TRUCKS MOVING THROUGH THE MUD (top); trucks bogged down to the vehicle frames in mud (bottom). U.S. progress on Okinawa was slow but advances were made until the middle of May when torrential rains seriously interfered with the movement of supplies and equipment to the front. The road system on southern Okinawa eventually broke down and supplies had to be delivered to the front by hand or air. Armored units were almost completely immobilized.
OKINAWA
AN ENLISTED MAN WASHING in a water-filled foxhole following the heavy rains (top); drying clothes and digging a new foxhole (bottom). The fighting continued on Okinawa until 21 June when the island was declared secure.
OKINAWA
B-24 TAKING OFF FROM THE AIRSTRIP AT YONTANZAN for a mission over Japan (top); Douglas C-54 Skymaster arriving at Yontanzan airstrip on a flight from Guam (bottom). The construction of airstrips on Okinawa and the nearby islands was carried out concurrently with the operations, and attacks on the Japanese home islands were soon started.
