It was the year 1945 and World War II had been going on for almost six years. The United States had entered the war four years earlier in 1941. Now, as the war was being drawn to a close the USA was preparing to launch the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The attack was named 'Operation Iceberg' and it pitted the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps against the Imperial Japanese Army. The target was the island of Okinawa. If the Allied Forces could capture Okinawa they could use it as an airbase to launch bombers against Japan. On top of that it would also allow the Allies a safe port to harbor their ships in preparation for battle.

On March 24, 1945 the US 77th Infintry Division Landed at the Kerama Islands, located South-West of Okinawa. Led by Major General Andrew. D. Bruce, the US 77th Infantry Division made fifteen landings and secured the Kerama Islands. The entire operation only took them five days and secured the Islands as a launching point for the US troops.

The Tenth Army, a branch of the US Military was created. Consisting of the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th Infantry Divisions, with the 1st, 2nd, and 6th Marine Divisions, the Tenth Army had over 102,000 soldiers, 88,000 Marines, and 18,000 Navy personnel. The Tenth army also had over 3,000 aircraft, and was supported by a fleet of 18 battle ships, 27 cruisers, 177 destroyers, 39 aircraft carriers, and various support and troop transport ships.

The Japanese defense was managed by the 32nd Army which consisted of 77,000 soldiers. Added to this was 9,000 Imperial Japanese Navy Troops (only a few hundred of whom had been armed for combat.) This force was suported by 39,000 drafted Ryukuan people (24,000 of which were rear militia, and the other 15,000 of which conssisted of non-uniformed laborers). In additon the Imperial Japanese Army mobilized 1,780 school boys ages 14-17 years into front line service. Female students were organized into nursing units to asist the wounded. 2,000 students died on the battle field.

In the meantime, starting on March 24th, the US Navy began bombarding the shorlines where their troops were to land. Over the course of the next seven days the US Navy fired 13,000 rounds of artillery fire.

The official start of The Battle of Okinawa was on April 1st. Again US Navy ships attacked the shores of the landing sights. They released 44,825 shells, 33,000 rockets, and 22,500 mortar shells on the targeted beaches. Two separate US Tenth Army divisions landed on the southwest coast of Okinawa. There was zero opposition during the landing.

Over the next three days the US Marines swept through Northern Okinawa with relative ease, capturing two airfields and encountering very little resistance along the way. They encountered only third-rate troops that were mostly non-combatants drafted into Japanese military service. These defense units were poorly armed and completely untrained. Many civilians turned themselves in. As the US continued its quick march, interrogation of Japanese prisoners revealed that the Japanese Imperial Army had put the majority of its effort into protecting the Southern end of the island.

On the 5th of April the Alied Forces began to encounter enemy resistance. As the Okinawa battle intensified, the US troops encountered pockets of Japanese defenders. The US forces split up. Up north the Marine divisions continued the assault whilst in the south the Infintry divisions moved increasingly slower in their advance.

As the battle on the land dragged on the Japanese prepared to launch their air assault against the US Navy. On April 6th more than 400 Kamikaze planes were unleashed upon the US Navy. Starting on April 6th and lasting all the way through June 22nd. The Japanese flew 1,465 Kamikaze planes in multiple large scale attacks. It proved deadly for both sides as the Japanese lost more than 1,100 planes, and twenty US boats were sunk and 157 were damaged.

The Japanese now went forward with Operation Ten-Go. The plan was simple, launch 10 surface vessels led by the super battle ship Yamato, which was the largest battleship in the world. An American submarine spotted the attack early on, allowing the US time to prepare for the attack. Operation Ten-Go was a suicide mission at best, their only objective was to slow down the American Navy…they failed. With no air cover, the vessels were blasted to smithereens by over 300 US aircrafts. The battle took only two hours and the Yamato was sunk in a one-sided battle, long before she could reach Okinawa.

On April 16th the US began its attack on the island of Shima. Shima was seven kilometres west of Motobu Peninsula which was the main Japanese stronghold on Okinawa. The island held one of the largest airfields in the Asia-Pacific region and was vitally needed to provide aerial support on the assault on Okinawa. On the 16th, Naval and Aerial artillery, including rockets and mortar bombs, were released onto Shima. The US infantry division landed and began its assault. The island was defended by an estimated 7,000 soldiers, many of whom were hidden in underground guard posts. Despite being encircled with their heavy fortifications the Japanese managed to hold off for six days before the island was declared secure by the US. By the end of the assault 4,706 Japanese were killed and 149 captured. The success came at the cost of 172 American soldiers lives and another 46 American soldiers declared missing.

With the Marines coming from the south, the Army coming from the north, the planes being launched from the West, and basically the whole island surrounded by the Navy the Japanese were forced into the center of the island. They took refuge in one of the Japanese’s largest and most heavily fortified bases, Shuri Castle. The US began capturing key defenses around Shuri Castle including Sugar Loaf Hill in the east, Conical Hill in the south, Chocolate Drop Hill which surrounded the whole castle, and the capital city of Naha which was another stronghold in the west.

On the 29th of May, the US finally took Shuri Castle. Although because the artillery fire had began a week before hand, the majority of the Japanese soldiers managed to escape. Even though they escaped with their lives it was a hasty retreat and left them with no organized defense. By the end of the attack Shuri Castle was diminished to rubble by the non-stop pounding of artillery and naval guns, not to mention the aerial bombings. A total of 200,000 rounds were released into the castle’s walls completely destroying it. On June 10th, US Generals offered the Japanese the chance to surrneder, their offer was never answered.

