War Stories II (71 page)

Ushijima stored enough water, rations, and essential supplies and munitions to last months. His plan was to let the Americans come ashore and then move inland. As at Iwo Jima, the Japanese would not oppose the American landing at first. But once they were far enough inland, he'd have them boxed in with his triangulated artillery and machine guns. Then Ushijima
planned to hit them with all the strength of the 32nd Imperial Army in an unparalleled trap.

Still, it was easy at first—the Americans moved quickly into the hills above the beaches. The landing on Okinawa was so different from Iwo Jima that Admiral Turner actually believed that the Japanese had already given up. The Americans secured the beachhead and two airfields by that first morning with minimal casualties.

The Marines had also feigned a landing on Minatoga, completely hoodwinking General Ushijima, who mistakenly radioed Imperial Headquarters that his troops had successfully repulsed the Americans, who had “suffered numerous casualties.”

But then the U.S. Army's 96th Infantry Division was confronted by soldiers of Ushijima's army—most of them hidden in the hills of the south end of the island. It was the first major combat on Okinawa, with the American soldiers attempting to take the high ground one hill at a time, especially up on Kakazu Ridge. In the first four days, American troops suffered 3,000 casualties. But in the coming days, their casualties would top 3,000 each day.

The American armed forces desperately needed reinforcements, and during 1944 young Americans had lined up at the recruiting stations to serve. One of them was seventeen-year-old Dan Barton, who went to boot camp and was sent directly to the Pacific.

On the first day of the landing, the USS
Indefatigable
was hit by a kamikaze but was saved from serious damage by its armored flight deck. The Japanese launched the first of ten hordes of kamikaze attacks that continued until June. U.S. losses in both men and ships were severe. Between 1,500 and 2,000 kamikaze flights were flown from Kyushu to attack the American ships.

On the sixth day after the landing, the British aircraft carrier HMS
Illustrious
was hit by another kamikaze attack but did not sink. General Ushijima's fleet of kamikaze pilots and planes scored only a few crucial hits, including the U.S. aircraft carriers
Wasp
and
Franklin
. When the
Wasp
was hit, the resulting explosions and fires killed more than a hundred sailors and wounded 269. Nevertheless, within fifteen minutes, the fires aboard the
Wasp
were extinguished and her remaining crew began bringing back their aircraft.

The carrier
Franklin
was hit hard, but the cruiser
Santa Fe
heroically stayed alongside her throughout the afternoon, despite explosions and flames, to rescue those who jumped off the deck to escape from the fiery heat. Damage to the
Franklin
's flight deck was extensive, but the ship got under way within hours and was able to return home under her own power. Casualties included 724 killed or missing and 265 wounded. Lieutenant (jg) Donald Gary was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading two sailors below the blazing decks in order to wet down a five-inch gun about to explode. He later found 300 men trapped below decks and led them to safety.

On 6 April, the “super battleship”
Yamato
, along with the Japanese cruiser
Yahagi
and eight destroyers, set sail for Okinawa. The
Yamato
, the largest warship ever built, was sent to Okinawa with no protective air cover and only enough fuel for a one-way trip. Their orders were to locate American and Allied ships and destroy them before they were destroyed.

From the very beginning of hostilities around Okinawa, the Japanese were intent on making life miserable for the Allies. In addition to at least 2,000 kamikaze aircraft, the Japanese had also created a fleet of kamikaze ships that included the
Yamato
, the
Yahagi
, and the eight destroyers. But these kamikaze ships were met and overwhelmed by aircraft from the 5th Fleet.

The American submarine USS
Hackleback
tracked the
Yamato
and her escorts and then alerted carrier-based bombers. Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher launched air strikes on the
Yamato
. Aircraft from the USS
San Jacinto
sunk the Japanese destroyer
Hamakaze
, while the light cruiser
Yahagi
was hit and went dead in the water. The small Japanese naval force was under incessant attack. The
Yahagi
was sunk after American carrier-based Hellcats and Avengers made a final attack.

The
Yamato
also finally succumbed to American air power. It took twelve bombs and seven torpedo hits to finally kill her, but she sank in the East China Sea. Three of the Japanese destroyers were also hit and were so badly damaged that they had to be scuttled. Even the four remaining destroyers could not make the return trip to Japan.

Of the
Yamato
's crew of 2,747, all but 269 men were lost. The
Yahagi
lost about 450;
Asashimo
lost 330; and the seven destroyers suffered casualties
of 391. There were few Japanese survivors. Losses to the Americans were ten planes and a dozen men.

This was the last Japanese naval action of World War II.

Giving support to the Okinawa landing was the most costly naval engagement in U.S. history. Thirty-four American ships and landing craft were sunk and almost 400 others were seriously damaged, many beyond salvaging. Worse, nearly 5,000 sailors were killed in action and an equal number were wounded—most of them burned by flaming gasoline that incinerated the skin of their faces, bodies, and limbs.

By 8 April, the American forces on Okinawa were stopped in their tracks by the line of Japanese defenses in concrete reinforced pillboxes with steel doors unaffected by flame-throwers. Casualties on both sides were growing along with civilian deaths. Additional reinforcements were landed on 9 April, and American troops on the island now numbered 160,000.

Attention now focused on taking Shuri Castle, the key Japanese defensive position of resistance. The “castle” was another reinforced concrete fortification located in the southern part of Okinawa on high land between the eastern and western coasts. As usual, General Ushijima had prepared defensive positions with interlocking fields of fire and could direct his men across the island underground without having to encounter American troops.

The interconnected tunnels were almost impossible to get into. However, against these fortifications was the combined firepower of six U.S. Navy battleships, six cruisers, nine destroyers, and some 650 American aircraft—in addition to the 160,000 Marines and soldiers on the ground.