| Description: | Americans on Okinawa hear of victory in Europe. A few yards behind the front lines on Okinawa, fighting men of the US Armys 77th Infantry division listen to radio reports of Germanys surrender on May 8, 1945. Their battle hardened faces indicate the impassiveness with which they received the news of the victory on a far distant front. One minute after this photo was taken, they returned to their combat post, officially however, American forces on Okinawa celebrated the end of the war in Europe by training every ship and shore battery on a Japanese target and firing one shell simultaneously and precisely at midnight. Okinawa is a strategic island in the Ryukyu (Loochoo chain), situated 375 miles from Japan. (FA 41224- FA, National Archives). |
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Okinawa
