Ritual suicide for Okinawa commanders

23rd June 1945: Mass Japanese suicides mark the end of their resistance on the blood soaked island

A USMC Vought F4U-1 Corsair looses its load of FFAR rocket projectiles on a run against a Japanese stronghold on Okinawa. In the lower background is the smoke of battle as Marine units move inland. June, 1945.

The outcome of the bloody Okinawa struggle had never really been in doubt - the Japanese strategy had simply been to make it as costly for the U.S…