The defending Japanese military was determined to inflict a casualty rate so high that the U.S. government would choose not to invade the
Japanese home islands. To this end, the southern portion of the island had been covered with the most extensive system of fortifications and fields of fire the Americans had yet encountered. In anticipation of this level of resistance, five full divisions, two Marine and three Army, were committed to the struggle.
The initial American landings took place on 1 April 1945 and the island was not declared secure until 22 June, a period of 82 days, far longer than was expected by US planners. Four days before the end of the campaign, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. became the highest ranking U.S. military officer to be killed in action in the
Second World War.
1st Battalion (Lt. Col. Jean W. Moreau (WIA 16 May), Maj. Robert P. Neuffer (to 25 May), Lt. Col. Samuel S. Yeaton (to 14 Jun), Lt. Col.
Leroy P. Hunt, Jr.[c])
2nd Battalion (Lt. Col. William G. Robb (WIA 19 Apr))
3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Erma A. Wright (To 14 Jun), Lt. Col. Angus N. FraServ)
1st Battalion – Yellow 2 (Lt. Col. Charles W. Shelburne)
2nd Battalion – Yellow 1 (Lt. Col. William B. Benedict (to 20 Jun), Maj. Richard T. Washburn)
3rd Battalion – Reserve (Maj. John H. Gustafson (WIA 1 Apr), Lt. Col. John C. Miller, Jr. (4 Apr to 16 May), Maj. Frank W. Poland (to 8 Jun), Jr., Lt. Col. Robert B. Hill)
^Sgt.
William Manchester, later a noted author, served in this unit on Okinawa; his 1980 bestseller Goodbye Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War was later discovered to contain multiple exaggerations and falsehoods.[2]
^Had been relieved of command on
Guadalcanal for poor handling of the 5th Marine Regiment, but was given a second chance for battlefield command.
Clark, George C. (2006). The Six Marine Divisions in the Pacific: Every Campaign of World War II. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company.
ISBN0-7864-2769-8.
Rottman, Gordon (2004). Okinawa 1945: The Last Battle. xxxxxxxxxxxx: Osprey.
ISBN0-275-98274-2.
Stanton, Shelby L. (1984). World War II Order of Battle. New York: Galahad Books.
ISBN0-88365-775-9.
The defending Japanese military was determined to inflict a casualty rate so high that the U.S. government would choose not to invade the
Japanese home islands. To this end, the southern portion of the island had been covered with the most extensive system of fortifications and fields of fire the Americans had yet encountered. In anticipation of this level of resistance, five full divisions, two Marine and three Army, were committed to the struggle.
The initial American landings took place on 1 April 1945 and the island was not declared secure until 22 June, a period of 82 days, far longer than was expected by US planners. Four days before the end of the campaign, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. became the highest ranking U.S. military officer to be killed in action in the
Second World War.
1st Battalion (Lt. Col. Jean W. Moreau (WIA 16 May), Maj. Robert P. Neuffer (to 25 May), Lt. Col. Samuel S. Yeaton (to 14 Jun), Lt. Col.
Leroy P. Hunt, Jr.[c])
2nd Battalion (Lt. Col. William G. Robb (WIA 19 Apr))
3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Erma A. Wright (To 14 Jun), Lt. Col. Angus N. FraServ)
1st Battalion – Yellow 2 (Lt. Col. Charles W. Shelburne)
2nd Battalion – Yellow 1 (Lt. Col. William B. Benedict (to 20 Jun), Maj. Richard T. Washburn)
3rd Battalion – Reserve (Maj. John H. Gustafson (WIA 1 Apr), Lt. Col. John C. Miller, Jr. (4 Apr to 16 May), Maj. Frank W. Poland (to 8 Jun), Jr., Lt. Col. Robert B. Hill)
^Sgt.
William Manchester, later a noted author, served in this unit on Okinawa; his 1980 bestseller Goodbye Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War was later discovered to contain multiple exaggerations and falsehoods.[2]
^Had been relieved of command on
Guadalcanal for poor handling of the 5th Marine Regiment, but was given a second chance for battlefield command.
Clark, George C. (2006). The Six Marine Divisions in the Pacific: Every Campaign of World War II. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company.
ISBN0-7864-2769-8.
Rottman, Gordon (2004). Okinawa 1945: The Last Battle. xxxxxxxxxxxx: Osprey.
ISBN0-275-98274-2.
Stanton, Shelby L. (1984). World War II Order of Battle. New York: Galahad Books.
ISBN0-88365-775-9.