Fireside Chat: The Battle for Okinawa

• Sunday, June 1 @ 5:00 pm
• Lewes Public Library, Lewes, DE

The Battle of Okinawa was the largest land-sea-air battle in history and the final major traditional military engagement before the dawn of the atomic age. Okinawa was strategically vital to the American forces because it would provide naval anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields for the planned invasion of Japan. It was the first battle in which kamikaze attacks were a primary defensive tactic, because the Imperial armed forces of Japan were so badly diminished. The battle started on April 1, 1945 and ended 82 days later on June 22, 1945. The horror and brutality of the fight for Okinawa is hard to imagine. More than 110,000 Japanese soldiers and conscripted civilians were killed, and 140,000 native Okinawans were killed, died from suicide, or went missing. There were 48,000 American casualties, including 12,000 deaths. Fireside Chats host Paul Sparrow will explain why this battle was so important, and how the two sides planned and waged the most decisive battle in the Pacific Theater.

NOTE: this session is available to attend in-person or through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER and indicate which you prefer. Each in-person attendee must register separately.

Free History & Culture Lectures & Workshops Libraries Southern Delaware

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