men resolved to fight with even greater determination to help achieve the final Victory as quickly as possible on okanawa the battle was far from one cleaning out the long section of the island north of the beach head was the job of the sixth Marine Division they moved quickly against an enemy Force which was fighting from ideal natural defensive position on motobu Peninsula the Marines ran into sudden stiff resistance near Mount Yaki the enemy pocket was wiped out during a three-day fight by the veterans of anyak and Guam the men moved forward quickly and cleaned out the peninsula where most of the enemy's Northern force on okanawa was concentrated in the 13-day campaign on motou 2014 enemy soldiers Met [Music] Death the Marines mopped up the rugged Northern area of okanawa against sporadic resistance all but a handful of the thousands of Japanese were killed by by the sixth Marine Division and taking the northern section of the island on April 20th the Marines of the sixth division secured the northern section of okanawa in a quick amphibious operation 77th division GI seized EA Shima where the foot solders great friend and supporter Ernie pile met his death on Southern okanawa General Simon bolar Buckner 10th Army Commander ran up against the enemy's main line of Defense Artillery supported by tanks went to work on the enemy's defensive line in early May the Army's 24th Corp stalled on the southern front was reinforced by the Marines of the third amphibia core the battlewise enemy Commander General usima had chosen to make his stand along a line which stretched across the island from naha to yabu on May 8th the sixth division Marines prepared to attack South along the west coast and the drive to take naha and Pierce the enemy's line to cut that Western anchor of the enemy's defense the Marines concentrated all their power in the new offens [Music] the battle remained a stalemate partly attributable to the heavy rains which turned the countryside into a morass of mud most of the heavy equipment became came hopelessly bogged down in the Meer the Army 24th Corp which was trying to mount a crushing offensive against the bulk of the enemy's okanawa Force found its assignment especially difficult with the beginning of okanawa celebrated Plum Reigns which set in on a daily basis late in May and greatly complicated the operation the struggle to reduce the enemy's positions in the naha area continued for several weeks dislodging the enemy from his carefully prepared defenses was a demanding assignment and a costly one the Marin's answer to the enemy's strong well integrated defenses was the tank infantry team in the US attack some tanks were lost and the Marines suffered a sizable number of casualties before they were able to move into the capital city after a bitter campaign the Marines completed the capture of naha by May the city was almost a total wreck for their successful seizure of this Hub of the enemy's defense on okanawa two regiments of the sixth Marine Division the 22nd and 29th were awarded the presidential unit citation the city had felt the full weight of us Firepower the fall of the capital city signaled the beginning of the last major phase of the battle for okanawa with naha in American possession the offensive picked up speed all along the line three Army and two Marine divisions pressed the attack with renewed Spirit from one coast of okanawa to the other from the Pacific Ocean to the East China Sea Marines of the first division pierced the enemy sent at shy in the islands rocket and Terrier the US forces suffered a considerable number of casualties in beating down the enemy's Grim defense of Southern okanawa the news from the European theater gave the men a lift but on okanawa there was still a war to be fought the seizure of the yaru area by soldiers of the 24th Corp marked the collapse of the enemy's defense line on okawa's East Coast across the Island Sixth division Marines encountered stiff resistance on oroku peninsula [Music] during the 10-day fight for oroko peninsula the en suffered some 5,000 casualties the Marines worked hard to annihilate the enemy's last ditch [Music] defense with resistance eliminated on oroku Peninsula the sixth Marine Division controled the entire naha area for this action the fourth Marine regiment was awarded the presidential unit citation in the capture of oroku peninsula the US forces gained control of naha Airfield complete with dummy planes which the enemy used to suggest a strong air base with the Airfield no longer in enemy hands US forces could finally make use of the port of naha by mid June US troops had completely broken the enemy's main line of defense on okanawa on June 17th US forces were only a few miles from the southern tip of the island once the main defense of okanawa had been fought to no avail the Japanese soldiers began to give themselves up more readily the combat efficiency of the remaining Japanese units was cut down by the heavy casualties The Defenders of okanawa were sustaining the advancing American troops also brought a number of civilians to safety some of the OK aans had hold out in any place of Refuge available some had stayed hidden for weeks many had had no food or water for some time the Okana aans had been led to expect far different treatment than they actually received at the hands of the American troops as the 83 day battle for okanawa neared its end thousands of inhabitants of that hilly Island gave themselves up for the Okana aans the war was at an end the natives now saw Japanese claims of Victory after victory in their true light on okanawa some 196,000 of the Island's population were herded into internment camp areas to keep them out of the path of the final us offensive even under these hectic conditions an attempt was made to keep members of a family from being separated the prisoner of war camps were crowded with the largest concentration of Japanese troops ever taken prisoner in any campaign during World War 2 in the Pacific in the closing days of the battle the enemy soldiers had finally refused to obey their officers had surrendered themselves to their conquerors the code of Bushido death before surrender was no longer followed without question by Japanese fighting men at the southern front 10th Army Commander General Buckner had final victory in his grasp when his life was cut short by an enemy shell meanwhile the drive for the last piece of enemy territory on okanawa was underway a new weapon the recoiless rifle was used for the first time in combat during the campaign's final days on June 22nd 1945 The Last Enemy unit was overwhelmed American fighting men controlled okanawa to the extreme southern tip the enemy had lost an invaluable base only 350 miles from Japan proper and the United States had gained still another Island again after paying a heavy price General Buckner was the only field Army Commander to lose his life by enemy action in the Asiatic Pacific Theater during World War II and thousands of men in his command also gave their lives on okanawa the battle for this strategically important Island near Japan proved a most costly one for both Waring Nations the loss of the machines and weapons of war was also seriously felt by both sides the heavy destruction of aircraft was another crippling blow particularly to the Japanese top us commanders like Admiral Nemitz remained firm in their determination to carry the fight to Japan itself American forces fighting in the Pacific have brought the war to the home home islands of Japan we have sunk the larger part of the Japanese Fleet and in the next few months we will exploit every opportunity to finish that particular job Army and Navy aircraft bomb large areas of Japan's principal cities into rubble and unless Japan surrenders soon we intend to complete that destruction [Music] andice [Music] fre let every feel your