SUGARLOAF HILL   April 20th, 1945 -

The landing on Okinawa took place in relative calm. The Americans expected
a fanatical defense on the beaches but found none. For nearly two weeks, the
Americans ran into little or no opposition. That was, until they began the 
drive south towards the city of Naha. It was then that U.S. troops ran into 
the formidable Japanese defenses of the Shuri Line. Part of the line was 
Sugarloaf Hill. For several days both sides struggled to control the hill. 
Often the hill changed hands several times in a day. It would take General 
Buckner's 10th Army the rest of April and most of May, before they broke 
through the Shuri Line. In the end it would cost 40,000 Americans killed or 
wounded (including General Buckner himself) and over 100,000 dead Japanese. 
