June 22 marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, an American victory over Japanese military troops, a conflict that marked the final major confrontation before the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which brought an end to the fighting in the Pacific Theater.

As you've heard us mention numerous times on the KEEL morning show, Erin McCarty's father, John, a private in the Marines, earned the Bronze Star for combat gallantry. McCarty, then a mere nineteen-year-old, rescued as many as a dozen wounded Marines, crawling under constant enemy fire and carrying, and in some cases, dragging, his injured comrades to safety.

The battle lasted eighty two days, from April 1, 1945 until the final Japanese surrender on June 22., beginning with what was the largest amphibious assault in the war in the Pacific. By the end of the fighting, more than 12,000 American lives had been lost. The Japanese military suffered more than 120,000 dead and another 42,000 Okinawa civilians lost their lives.

Battle of Okinawa, April 1 to June 22, 1945

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