Okinawa Occupation Photo Archive

World War II Archive of 37 photos of the American military occupation in Okinawa Japan in 1945. Archive of original black and white silver gelatin photographs each measuring between 3.75" x 4.5" to 7" x 10.5". Not dated, but most likely 1945. Short handwritten captions on verso. Photos depict American troops in the Okinawan interior, in locations such as villages, shrines, farmland, and the Yontan airfield. Yontan was a primary goal for the American invasion, and was secured on April 1st, the first day of the invasion. Several photos show destroyed equipment and infrastructure, likely a result of the brutal and hard fought takeover of the island. In one photo, we see a Japanese plane crashed and ablaze, with another close-up shot of debris likely from the same wreck. We can also see American ships in an Okinawan harbor as well as offshore, with a small crew driving an LSD 7-4 transport ship. An aerial shot shows a portion of a harbor in a starkly different context, with several ships wrecked and sinking with the industrial tracts nearby completely flattened by bombing. This series of photos was likely taken after the cessation of hostilities, as we can see one photo of a column of civilians with their belongings captioned "civilians returning, to homes." The Okinawan campaign was an inglorious end to the war, with the Japanese forces holding out until the bitter end and exploiting the indigenous population, either with forced conscription, urging suicide rather than surrender, using civilians as human shields, rapes, massacres, and other atrocities. Okinawa is an island of great strategic value and was transferred back into Japanese administration only in 1972. This archive also shows the extensive toll of war on civilian populations and infrastructure. Photos are in very good condition overall. (Inventory #: 18914)