Berlin Declaration signed; Allies bomb Taihoku (Taipei), Kyushu airfields, and urban Kobe; typhoon off Okinawa damage many American ships
May 31, 2015-June 6, 2015
Location: Government Documents
Sailors call them "Bat out of Hell," "Hara-Kiri on Wings," "Dead Pigeon," or simply "suicide planes." In Okinawa, the proximity of Japanese airfields in Kyushu and Formosa (Taiwan) permit mass kamikaze attacks, causing great damage to American ships. There are ten such intensive attacks during the invasion of Okinawa, sinking 26 American vessels and killing more than 5,000 sailors. Incomprehensible tactically and philosophically to the Western mind, these kamikazes have a demoralizing effect on the Navy. Still, they are described colorfully in June of 1945 in the Navy periodical All Hands. Japanese officers after the war, however, thought differently about these pilots on their one-way missions in Interrogations of Japanese Officials and Mission Accomplished: Interrogations of Japanese Industrial, Military, and Civil Leaders of World War II.
Newsmap. Monday, 18 [i.e. 11] June, 1945: week of 29 May to 5 June, V-E Day + 5 weeks, 182nd week of U. S. participation in the war. Allied engagement in areas of China, Japan, Okinawa and the Philippines are depicted, along with strategic geographic locations on both sides. Verso shows descriptions of Ribbons representing decorations and awards and the correct way of wearing them.
- View this map in print in the Map Collection reading room, ground floor of UHM Hamilton Library, the week of 31 May 2015
- View this map online through the University of North Texas Digital Library ( http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc818/ )
Notes: Newsmaps were color posters issued by the U.S. Army and the Government Printing Office (GPO) on Mondays during the World War II. They combine maps, images, and news from the previous week’s war effort.
