On April 1, 1945, after suffering the loss of 116 planes and
damage to three aircraft carriers, 50,000 U.S. combat troops,
under the command of Lieutenant General Simon B. Buckner
Jr., landed on the southwest coast of the Japanese island
of Okinawa, 350 miles south of Kyushu, the southern main
island of Japan.
Determined to seize Okinawa as a base of operations for
the army ground and air forces for a later assault on
mainland Japan, more than 1,300 ships converged
on the island, finally putting ashore 50,000 combat
troops.
Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.
(18 July 1886 – 18 June 1945)
Buckner was among the casualties,
killed by enemy artillery fire just three
days before the Japanese surrender.
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The 1952 film Okinawa starring Pat O’Brien, is one of several movies to depict this decisive episode in the history of the
war.
Fort Buckner is a small United States Army base located immediately south of Camp Foster, near Futenma, on
Okinawa, Japan.
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