The United States launched a massive invasion of the Japanese
home island of Okinawa, with an initial landing of 60,000 soldiers
and marines, on this day in history, April 1, 1945.

The Battle of Okinawa proved the last major engagement of World
War II and the largest battle of the entire war in the Pacific Theater. 

Okinawa has been a critical strategic location for the United States Armed Forces since the Battle of Okinawa and the end of World
War II. The island was under American administration until 1972,
and today hosts around 26,000 US military personnel, about half
of the total complement of the United States Forces Japan,
spread among 32 bases and 48 training sites.

Naha, Okinawa, Japan today.

On September 2, 1969, America’s first automatic teller
machine (ATM) makes its public debut, dispensing
cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville
Centre, New York. ATMs went on to revolutionize the
banking industry, eliminating the need to visit a bank
to conduct basic financial transactions.  

By the 1980s, these money machines had become
widely popular and handled many of the functions
previously performed by human tellers, such as
check deposits and  money transfers between
accounts. 

Today, ATMs are as indispensable to most people
as cell phones and e-mail.

Donald C. Wetzel (93) is an American businessman known
for holding the USA patent to the automatic teller machine.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Robert Plant is best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the
English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968
until 1980, when the band broke up following the death of John
Bonham, the band’s drummer. He was inducted with the band
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

In 2008, Rolling Stone editors ranked him number 15 on their
list of the 100 best singers of all time. In 2011, Rolling Stone
readers ranked Plant the greatest of all lead singers. In 2006,
Hit Parader magazine named Plant the "Greatest Metal Vocalist
of All Time".           

In 2009, Plant was voted "the greatest voice in rock" in a poll
conducted by Planet Rock. Plant is 74 years old today.

CAMILLE BOHANNON