Okinawa 1945: Gateway to Japan

by Ian Gow, H. P. Wallmott (Compiler)

This study chronicles World War II's last great battle, one of its fiercest and most costly, and propounds the view that Okinawa's numerous casualties influenced the American decision to use the atomic bomb

Genres: War, History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[David Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book because my dad was in the battle of Okinawa in 1945, a#well as later serving in the Korean War. He came back and had a productive life with my family. He never talked to us much about his military experience - he was a lifelong member of our state National Guard also. He is gone now. I have his war scrapbooks and memorabilia. So I thought I would read and study the experts rendition of this brutal historic campaign. The book gave me incredible perspective. By use of my dad’s army division numbers I could get an idea of exactly the place and the role they may have served. The description of the Okinawa conflict is chilling. Perhaps the best value in the book is its last chapters where it describes “what did we learn from all this”. From the perspective of the Allies, the Japanese, even from the Russians (who were beginning to have their own thoughts of conquest rather than being Allies), this summary at the end somehow made some sense out all the horror of the battle. The writing itself was pretty mediocre.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final stepping stone in the Pacific drive during World War II, Okinawa's intense combat was an indication of things to come in an invasion of Japan proper. This battle was one of the reasons President Truman decided to use the atomic bomb.