U.S. MARINE OBSERVATION PLANE FLIES OVER NAHA, CAPITAL OF OKINAWA. A U.S.

U.S. MARINE OBSERVATION PLANE FLIES OVER NAHA, CAPITAL OF OKINAWA. A U.S. Marine observation plane flies low over Naha, capital of Okinawa. The tiny ship drew small arms and anti-aircraft fire as it flew over the city, which at that time was under Japanese control. Note the sunken shipping in the harbor in the background. By June 5, 1945, the U.S. Sixth Marine Division crossed Naha Harbor and landed south on the west coast of Oroku Peninsula, where the Marines swiftly established a beachhead and captured half of the big Naha airfield. Referring to the desperate Japanese resistance in the Pacific, U.S. President Harry S. Truman said on June 1, 1945, in a message to the U.S. Congress: "The Navy is now engaged in a series of grim tasks: a battle of attrition with the Japanese Air Force in the waters around Japan and Okinawa; a tightening of the blockade of Japan; redeployment of its own forces from Europe; aiding the Army to redeploy, and preparing for the climactic operations yet to come."