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April 1, 1945 – June 23, 1945 · World War II

Battle of Okinawa

15 Medals of Honor were earned in the Battle of Okinawa (April 1, 1945 – June 23, 1945). Result: Allied victory.

15Medals of Honor
7posthumous
Allied victoryresult
Date
April 1, 1945 – June 23, 1945
Location
Okinawa Island and Prefecture, Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Result
Allied victory
Part of
World War II
Conflict
World War II

About the battle

The Battle of Okinawa (Japanese: 沖縄戦, Hepburn: Okinawa-sen), codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by the United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army. The initial invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945 was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Kerama Islands surrounding Okinawa were preemptively captured on 26 March 1945 by the U.S. Army 77th Infantry Division. The 82-day battle on Okinawa lasted from 1 April 1945 until 22 June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the island as a staging point for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, 340 mi (550 km) away. The United States created the Tenth Army, a cross-branch force consisting of the U.S.

From the Wikipedia article “Battle of Okinawa”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Result, date and location from the article’s infobox and Wikidata.

Medal of Honor recipients (15)

Where it happened

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.