The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1945-05-03

have absolutely EM
butchered the on
ly Jap task force Ernie Pyle
to put to sea in
many months. BIOS are hitting ia
pan with fighter escort from Two
Jima. Airfelds are springing up or
Okinawa. We all say we sure ire
glad we are not in the Japs' shoes.
One main question asked over here
now is, How long will the Japs hold
out?" There r all kinds of opin-
ions. but actually nobody knows.
We don't know, because no one in
his right mind car pretend to un-
derstand the Oriental manner Of
thinking. They are unpredictable.
They r inconsistent. AS one Of
ficer said, "They are uncannily
smart one day, and dumb as hell
the next"
Their values are so different from
ours. The news broadcasts from
Tokyo and Shanghai T an exam
pie. These broadcasts are utterly
ridiculous.
During our first week on Okinawa
they constantly told Of savage coun-
terattacks when there weren't any.
They told Of driving a large part of
our landing forces back to the boats
and far out to sea, when actually
they fred only a few shots onto the
beaches.
On D-Day plus four, they broadcast
that despite their counterattacks we
finally succeeded in landing 5000
troops. The truth is that by SUM-
set Of the first evening we had an
incredible number of scores Of thou
sands Of Americans on Okinawa!
The crippled Jap air force cannot
do us anything but spasmodic harm
from now on. And their navy
needn't eve be considered. II you
could e the colossal naval power
we have here you could hardly be-
lieve your eyes. It's one Of the most
impressive things I've seen in this
war.
We have plenty Of troops in re-
serve, and new conveys of supplies
have already begun to arrive just
as we finished unloading the origi-
nal massive supply feet.
Converting Island
Into Big Base
On Okinawa the majority of the
Japs are o the southern tip, and
In considerable strength. The north
ern area is being combed and a few
scattered ones mopped up.
There is tough fighting in the
south and it will remain tough to
the end. I've heard some officers
say the south end Of Okinawa may
turn into another Two lima. That
will NEAR heavy casualties on our
side, but the end of Okinawa is in
evitable.
And while the army's Oath corps
Of infantry is doing that job, the
rest of the island apparently is wide
open for US to develop and we are
doing it with Jul usual speed.
This island has everything we
could want in such an island. There
is plenty Of room for more airfields,
room for roads and vast supply
dumps and anchorages for ships.
And the civilians from whom we had
expected trouble are docile and
harmless.
OF course. Japan's vast land
armies are still almost intact. But
if it does come to the great mass
land warfare Of continental Europe,
we nov r able to build up strength
for that warfare right on the scene.
There is a fighting spirit among
US. People are conjecturing about
the possibility Of the Pacific war
ending ooner than we had ever al
lowed ourselves to think.
For years it looked endless, but
now you hear people talk about be-
ing home by Christmas. Some real.
ly believe they will. Others have
their fingers crossed, but they are
more hopeful than ever before.
Instead of a war WEAKNESS, there
seems to be a new eagerness among