Victory in the Pacific
On October 20, 1944, a radio broadcast rang out through the Philippine Islands from the beaches of Leyte: “This is the Voice of Freedom, General MacArthur speaking. People of the Philippines! I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil.” With these uplifting words the campaign to liberate this vital island chain began. Within two months Leyte was taken, and then, in January 1945, MacArthur’s forces invaded the main island of Luzon. Fighting would continue against fierce enemy resistance throughout the islands until the final surrender of Japan.
Also in October 1944 one of the greatest naval battles in history was fought as three Japanese fleets converged on Leyte Gulf in an all-out effort to destroy the landing forces assembled there. Over a three-day period the U.S. fleet sank thirty-six enemy warships, rendering the Imperial Japanese Navy largely ineffective as a fighting force. On the last day of the battle, the Americans had their first taste of a new enemy “tactic,” the suicide bomber. The aircraft carrier St. Lo was lost that day to a Kamikaze attack. By the end of the war, five thousand Japanese aviators would kill themselves this way, wreaking massive destruction on Allied ships and sailors.
By early 1945 American war planners finally faced the ultimate question of the Pacific war: how to bring about the surrender of Japan. Up until that time, the fanatical and suicidal resistance encountered in every battle seemed to prove that an invasion of the Japanese home islands would be required by the fall of the year. As these plans were formulated, two key intermediate objectives were identified: Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Both were needed for air and naval bases closer to Japan, and both were heavily defended. By this time the Japanese had developed new tactics that put their main defenses well away from the beaches, with deep bunkers and interconnecting tunnels practically impervious to air and naval bombardment.
Instead of taking five days as estimated, the conquest of Iwo Jima took almost a month. Admiral Nimitz, commenting on the fierceness of the battle and the high casualty rate, said, “Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island uncommon valor was a common virtue.”503 The most inspiring image of the war came when a group of Marines was photographed raising an American flag on Mt. Suribachi, the most prominent terrain feature of the island.
The seizure of Okinawa was also a protracted and costly operation. Two Marine and two Army divisions made the initial assault on April 1, and it was not until late June that the island was declared secure. Casualties among the ground troops were severe, and Kamikaze attacks rained down on the ships at sea during the entire operation.
As preparations for a November invasion of the Japanese home islands continued, a B-29 bomber, flying from the Marianas Islands, dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6. A day later the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Korea. Then another atomic bomb was dropped, this time on Nagasaki. The powerful factions within the Japanese government that had continued to insist on a fight to the bitter end were finally silenced by the overwhelming need to stop the rain of destruction. Hostilities were brought to an end on August 15, 1945. The formal surrender ceremony was held on September 2 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The Japanese foreign minister, General MacArthur, and Admiral Nimitz signed the documents, followed by representatives of every Allied nation. World War II was finally and mercifully over.