Battle of Okinawa (1945)

85

The Pittsburgh Press (April 22, 1945)

Yanks push on yard by yard on Okinawa

Bitter battle rages on hill guarding airfield

GUAM (UP) – American infantrymen on Southern Okinawa were locked in a bitter struggle for Hill 178 guarding approaches to Yonabaru Airfield Saturday and made small gains along the entire line.

On Ie Island, the U.S. flag was raised on Iegusugu Peak.

Several times the infantrymen were thrown off the high ground around the strategic hill. But each time they came back and pressed their assault.

Third day of barrage

For the third day the thundering barrage thrown into the southern Okinawa sector by guns of Pacific Fleet battleships, cruisers and destroyers and massed Army and Marine artillery continued to support the advancing 7th, 27th and 96th Infantry Divisions.

Carrier aircraft made constant pinpoint attacks against the strong pillboxes, blockhouses and cave positions through which the tank-led infantrymen slowly pushed their way.

On the approaches to Hill 178, overlooking Shuri, a city of 60,000 population in the center of the line, U.S. and Jap forces were locked in the bitterest type of warfare, Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz said.

Gain not revealed

Adm. Nimitz gave no indication of the distance gained through Saturday. On the western coast, U.S. troops had pushed to within a mile and a half of Machinato Airfield, two miles above Naha.

On the east, they were last reported only 2½ miles from Yonabaru town. The Yonabaru airfield is less than a mile from the most advanced infantry forces in that sector.

The Jap fortifications were superior to those the Marines encountered on bloody Iwo Jima, front dispatches said. Many will be reduced only by hand-to-hand action.

Mopping up on Ie

Tenth Army troops on Ie Shima, three miles west of Okinawa’s Motobu Peninsula, raised the American flag on Iegusugu Peak Saturday morning after overcoming stiff resistance from enemy troops in caves, pillboxes and other fortifications. Mopping-up operations are now underway on Ie.

Marines of the III Amphibious Corps on Motobu eliminated the remaining Jap pockets and brought the entire area under U.S. control.

A few Jap aircraft attacked Yontan and Kadena airfields on Central Okinawa Friday night, causing minor damage. Carrier aircraft of the Pacific Fleet struck again at air installations in the Sakishima Islands southwest of Okinawa, shooting down one plane and strafing several others on the ground.

Ordered to keep fighting

The infantry on Okinawa was driving on “Skyline Ridge,” backbone of the Jap line, under orders to “keep advancing.”

Front dispatches said the immediate objective was Machinato Airfield.

“The 96th Division is in the thick of this vicious battle,” reported a United Press front correspondent. “Troops are driving up the face of ridges exposed to enemy fire in one of the most courageous attacks imaginable. Our mortars are virtually drilling holes in the hills to get at the dug-in Japs.”

Resistance was extremely well organized, but U.S. troops were slowly neutralizing the Jap positions.

In heart of defenses

“We are in the heart of the enemy’s position,” Maj. Gen. John R. Hodge, commander of the XXIV Army Corps, told United Press writer E. G. Valens.

A Tokyo broadcast said the fighting on Southern Okinawa was “gaining in intensity” and claimed that “fierce counterattacks” had been launched by the defenders.

86

Foot of class for Jap spellers

OKINAWA (UP, April 21) – Four Jap soldiers learned the hard way here that Tokyo schools teach English that is pretty good, but not good enough.

Marine patrols stopped four men who produced the following note: “There men are Okinawans – not soldiers. Treat them good.”

It was signed, “Commanding Officer – Marign Regiment.”

The Martine patrol investigated. Beneath the flowering Okinawan kimonos were concealed Jap Army boots, puttees and khaki breeches.

The four bad spellers were put at the foot of the class.

87

U.S. Navy Department (April 23, 1945)

CINCPOA Communiqué No. 341

Naval guns and carrier aircraft continued to support troops of the XXIV Army Corps attacking the enemy’s fortified line in the southern sector of Okinawa on April 23 (East Longitude Date).

Planes from carriers of the U.S. Pacific Fleet attacked 25 enemy aircraft about to take off from an airfield on Miyako in the Sakishima group on the evening of April 22 destroying 15 on the ground and shot down five more in the air. Four planes were shot down over Ishigaki in the same group. On April 23, three aircraft were destroyed on the ground at Kume Island in the Okinawa group by our fighters and a single enemy plane was shot down north of Okinawa by a Marine plane.

