The Battle of Okinawa was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the  
largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War. The 82-day-long battle lasted from 
early April until mid-June, 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the
Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only
340 miles away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland. Five divisions of the U.S Tenth Army and two
Marine Divisions fought on the island. The invasion was supported by naval,
amphibious, and tactical air forces. The battle resulted in the highest number
of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

The American flag is planted on Okinawa

Debbie Reynolds, actress, singer, and dancer regularly appeared in movie
musicals during the 1950s. Her most high-profile film role was in Singin’ in
the Rain (1952). Her recording of the song "Tammy" (from her 1957 film
Tammy and the Bachelor) earned her a gold record and was the best-
selling single by a female vocalist in 1957. It was number one for five
weeks on the Billboard pop charts. In the movie, the first of the Tammy
film sires, she co-starred with Leslie Nielsen. Her public divorce from
Eddie Fisher in 1959 when he went to marry her former friend Elizabeth
Taylor is well-known (see picture below).

 
Shown left to right is Elizabeth Taylor, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds