Author Topic: Okinawa Marks 80 Years Since End of One of Harshest WWII Battles with Pledge to Share Tragic History  (Read 58 times)

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Online rangerrebew

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Okinawa Marks 80 Years Since End of One of Harshest WWII Battles with Pledge to Share Tragic History
 
A bereaved person prays in front of the Cornerstone of Peace at the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan Monday, June 23, 2025 as Japan marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa. (Haruna Furuhashi/Kyodo News via AP)
Associated Press | By Mari Yamaguchi
Published June 23, 2025 at 9:24am ET

TOKYO — Okinawa marked the 80th anniversary of the end of one of the harshest battles of World War II fought on the southern island.

With global tensions escalating, its governor said on Monday it is the Okinawan “mission” to keep telling the tragic history and its impact today.
 
The Battle of Okinawa killed a quarter of the island's population, leading to a 27-year U.S. occupation and a heavy American troop presence to date.

Monday's memorial comes one day after U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, adding to a sense of uncertainty on the island about the heavy American military presence and in its remote islands, already worried about getting embroiled in a potential conflict in Taiwan.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/06/23/okinawa-marks-80-years-end-of-one-of-harshest-wwii-battles-pledge-share-tragic-history.html
The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.  George Washington - Farewell Address

Online rustynail

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Okinawa Flame Throwers
The use of flamethrowers in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II was a significant aspect of the U.S. military strategy, particularly in the Pacific Theater. Flamethrowers were primarily used to clear Japanese defenses, including caves, bunkers, and pillboxes, which were common in the rugged terrain of Okinawa.
 The U.S. Marines and Army units employed both portable and tank-mounted flamethrowers to neutralize these strongholds.