No further information is available on the progress of the fighting in southern Okinawa.

Carrier aircraft of the British Pacific Fleet bombed and strafed air installations in the Sakishima group on April 16 and 17. Four enemy planes were shot down and one was destroyed on the ground.

Fighters of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing bombed targets in the Palaus on April 23.

On April 22, Marine Corsairs continued neutralizing raids on enemy bases in the Marshalls.

88

The Pittsburgh Press (April 23, 1945)

126 Jap planes blasted in battle

Marines land on two isles off Okinawa

GUAM (UP) – U.S. aerial forces destroyed or damaged 126 Jap planes and six ships in two days of battles along an 850-mile front from Japan to the Southern Ryukyus.

Adm. Chester W. Nimitz announced the heavy toll of Jap aircraft today. He also revealed that U.S. Marines had landed on two more islands off Okinawa and disclosed that Army troops had killed 11,738 Japs and captured 27 on Southern Okinawa.

The Jap planes, of which 105 were destroyed, were accounted for by Mustang fighters from Iwo and carrier planes from the U.S. task force in the Ryukyus. In addition, a large force of B-29 Superfortresses from the Marianas may have destroyed many others in a raid on Kyushu’s airfields.

Flying a 1,500-mile roundtrip mission from Iwo, the Army Mustangs destroyed or damaged 47 planes in an attack yesterday on Suzuka Airfield, 32 miles southwest of Nagoya on the principal Jap home island of Honshu.

Of the planes destroyed, nine were shot down and 17 wrecked on the ground. The others were damaged or probably destroyed. The Mustangs also swept over Ise Bay, south of Nagoya, to sink two small oilers, one small tanker and a 6,000- to 8,000-ton ship and damaged one coastal vessel.

Carrier planes shot down 49 planes from a “substantial” Jap force which attacked American ground and naval forces in the Okinawa area yesterday afternoon. The Japs succeeded in sinking one light fleet unit, Adm. Nimitz said. Further identity of the craft was not disclosed. The raid followed one on a smaller scale Saturday night, when four Jap planes were shot down.

Other carrier aerial forces extended the offensive against Jap airfields at Amami in the Northern Ryukyus to the fifth consecutive day Sunday.

The last two days on Amami, 16 enemy planes were shot down and 10 others destroyed on the ground. A small cargo ship was also hit east of the Ryukyus and left burning and dead in the water.

Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay’s Marianas-based Superfortresses raided airfields on Kyushu, southernmost of the Jap home islands, yesterday for the second time in 24 hours in an attempt to knock out the sites from which the Japanese have been attacking Okinawa.

Five airfields, including two never hit before, were raided by the big B-29s, all of which returned safely to their bases.

Elements of the Marine III Amphibious Corps occupied Taka Banare Island, east of Okinawa, and seized half of Sesoko Island, west of Motobu Peninsula on Okinawa yesterday.

Bitter fighting continued on Southern Okinawa north of the capital city of Naha for the fourth straight day and Adm. Nimitz said there had been little changes in the American positions.

89

Innsbrucker Nachrichten (April 24, 1945)

Feindverluste auf Okinawa

Ostasiendienst des DNB

Tokio, 23. April – Die Kämpfe auf den Ryukyu-Inseln nahmen im Verlauf der letzten Tage an Heftigkeit zu.

Der Feind führte Luftangriffe mit etwa 600 Flugzeugen gegen das gesamte Gebiet der Gruppe und vor allem gegen das Hauptinsel Okinawa durch und ging mit etwa 10,000 Mann im Süden Okinawas zum Angriff über. In den erbitterten Kämpfen konnte jedoch der feindliche Ansturm überall vor den vordersten japanischen Linien zum Stehen gebracht werden. 40 Panzer wurden zusammengeschossen. Die feindlichen Verluste waren hoch. Indessen haben die Nordamerikaner weitere Truppen gelandet. Der Kampf um diesen wichtigen Außenposten im japanischen Verteidigungsring geht mit aller Macht weiter. Zu den Kämpfen in Burma erfahren wir: In Burma find heftige Kämpfe zwischen den Engländern und den japanischen Verteidigern im Gange. Die Stoßrichtung des englischen Angriffs liegt an der Straße nach Rangun.

90

U.S. Navy Department (April 24, 1945)

CINCPOA Communiqué No. 342

The XXIV Army Corps continued the attack against enemy lines in the southern sector of Okinawa on April 23 (East Longitude Date). Elements of the 7th Infantry Division captured an important enemy position on high ground west of Ishin Village. Enemy opposition was heavy along the entire front.

Marines of the III Amphibious Corps were engaged in mopping up remnants of the enemy on Yagachi Island north of Motobu Peninsula on April 23. On the same date, III Corps troops occupied Heanza Island east of Katchin Peninsula and Kouri Island, north of Motobu Peninsula, finding no opposition.

On April 24, ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet delivered heavy gunfire in support of the attacking troops in the XXIV Corps sector. Numerous caves were closed and blockhouses, pillboxes, trenches and gun emplacements were destroyed. Adverse weather reduced air operations and there was no enemy aircraft activity over the area during the day.

Search aircraft of Fleet Air Wing One sank two small cargo ships and one motor torpedo boat and damaged two torpedo boats east of the Ryukyus on April 23. On the following day, search planes of the same Wing strafed building and radio installations in the northern Ryukyus and damaged a num­ber of small craft.

Carrier aircraft from units of the British Pacific Fleet strafed and bombed runways, airfield structures, barracks and other installations on islands of the Sakishima group on April 20 encountering no enemy air opposition.

On April 23, Liberators of the Strategic Air Force bombed installations on Marcus Island. Iwo based Mustangs of the same force bombed and strafed storage dumps on Chichi Jima in the Bonins on April 24.

91

The Pittsburgh Press (April 24, 1945)

All but fourth of Okinawa seized

Yanks converting isle into key base

GUAM (UP) – U.S. forces have captured three-quarters of Okinawa and have been converting it into a key base for the next stage of the American march on Japan and the China coast, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz said today.

Even as he spoke, U.S. B-29 Superfortresses were continuing their softening-up bombardment of Japan proper. A fleet of 150 from the Marianas hit the Hitachi aircraft factory at Tachikawa, 14 miles west of Tokyo, for the first time.

Adm. Nimitz revealed that development of Okinawa into a major American base was underway at a press conference on the island following an inspection tour.

He said:

The acquisition of Okinawa will permit us to project our sea and airpower to the China coast and Japanese homeland and will greatly facilitate and speed up operations in the future.

The operations here are going along as planned and development of the island already has started.

Adm. Nimitz said the remnants of the Jap surface fleet are still capable of attacking American shipping, but cannot be regarded as a “serious threat.” He said they would be hunted down as soon as the Okinawa airfields are ready to handle all the available planes.

The American ground offensive on Southern Okinawa appeared to have stalled temporarily in the powerful network of Jap defenses shielding Naha.

Superfortresses which bombed the Hitachi aircraft plant today were striking at the Tokyo area for the first time this week. They attacked from medium altitude and good results were expected.

The plant, which covers one million square feet, is only 19 miles from the Imperial Palace and one of the few aircraft engine factories not attacked previously by Maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay’s Marianas-based Superfortresses.

In the fighting on Okinawa, Adm. Nimitz announced that warships and carrier planes continued the heavy bombardment of Jap positions in the southern part of the island.

Three U.S. divisions of the XXIV Corps have been attacking the Japs since Thursday but the drive stalled temporarily 3½ miles north of Naha.

The communiqué disclosed that 28 Jap aircraft were destroyed by carrier planes and fighters throughout the Ryukyus Sunday and Monday.

92

Truman believed deciding where to go after Okinawa

Issue apparently is whether to invade Japan first or encircle enemy by drive in China
By Marshal McNeil, Scripps-Howard staff writer

WASHINGTON (SHS) – President Truman, as Commander-in-Chief, may now be in process of deciding what military steps shall be take in the Pacific after Okinawa is ours, some congressmen close to the armed forces believe.

The new President will have an important hand in the strategy decision because it involves not merely military matters in the Pacific but also problems that touch on the home front deeply.

The issue is apparently whether there shall be a headlong assault on the Jap home islands, or an encircling movement aimed at Japan through China.

Invasion of Japan costly

About two weeks ago, these same congressional sources said that our military experts had not then decided upon which way to move after Okinawa is captured.

A frontal assault on the Jap home islands might cost dearly, but it would end the Pacific war more quickly. An encircling movement toward the China coast probably would be less costly but mean a longer war. This was said to be the view of military experts two weeks ago, despite the fact that months ago Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz indicated that the China coast was one of our important goals.

Involves home front

Today, according to the congressional sources, President Truman is probably facing the decision as to which course should be taken. This would involve the question not only of home front production of military goods, but of home front morale in the face of heavy casualties, or less heavy casualties and a prolonged conflict.

In connection with Mr. Truman’s problem, it was the new President himself, who, in his first address to Congress last week, pointed out how important a role President Roosevelt played in our European planning.

Cites commanders

Mr. Truman said:

The grand strategy of a United Nations’ war has been determined – due in no small measure to the vision of our departed Commander-in-Chief. We are now carrying out our part of that strategy under the able direction of Adm. Leahy, Gen. Marshall, Adm. King, Gen. Arnold, Gen. Eisenhower, Adm. Nimitz and Gen. MacArthur… This direction must and will remain unchanged and unhampered.

Some feeling is developing among some of our military experts, these same congressional sources say, that after victory in Europe, Japan may fold up more quickly than has heretofore been expected.

They point out:

When victory day comes in Europe, the whole world will be arrayed against Japan, and this will finally be so impressed upon the Japs that they cannot help but be more ready for unconditional surrender.`

93

With machine-gun on hip, Yank rakes banzaiing Japs

Doughboy fires until barrel burns his hand as troops turn back attack on Okinawa
By Edward Thomas, United Press staff writer

WITH THE 96TH DIVISION, Okinawa (UP) – One Doughboy yanked a heavy machine-gun from its tripod and, with a belt of .50 caliber shells behind him, shot from the hip at the advancing Japs until the barrel burned his hand.

The Japs were trying another Banzai charge.

Thirty minutes later it was over, and 150 of the 250 enemy soldiers who had charged the 382nd Infantry Regiment were dead. The others 100 fled in confusion.

The Yanks were pretty busy during those 30 minutes.

Toss grenades chain style

They buried one of their comrades quickly on the ridge because they thought they were going to have to retreat, and didn’t want to leave his body behind.

They tossed grenades chain style from one man to another from the bottom to the top of the ridge, where the last soldier pulled the safety pin and hurled them at the oncoming Japs.

Scout mortars fired until the Japs had advanced so far that they seemed like they were firing straight up in the air, and had to cease for fear of hitting their own troops.

Fire 569 shells

A Marine battalion of 75s sent 569 projectiles crashing into advancing Japs in less than 10 minutes.

Men ducked back across open fields under enemy fire stole precious ammunition from other units and staggered back up the ridge loaded down “like pack mules.”

The company didn’t move an inch, and when it was over they recovered the body of the Doughboy they had buried, and he was brought back for decent burial with the others who died.

94

Marine trades ear for life of Jap lieutenant

ABOARD A USCG ATTACK TRANSPORT AT OKINAWA (UP) – Coast Guard correspondent John Walker McCain Jr. told today a story of a Marine who traded his left ear for the life of a Jap lieutenant.

The Jap leaped into the Leatherneck’s foxhole one dark night on Okinawa and sank his teeth into the Marine’s ear. The Marine plunged his knife into the intruder’s belly. The Marine won the ensuing death struggle but in his dying throes the Jap tore off his ear.

Aboard a hospital ship, the Marine displayed two souvenirs of his experience, a Jap sword and a silver cigarette case. The latter bore the name and emblem of a British bombardier. The Japanese had probably taken it from a British flier in a previous Pacific engagement.

95

Oberdonau-Zeitung (April 25, 1945)

In Frontmeldungen aus Ostasien muss die amerikanische Presse eingestehen, dass die amerikanischen Angriffe bei Okinawa keine Fortschritte machen. Es gelang den Japanern, einige Ortschaften und eine Stadt zurückzuerobern. Die Berichte sprechen davon, dass der Vormarsch im Süden Okinawas auf große Schwierigkeiten stößt.

96

U.S. Navy Department (April 25, 1945)

CINCPOA Communiqué No. 343

A general advance was made by troops of the XXIV Army Corps on Okinawa on April 24 (East Longitude Date) resulting in the capture of Kakazu Town in the center and an important strongpoint at Hill 178 on the left flank. Our ground forces were supported by heavy naval gunfire and low-level attacks by aircraft of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Enemy de­fenses at Tanabaru were in process of being reduced as Army troops continued to advance on April 25.

Marines of the III Amphibious Corps continued to patrol northern areas of the island on April 24 and 25.

As of 0600 on April 25, United States soldiers and Marines on Okinawa and surrounding islands had killed 21,269 of the enemy and had taken 399 prisoners of war. A total of 115,279 civilians have come under jurisdiction of U.S. Military Government authorities.

At the end of April 22, 889 soldiers of the XXIV Army Corps and 257 Marines of the III Amphibious Corps had been killed in action on Okinawa. A total of 4,879 officers and men of the XXIV Army Corps were wounded and 289 were missing. The III Amphibious Corps suffered 1,103 wounded and had 7 missing.

Carrier aircraft of the U.S. Pacific Fleet attacked airfield installations on islands of the Sakishima group on April 24.

Search planes of Fleet Air Wing One destroyed a small cargo ship, sank six fishing craft, sank a whaling vessel and damaged a small cargo ship in the water east of Kyushu on April 24.

On April 24 and 25, Corsair and Hellcat fighters of the 4th MarAirWing attacked targets in the Palau and Marine bombers and fighters struck runways and other installations on Yap in the Western Carolines.

The following are enemy killed and taken prisoner during mopping up operations on Iwo Island and islands of the Marianas and Palaus during the week of April 15 to April 21 (inclusive):

Killed Prisoners of war
Iwo 360 246
Saipan 4 7
Tinian 38
Guam 38 21
Peleliu 6
97

The Pittsburgh Press (April 25, 1945)

Stalemate broken on Okinawa

Yanks seize height north of Naha

GUAM (UP) – Troops of the 7th Infantry Division broke the stalemate of Southern Okinawa today in seizing a new height on the western sector north of the capital city of Naha.

Behind a pulverizing naval bombardment which blasted a path through strong Jap defenses, the Army troops hammered across the hilly terrain and captured an important high position west of Ishin village.

Adm. Chester W. Nimitz also disclosed that elements of the III Marine Amphibious Corps had landed on Henza Island, east of Okinawa’s Katchin Peninsula, and Kouri and Yagachi Islands, north of Motobu Peninsula. There was no opposition at Henza and Kouri, but some enemy remnants were still being mopped up on Yagachi.

Japs fear B-29s

The breakthrough in the southern line came as the Americans prepared the northern section of Okinawa for the next phase of the march on Japan and the Tokyo radio admitted that “nothing now seems possible to stop” the extermination of the Jap nation.

Tokyo said:

The enemy seems bent upon using them [B-29s] to utterly destroy the Yamato race in a manner far greater in fury than any bombings our Axis partners in Europe experienced.

In the carrying out of the enemy’s announced program for total extermination of the Japanese nation, nothing now seems possible to stop this vicious enemy.

3,130,000 homeless

The frank acknowledgment was made in a Tokyo report, disclosing that Superfortresses destroyed 770,000 homes and rendered 3,130,000 persons homeless at Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Nagoya.

Crewmen of the Superfortresses which raided the Hitachi aircraft plant at Tachikawa, 14 miles west of Tokyo, yesterday reported they “blew the factory all to hell” with several concentrations of bursts among buildings covering one million square feet.

The B-29s, four of which are missing, shot down 13 Jap fighters during the attack and probably destroyed 18 others. The crewmen said they saw one Jap plane strafing three parachuting Americans.

Hit nearby plant

Part of the fleet of some 150 Superfortresses which raided the Hitachi plant for the first time also hit the nearby Tachikawa aircraft factory.

Navy search planes ranged over the Ryukyu area and sank two small cargo ships and one motor torpedo boat and damaged two torpedo boats east of the islands.

98

U.S. Navy Department (April 26, 1945)

CINCPOA Communiqué No. 344

On April 26 (East Longitude Date), the troops of the XXIV Army Corps moved forward and secured positions on the high ground East of Urasoe Mura. Battleships and cruisers of the U.S. Pacific Fleet continued to give close gunfire support to the troops. A number of batteries, emplacements, structures and caves were destroyed by ships’ guns. Aircraft from carriers and planes of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing attacked enemy installations in the southern sector of the island. During the early hours of April 26, a few enemy aircraft approached our forces in the area around Okinawa and one was shot down.

Carrier aircraft of the U.S. Pacific Fleet continued neutralizing attacks on airfield installations in the Sakishima Group on April 25.

Search aircraft of Fleet Air Wing One strafed and sank a number of fishing craft, a small picket boat and a torpedo boat and damaged a number of other small craft in the waters east of Kyushu on April 26.

Helldiver bombers of the 4th MarAirWing struck the airfield on Yap on April 26. On the same date, fighters of the same Wing bombed targets in the Palaus. On the previous day dive bombers of the same Wing continued neutralizing raids on the Marshalls.

Search Privateers of FlAirWing Two bombed fuel and ammunition storage areas on Wake Island on April 25.

99

The Pittsburgh Press (April 26, 1945)

Southern Okinawa Jap line smashed

Yanks 3½ miles from capital city

GUAM (UP) – U.S. Army troops today had smashed the first major Jap defense line on southern Okinawa.

All key terrain on which the line was anchored was captured by the Americans as they pushed more than half a mile through the strong Jap defenses to less than three and a half miles from Naha, the island capital.

Superfortresses hit Japan

The developing Okinawa campaign brought a force of 200 to 250 Superfortresses ranging over Japan again today in new neutralization raids on airfields in Kyushu and Shikoku, two enemy home islands.

While the Japs staggered under the weight of the American land, naval and aerial blows, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz announced that 21,269 enemy troops were killed on Okinawa and the surrounding islands up to yesterday.

Most of the Japs were killed on Okinawa and it was estimated the enemy had lost one-third of its original garrison in the bloody fighting on the island, 325 miles from Japan. Only 399 Japs were taken prisoner.

U.S. casualties listed

American casualties in the campaign as of April 22, were: Army: 889 dead, 4,879 wounded and 289 missing; Marines: 257 dead, 1,103 wounded and seven missing.

Adm. Nimitz also disclosed that the town of Kakuzu, in the center of the island, had been retaken by Army troops in the renewed drive through the Jap defense belt stretched across Okinawa above Naha.

Thousands of Japs were killed and wounded in the coordinated naval and artillery bombardment. The big guns of Americans warships and the greatest artillery concentration of the Pacific War have been pounding the strongly dug-in Japs continuously since last Thursday.

The Americans were forced to burn and blast the Japs from pillboxes, blockhouses and caves with flamethrowers and explosive shells.

The new Superfortress attack on southern Japan was concentrated on 11 airfields spread through Kyushu and Shikoku. It was the first time the big American bombers hit Shikoku, just south of the main home island of Honshu.

Tokyo radio reported that Superfortresses raided Borneo for the first time Monday when two of the big bombers struck the oil center of Balikpapan.

100

Oberdonau-Zeitung (April 27, 1945)

Weitere US-Landungen auf Okinawa

Zunehmende Erbitterung des Kampfes

Tokio, 26. April – Auf der pazifischen Insel Okinawa, dem letzten Sperrriegel vor dem japanischen Mutterland, sind seit Beginn der großen Schlacht weiter schwere Kämpfe zwischen den amerikanischen Landetruppen und der japanischen Verteidigung im Gange. Infolge ihrer hohen Ausfälle mussten die Amerikaner neue Verbände an Land setzen. Der Widerstand der Japaner wird mit äußerster Erbitterung geführt.

101

U.S. Navy Department (April 27, 1945)

CINCPOA Communiqué No. 345

Troops of the XXIV Army Corps in the southern sector of Okinawa made a general advance during the afternoon of April 26 (East Longitude Date). By 1800 on that day, elements of the 27th Infantry Division had reached the vicinity of the Machinato Airfield near the West Coast after by passing enemy strong points in Nakama Village. In the central and eastern segments of the lines local gains were made against enemy mortar and machine gun fire. The ground troops were supported by Naval gunfire, carrier aircraft and planes of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. The attack was resumed on the morning of April 27.

Marines of the III Amphibious Corps continued to patrol northern Okinawa on April 26 and 27.

A few enemy aircraft appeared over our forces during the early morning of April 27. Three were shot down by one of our minesweepers.

