During the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific War, the body of a Japanese soldier killed by a direct hit from an American artillery shell in May 1945 became trapped beneath a heavy machine gun.

   During the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific War, the body of a Japanese soldier killed by a direct hit from an American artillery shell in May 1945 became the base for a heavy machine gun. The Japanese forces attacked the terrain where Okinawa Island's defenses were fortified, mines were laid, artillery was positioned, and combat positions were established. Many Japanese soldiers emerged from underground, and the American forces were counterattacked. By late May, the Japanese forces had also suffered heavy casualties and gradually surrendered, withdrawing from the Shuri Line on May 23. The commander of the Japanese 32nd Army, Mitsuru Ushijima, committed suicide on June 22, ending the Battle of Okinawa.

   On April 1, 1945, over 60,000 U.S. Army and Marine Corps troops of the U.S. 10th Army landed on Okinawa, launching the final Okinawa campaign before the invasion of mainland Japan. Advancing with little resistance, the U.S. forces soon encountered the Japanese Army's inland defense network. Fierce fighting erupted at the southern tip of Okinawa Island. Torrential rain and rugged terrain hindered easy movement, with natural defensive positions covering Okinawa Island. Fierce fighting on land, sea, and air continued for nearly three months. Like the bloodshed on Iwo Jima, the horrors of the Okinawa campaign foreshadowed the dreaded death toll anticipated for the expected invasion of the Japanese mainland.

   By April 18, U.S. forces had overcome Japanese defenses in northern Okinawa. Japanese resistance in the south proved stubborn. The Japanese used the historic Shuri Castle as a defensive stronghold, supported by highly defensible ridges. Japanese defenses, combined with sporadic Japanese counterattacks, held back the U.S. advance. Ultimately, relentless attacks by the Tenth Army led to the fall of Shuri Castle on May 29. The Marines captured the airfields at Naha through an amphibious assault that began on June 4, 1945.

The Battle of Okinawa resulted in the sacrifice of over 49,000 American soldiers, including more than 12,000 killed in action. Among the dead was Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., commander of the 10th Army, the highest-ranking officer killed. He was killed by shrapnel on June 18 during the final assault. Approximately 90,000 Japanese soldiers died in the battle, while Okinawan civilian deaths reached 150,000.