82 Days on Okinawa: One American's Unforgettable Firsthand Account of the Pacific War's Greatest Battle

by Art Shaw, Robert L. Wise

Overview

"A gritty, first-person account. ... One can hear Shaw’s voice as if he were sitting beside you." —Wall Street Journal

An unforgettable soldier’s-eye view of the Pacific War’s bloodiest battle, by the first American officer ashore Okinawa. 

On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, 1.5 million men gathered aboard 1,500 Allied ships off the coast of the Japanese island of Okinawa. The men were there to launch the largest amphib­ious assault on the Pacific Theater. War planners expected an 80 percent casualty rate.

The first American officer ashore was then-Major Art Shaw (1920-2020), a unit commander in the U.S. Army’s 361st Field Artillery Battalion of the 96th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Deadeyes. For the next three months, Shaw and his men served near the front lines of the Pacific’s costliest battle, their artillery proving decisive against a phantom enemy who had entrenched itself in the rugged, craggy island.

Over eighty-two days, the Allies fought the Japanese army in a campaign that would claim more than 150,000 human lives. When the final calculations were made, the Deadeyes were estimated to have killed 37,763 of the enemy. The 361st Field Artillery Battalion had played a crucial role in the victory. The campaign would be the last major battle of World War II and a key pivot point leading to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and to the Japanese surrender in August, two months after the siege’s end.

Filled with extraordinary details, Shaw’s gripping account gives lasting testimony to the courage and bravery displayed by so many on the hills of Okinawa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062907448
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/03/2020
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

COLONEL ARTHUR “ART” SHAW (1920–2020) was a Field Artillery Unit Commander for the 361st Artillery Battalion of the 96th Division during the battles for Leyte and Okinawa. His numerous medals include the Bronze Star.

ROBERT L. WISE is the author of 34 books, including five which cover the World War II period.

Table of Contents

Maps:

Allied Invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa x-xi

Okinawa, April 1-8, 1945 xii-xiii

Okinawa, April 9-June 30, 1945 xiv-xv

Authors' Note xvii

Prologue: Prelude to battle 1

1 Okinawa 9

2 Surprises Ahead 17

3 Settling In 24

4 The Enemy Emerges 29

5 Coming Ashore 36

6 A price to be paid 44

7 Sharpening the focus 50

8 The snakes come slithering in 55

9 Trudging on 61

10 The end of the honeymoon 66

11 No rest for the weary 71

12 Dark days 77

13 Tombstones everywhere 82

14 Cactus hill coming up 88

15 Cutting the cactus 93

16 Time out 99

17 Tragedy on the ridge 105

18 Slaughter 112

19 The struggle to escape 118

20 Bravery unequaled 124

21 Valor 130

22 No Letup in sight 135

23 A storm unabated 140

24 Darkness descends 147

25 In the dead of night 152

28 While no one sleeps 157

27 What next? 162

Starting over: The next phase

28 The next step 167

29 Struggling on 172

30 Nonstop! 177

31 Clearing the crags 183

32 Going on 187

33 The escarpment 193

34 One more hill to climb 199

35 Onward and upward 204

36 Deadly deadeyes 209

37 Endless struggle 214

38 Digging in 220

39 Making do 226

40 Plowing ahead 231

41 Disaster 237

42 Conical hill 244

43 No chivalry left 250

44 Monsoon season 256

45 The lost platoon 262

46 Air strikes 272

47 Stalemate 278

48 Rolling on 285

49 The big apple 290

50 The home stretch 296

51 The final battle 302

52 The bomb 307

53 The road home 313

54 Morning comes again 322

Acknowledgments 333

Index 335

Editorial Reviews

12/02/2019

The retired Shaw, a former unit commander in the U.S. Army’s 361st Artillery Battalion, debuts with a comprehensive and action-packed memoir of the Battle of Okinawa. Considered the last stepping stone for the Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands, Okinawa hosted nearly 100,000 Japanese ground troops and local draftees. Shaw claims to have been “the first actual fighting man” to set foot on the island, on April 1, 1945; the next morning, the 96th Infantry and eight other army and marine infantry divisions came ashore. The initial beach landings were unopposed, but as Shaw’s field artillery unit and the 96th Infantry advanced further inland, they encountered stiff resistance from Japanese forces dug into heavily fortified positions. Shaw served as his unit’s reconnaissance officer and visited the front lines regularly, where he witnessed fierce hand-to-hand combat and nighttime ambushes by Japanese fighters. As a unit commander, he also took part in the strategic planning behind the Allies’ advance. This dual perspective gives the book a wide-angled view that’s unusual in a soldier’s battle memoir. Though the reconstructed dialogue occasionally rings false (“ ‘Hara-kiri is an ancient form of the ultimate surrender in the Japanese art of war,’ I said”), this account gives a satisfying presentation of the bloodiest battle in the Pacific Theater of WWII. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"A gritty, first-person account remembered from the vantage point of 75 years later. One can hear Shaw’s voice as if he were sitting beside you reminiscing through misty eyes about the defining moments of his youth."

