Okinawa Flag Raising: The Last Major Battle of WWII

In writing my recent blog about my dad, Tribute: My Dad & Okinawa Gunto (The Last Major Battle of WWII), and the operation he was in, I discovered something interesting: the raising of the American flag at Okinawa on May 30, 1945. That made me question why this part of history was overshadowed by the Iwo Jima flag raising, which was February 23, 1945. The Okinawa operation (26 March – 23 June 1945) is listed not only as the last major battle but the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific during World War II.

The last major battle? I decided to investigate.This island was the last stop before the Japanese islands. Japan, having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, after two atomic bombs were dropped, formally surrendered, ending World War II on September 2, 1945. Okay, bombing isn't the same as battles. After fact checking many battles and dates, it appeares the wording of "last major battle" is accurate.

So, back to the flag raising of this last battle. Why is this flag information so low key? When you do an internet search for WWII flag raising it only shows the Iwo Jima one unless you're more specific. Maybe the notoriety was due to the amount of men raising the American Flag there, or the amount of lives lost there was greater than in the Okinawa operation? Who knows? Yet, one would surmise the picture of the raising of the last battle flag would have some importance and be as discussed as much as the Iwo Jima picture.

If interested in knowing more, this "Final Campaign" link below is a detailed telling of the Okinawa campaign. One thing, out of the many things, this article mentions is the kamikaze pilots. It made my heart sink to think my dad's ship could have been attacked that way and the numerous things that could have been running through his mind during that time.

I also thought I'd share an excerpt from the link in order to single out, from among the many interesting things in the article, the information about minesweepers. This was one of his ship's assignments; one ship out the many ships and men involved.

Excerpt: "Meanwhile, Turner's minesweepers had their hands full clearing approach lanes to the Hagushi Beaches. Navy Underwater Demolition Teams, augmented by Marines, blew up hundreds of man-made obstacles in the shallows. And in a full week of preliminary bombardment, the fire support ships delivered more than 25,000 rounds of five-inch shells or larger. The shelling produced more spectacle than destruction, however, because the invaders still believed General Ushijima's forces would be arrayed around the beaches and air fields. A bombardment of that scale and duration would have saved many lives at Iwo Jima; at Okinawa this precious ordnance produced few tangible results."

The Final Campaign: http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Okinawa/index.html

To continue, my blog photo shows the raising of the American Flag by one lone but still significant Marine. The caption stated: LtCol Richard P. Ross, commander of 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, braves sniper fire to place the division's colors on a parapet of Shuri Castle (Okinawa) on May 30, 1945. This flag was first raised over Cape Gloucester and then Peleliu. (The Department of Defense has the original photo - USMC 121832.)

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Additional links:

1) Some sources state the flag was raised on May 29th or June 1st but this video shows May 30th ... http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675034739_soldiers_man-climbs-hill_Flag-planted-on-top_American-flag

2) A brief newspaper article, with picture, about the flag being raised on May 30th along with a little more history of the flag and battle. http://historicperiodicals.princeton.edu/historic/cgi-bin/historic?a=d&d=MarineCorpsChevron19450616-01.2.43&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------#

3) For World War II Timeline: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/history/wwii_timeline.html
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