On April 1, 1945, soldiers and Marines began landing on Okinawa as the Allies in Europe closed on Berlin. As the reign of Hitler’s Nazi Germany was in its last throes, the war in the Pacific was becoming more brutal as the Americans inched closer to the Japanese homeland. The Japanese were determined to make one last stand, and they would fight to the death.
One soldier described the fighting on Okinawa as “the most ghastly corner of hell” he had ever witnessed. At sea, conditions were just as dangerous as Japanese kamikazes attacked ships with deadly results. During this three-month battle, over 12,000 Americans were killed and another 45,000 were wounded.
On this exciting episode of “War Stories with Oliver North”, you will meet Marine Private Dan Barton and Army Private First Class Herman Buffington. After landing on Okinawa, they would battle the Japanese who were hiding on every hill and in every cave. You will hear how Navy Gunner Larry Delewski survived numerous kamikaze attacks aboard the USS Laffey. Learn of the sacrifices made to clear the last hurdle on the march to Japan.
The Americans cleared the island of Okinawa after brutal fighting in what would be the bloodiest and last battle in the Pacific Theater. The bloodshed on Okinawa would help convince President Harry Truman to drop the atomic bomb instead of invading the main island of Japan.
