During the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific War, in May 1945, a U.S. Marine was killed by Japanese forces. The Marine's body lay face down in the wilderness of Okinawa Island, still wearing his helmet.

 　　During the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific War, in May 1945, a U.S. Marine was killed by Japanese forces. The Marine's body lay face down in the wilderness of Okinawa Island, still wearing his helmet. In the Battle of Okinawa, approximately 2,938 Marines were killed in action, with total Marine casualties exceeding 16,500. In the fiercest battle of the Pacific War, the Battle of Okinawa, the U.S. Tenth Army suffered over 49,000 casualties. Of these, over 12,500 were killed or missing in action. Naval casualties totaled 16,507 (including 2,938 dead and 13,609 wounded).

　　It was an arduous march from the April 1, 1945 landing points to the southernmost tip of Okinawa Island. For three months, the U.S. forces fought relentless battles on Okinawa Island, covering 1,207 km², just 547 km from the southern tip of mainland Japan. Operation Iceberg, the Battle of Okinawa, was the last major battle of the war and an unprecedented joint operation. Both the U.S. Tenth Army and the Marine Corps were composed of the most battle-hardened American units on the Pacific front. Japanese aircraft relentlessly launched kamikaze attacks against the American fleet. Thirty-four ships were lost, 26 of them to kamikaze attacks. 

　　Before the U.S. invasion of Okinawa, Japanese forces had constructed a complex fortified defensive position across the entire southern part of the island. A defensive belt stretched east to west across Okinawa Island, transforming the terrain itself into a fortress. There were no bypass routes. The 10th Army, landing on Okinawa's west coast, advanced straight south toward the core of the Japanese defensive fortress, aiming for the Japanese command headquarters in Shuri. The overwhelming American military power forced the Japanese to redeploy south beyond Shuri.

　　　Outnumbered, the Japanese forces waged a defensive battle of resistance. For every area captured, the U.S. forces paid a heavy price in blood against Japanese soldiers entrenched in the trenches. The terrain, the Japanese resistance, the intense heat for most of May, and relentless torrential rains further hampered the U.S. advance. The 10th Army advanced only about 6.4 km in the first seven weeks of combat. As the rains subsided in late May, facing weakened Japanese units, the final 16 km to the southern tip of Okinawa Island was captured in just four weeks of offensive operations. On June 22, 1945, the American flag was raised over the captured island at the headquarters of the 10th Army.