"75 years ago, the US's largest invasion in the Pacific..." Topic

… may have prevented an even bigger fight with the Japanese.

"By mid-March 1945, the Allies were closing in on the Japanese home islands. Allied forces were well into the process of liberating the Philippines. Japan's navy had suffered a string of disastrous defeats that left its fleet almost useless, and the brutal fight for Iwo Jima was drawing to a close.

But the Japanese had shown they were determined to fight to the last man, and due to the US's insistence that Japan surrender unconditionally, it seemed to US commanders that an invasion of the Japanese mainland was the only way to end the war…"
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And today….in Japan…

Japan Marks The 75th Anniversary Of The End Of The 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…"

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Amicalement
Armand

Thanks for posting this, Tango. My Dad was an Army combat engineer on Okinawa, being twice wounded there. First by coral 'shrapnel' and later when the jeep he was riding in hit a mine, unfortunately killing the driver, and giving my Dad burns mainly on his chest. Like many of the veteran/fathers in my neighborhood, he was a funny, gentle man, but they would often talk quietly among themselves. Maybe that was the only time they could share what they had been through, when just kids.

Interesting, athun, my dad suffered coral "shrapnel" on Saipan. Almost all my friends and school mates' fathers in my small town were veterans and most were nice, soft spoken and would mainly only discuss the war amongst themselves.

Very interesting, Thank you all for sharing.

A votre service mes amis!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand