More than 120,000 Japanese troops and an astonishing 150,000 Okinawan civilians died in the fierce battle.

Most were Okinawan civilians - including huge numbers of women and children - who were killed when American forces bombed and shelled the island.

Civilians and historians report that soldiers on both sides had raped Okinawan civilians during the battle.

Worse, perhaps 150,000 Okinawan civilians perished, caught in between.

The three-month battle for Okinawa took more than 200,000 lives - 12,520 Americans, 94,136 Japanese soldiers, and 94,000 Okinawan civilians, about one-quarter of the prewar population.

Some 150,000 Okinawan civilians died.

Just inland from the beach, they encountered four Okinawan civilians, capturing two; the other two fled, alerting the nearby Japanese garrison in Tsugen village.

Japanese propaganda about American atrocities had led many Okinawan civilians to believe that when the Americans came they would first rape all the women and then kill them.

American soldiers did sometimes deliberately kill Okinawan civilians, though American official policy was to not kill civilians.

Japanese soldiers were killing Okinawan civilians to get their scraps of food or drops of water.