Wall Street Journal

02/01/2020

April 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa (April 1, 1945-June 22, 1945). For the United States, taking control of the Japanese island was critical to reaching the mainland, but the hilly and woody terrain and experienced Japanese military resistance presented challenges. As a 25-five-year-old field artillery commander (361st Artillery, 96th Division), Shaw was one of the first U.S. officers to land on the beaches. When the battle ended, he and his men had experienced 82 days of fighting. The first day many units lost half of their men. After nearly three months of combat, more than 10,000 Americans and many more Japanese lost their lives. Two years ago, at 97, Shaw told his story to veteran World War II writer Wise; included are accounts of repeated acts of heroism and astonishing attacks. Shaw tells how victory was uncertain until the very end. VERDICT World War II aficionados will love this book.—David Keymer, Cleveland

Library Journal

2019-11-11
A memoir of World War II's last great battle by an officer who is now 99.

Shaw was a field artillery unit commander already bloodied by the 1944 invasion of the Philippines when his unit landed on Okinawa on April 1, 1945. The immense invasion, the most expansive amphibious assault of the Pacific War (1,500 Allied ships and 1.5 million soldiers), came ashore meeting no resistance, which was the result of deceiving the Japanese, according to the author. In fact, the Japanese had given up defending beaches—as they had abandoned mass banzai charges—because it didn't work. They had deeply fortified part of the island and prepared to fight to the death. Moving inland, the troops encountered resistance after a few days, and here the narrative records nearly three months of brutal combat that killed more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers, 10,000 Americans, and far more Okinawan civilians. Shaw often scouted ahead of his battery, observing frontline infantry in action. His purported duty was to direct artillery fire, but readers expecting to learn the experiences of a WWII forward observer will discover that this is mostly a literary device. In the text, co-written by Wise, Shaw is the omniscient observer describing the murderous battles of his division down to company and platoon level across the island. The author also offers his eyewitness account of the suicides of the defeated Japanese generals and descriptions of regular trips to the rear to record deliberations of the senior commanders and chat with his men. The result is a docudrama with invented dialogue and action that must be at least partly fictionalized because it's unlikely Shaw could have witnessed so much, not to mention remember it.

A vivid re-creation of a campaign so vicious that the soldiers involved rejoiced when they heard about Hiroshima.

Kirkus Reviews

"A gritty, first-person account remembered from the vantage point of 75 years later. One can hear Shaw’s voice as if he were sitting beside you reminiscing through misty eyes about the defining moments of his youth." — Wall Street Journal

"82 Days on Okinawa is a personal view of war that is heartfelt and poignant. Col. Shaw’s account of the day-to-day grind brings new life to the historical record. His reflections of home and his longing to return, interspersed with the upcoming engagements, make for an impactful narrative. A fine autobiography/history book for all to enjoy.” — Portland Book Review

“A comprehensive and action-packed memoir of the Battle of Okinawa…This dual perspective gives the book a wide-angled view that’s unusual in a soldier’s battle memoir…a satisfying presentation of the bloodiest battle in the Pacific Theater of WWII.” — Publishers Weekly

"A vivid re-creation of a campaign so vicious that the soldiers involved rejoiced when they heard about Hiroshima." — Kirkus Reviews

"World War II aficionados will love this book." — Library Journal

From the Publisher

"A gritty, first-person account remembered from the vantage point of 75 years later. One can hear Shaw’s voice as if he were sitting beside you reminiscing through misty eyes about the defining moments of his youth."

Wall Street Journal

"82 Days on Okinawa is a personal view of war that is heartfelt and poignant. Col. Shaw’s account of the day-to-day grind brings new life to the historical record. His reflections of home and his longing to return, interspersed with the upcoming engagements, make for an impactful narrative. A fine autobiography/history book for all to enjoy.

Portland Book Review