Attacks by carrier aircraft of the U.S. Pacific Fleet on the Sakishima Group continued on April 26.

Mitchells of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing attacked harbor installations on Chichi Jima in the Bonins on the night of April 26. Fighters and torpedo planes of the same wing bombed bivouac areas in the Palaus on April 27 and fighters attacked targets on Yap.

102

CINCPOA Press Release No. 87

For Immediate Release
April 25, 1945

In the Okinawa campaign the enemy has attempted the use of rocket-propelled suicide bombs against our forces. These weapons, which are similar to a small single‑seat airplane, carry a pilot and are generally launched from the underside of the fuselage of a bomber. They have a wingspan of about sixteen feet, a length of more than 19 feet, and a tail plane of about eight feet. Constructed of light metals and wood, these bombs carry a heavy warhead of explosives. They are capable of high speed which reduces their qualities of maneuverability to a low point. The enemy has used them in limited numbers in the Okinawa operation up to this date, offering little op­portunity for observation of their powers or effects. U.S. forces have designated these missiles by the term “baka bomb.” “Baka” Is Japanese meaning “stupid,” “foolish,” or “silly.”

103

The Pittsburgh Press (April 27, 1945)

Japs cracking in South Okinawa

map.042745.up
Spurting ahead on Okinawa, U.S. troops seized a ridge overlooking the capital, Naha, and Shuri village. To the north, the Japs reported U.S. troops landed on Motobu Peninsula, behind holdout Jap forces. U.S. Superfortresses raided Kyushu Island of the Jap homeland, while carrier planes hit the Sakishima Islands below Okinawa.

GUAM (UP) – Jap resistance began to crack on Southern Okinawa today.

Tokyo reported a new American landing on the northwest coast of the strategic island.

U.S. troops assaulting the southern defenses shielding Naha, capital of Okinawa, captured bitterly-contested Sawtooth Ridge, highest point on the island. The Yanks wedged deeply into the enemy line less than a mile from the inland town of Shuri.

Radio Tokyo said the Americans were landing men and materials from barges in the vicinity of Minatagawa on the Motobu Peninsula, which juts out of Northwest Okinawa.

The landing put American units in the rear of Jap pockets still holding out on the peninsula and should speed the opening of the Unten Harbor navy base to American ships.

Capture of bloody Sawtooth Ridge was regarded as the turning point of the Okinawa campaign. From here out, it is a downhill battle with the Americans looking down the enemy’s throat.

Two of the last three airfields on the island, Machinato on the west just north of Naha, and Yonabaru on the eastern coastal plain, were almost within the Americans’ grasp. The Yanks also outflanked the inland town of Urasoe Mura from the west.

Maj. Gen. John R. Hodge, commander of the XXIV Army Corps, said that numerous Jap troops were deserting to the American lines.

“Soldiers don’t do this until they begin to crack,” Gen. Hodge said. “I think the Jap is pretty well disorganized and in my opinion the time for a possible counteroffensive has passed.”

Some 400 miles to the northeast, a fleet of 150 B-29 Superfortresses today hit seven Jap suicide-plane bases on Kyushu, southernmost of the enemy’s home islands, for the second time in 24 hours.

Weather good

Early reports indicated good weather favored the raiders in marked contrast to the extremely bad conditions which handicapped yesterday’s force of 200 to 250 bombers over Kyushu and adjacent Shikoku.

U.S. carrier planes continued their neutralizing attacks on airfield installations in the Sakishima group south of Okinawa Wednesday. Navy search planes strafed and sank a number of fishing craft, a small picket boat and a torpedo boat east of Kyushu yesterday.

104

Baden major bags eight Jap planes

Beat accomplished in only 20 minutes

(SHS) – It took Maj. George C. Axtell Jr. of Baden nearly five years to get into action. But he made up for it when he did get there.

In his first 20 minutes of combat near Okinawa Monday night, he became an ace by shooting down five enemy planes, war front dispatches revealed.

In addition, the 24-year-old Marine fighter pilot damaged three other Jap planes which may have gone down.

A son of Mr. and Mrs. George C. Axtell of Baden, he graduated from Ambridge High School and attended the University of Alabama before entering service in 1940.

He was seriously injured in a plane collision in 1942, but fell in the sea and was rescued. He went overseas last summer, but only got into action this spring.