By the 17th, the Japanese had been routed and forced into three segments. Separated and depleted of supplies the Japanese defeat was imminent.

78 years ago, on June 21st, Okinawa fell into the hands of the US. The remaining Japanese forces were in retreat and the 21st marked the end to the fighting. The Allies were victorious. On the 22nd, undersatnding his defeat, Japanese Lieutenant General Mitsru Ushjima reported the loss of the island to his officials and then, along with his officers, he commited suicide.

By the end of the largest land-sea-air battle in history the island of Okinawa was reduced to a “vast field of mud, lead, decay, and maggots.” 100,000 Okinawa civilians died, along with 72,000 Amercain soldiers, and 100,000 Japanese soldiers.

By Josiah Patrick

Plot Overview:

This is the third book in the Lord of the Rings and the climax of the series. The forces of Mordor are quickly marching out to conquer the land. They head first to Gondor. If Gondor falls, the rest of Middle Earth will soon follow. Merry goes with King Denathor to rally Rohan to war. Meanwhile Aragorn goes to cross the Paths of the Dead so he too can aid Gondor. Pippin is with Gandalf headed to help Gondor. Then the siege of Gondor begins, led by the Lord of Minas Morgul, the King of the Nazgúl.

The full strength of Mordor is too strong to be overcome by force, the only hope of defeating Sauron lies in two Hobbits, Frodo and Sam. Their goal is to take the all powerful Ring that holds Sauron’s power together into the heart of Mordor, to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom. But Frodo is being held in the custody of Orcs in the tower of Cirith Ungol and it is up to Sam to save him. This an amazing story of the battle between good and evil.

Language:

There are no bad words in this book, thought there is some name calling and rude talking. When talking to another Orc, an Orc says “curse you” and calls the other a “little maggot”. The book then says that his voice trailed off in a string of foul names and curses though it does not name them. In another conversation two Orcs speak rudely to one another. When talking to Frodo, Sam calls Gollum “stinker” several times, but there really aren’t any bad words used in the book.

Romance:

There is very little romance in this book but it does mention some romance between Faramir and Éowyn, and it mentions them kissing. They end up getting married as do Aragorn and Arwen, and Sam and Rose. Otherwise there is no romance.

Positive Elements:

This book has a lot of positive elements, mainly the book presents great qualities such as courage, perseverance, kindness, loyalty, and mercy. Here are a few examples: Sam shows great loyalty when rescuing Frodo from Cirith Ungol, a tower filled with orcs. Sam later carries Frodo up a mountain when he could go on no longer, this also shows great perseverance as both of them had not had much food or water for a long time. Frodo shows mercy when dealing with the ruffians in the Shire, by refusing to let anyone kill them unless necessary to save someone’s life; he then showed mercy to Saruman by not killing him even when he tried to kill Frodo. The book also has a great description of how amazing nature is. The book has a great representation of the battle between good and evil, and shows the great contrast between the two very well. It also shows that good ultimately triumphs, even when hope seems gone.

Spiritual Elements:

In this book there is a lot of magic, which can be expected form a fantasy book. In the book Aragorn gets help from an army of ghosts forced to remain on earth until they helped the heir of Isildur, then they could rest. Lots of characters use magic both good, and evil. Several characters use magical artifacts to assist them in war. The whole plot centers on destroying a magic ring that will in turn destroy a magical being. Nine ring-wraiths are ghosts kept alive by dark magic.

Violence and Gore:

This book has a good deal of violence. It has several large-scale battles such as the battle of Pelennor Fields, and also several one-on-one fights such as Frodo vs Gollum. But these battles are not descriptive.

This book also has a good deal of gore, the book mentions heads being launched over walls in the siege of Gondor. It later says that the halls were lined with corpses throughout the entire tower of Cirith Ungol, then it says that an orc was about to whip Frodo, and did once before Sam saved him, and it describes there being an “ugly whip-wheel” across his side. The book describes that Saruman’s corpse shrank and the shriveled face became rags of skin upon a hideous skull.

Darkness:

The Lord of the Rings has a deep sense of darkness. The Nazgûl strike fear into anyone around them and hunt down anyone Sauron tells them to. Then King of the Nazgûl can inflict a dark sickness on any one he touches. This sickness is nearly impossible to recover from. The orcs are so evil that they will sometimes kill one another. Sauron sends a darkness across the whole land so that it always seemed like night. Mordor is a dark land where the only thing that grows is thorny brambles twisted with long thorns. The whole land of Mordor is dark and empty of life, it is a vast rocky wilderness where the only living things are the orcs and slaves of Sauron. The Morgul Valley has been completely taken over by Sauron so that even when he is destroyed it is uninhabitable for some time. But J.R.R. Tolkien does not give the darkness too much power. The orcs despise all that is good and cannot stand the light. The darkness also does not have the power to create, only twist the goodness that is already there.

Other Negative Elements:

Frodo is described as being naked in Cirith Ungol.

By Nathaniel Patrick

I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but take heart! I have overcome the world.

I think this is the perfect verse for this topic. Peace, well what does peace mean? The New Oxford American Dictionary says peace is "freedom from disturbance; tranquility" but I really think it is time with God. So I think John is trying to tell us that God will be with us in our hard times. Please read the full chapter as a short bible study and decide what you think it means.

By Seth Patrick.