Amphibian tractors of the 6th MarDiv churn toward the beach head on L-Day, 1 April 1945. In the background, a naval fire support ship looses a volley from her main armament.

At Okinawa, the Navy provided the landing force with the heaviest concentration of firepower ever seen in the Pacific war.

Assault Marines of the 6th MarDiv head toward the landing on L-Day.

Two regiments of the Division, the 4th and 22nd, spearheaded the landings on the Hagushi beach head's Green and Red beaches.

An LVT(A)-4 of the first wave heads in to the beach. The 1st Armored Amphibian Battalions was attached to the Striking Sixth for the operation and provided invaluable support with its 75mm howitzers.

Infantrymen move inland off the division's beach head. The assault divisions suffered only minor casualties on L-Day, enabling them to quickly consolidate and continue their missions.

An amtank of the 1st Armored Amphibian Battalion moves inland off the beach. These vehicles packed a punch with their howitzers that enabled them to assist the infantry in reducing enemy fortifications.

A close-up view of an amtank on L-Day. The crew is watchful for Japanese infantry attacks. The crewman at left is armed with a Thompson submachine gun.

Under command of LtCol Louis Metzger, the 1st Amtanks suffered the following casualties on Okinawa: KIA: 2, DOW: 1, MIA: 1, WIA: 39.

Troops and vehicles of the 6th MarDiv in the drive to the Ishikawa Isthmus early in the campaign.

During the push into northern Okinawa, the division achieved some of the highest daily rates of advance in the Pacific war, averaging more than five miles a day.

Infantrymen hitch a ride on an M7 Howitzer Motor Carriage (aka "The Priest") during the drive north. Every available vehicle was pressed into service to get the infantry north during the early phases of the campaign.

Under the G-series Table of Organization, each infantry regiment was equipped with four M7 HMC's in the regimental weapons company.

A 6th Tank Battalion tank-dozer fills in an anti-vehicular ditch on northern Okinawa.

Commanded by LtCol Robert Denig, Jr., the 6th Tanks suffered the following casualties on Okinawa: KIA: 8, DOW: 2, MIA: 0, WIA, 124.

The 6th Tanks was equipped with 46 M4A3 gun tanks, and nine flame throwing tanks. Also, 1st Platoon, Company B, 713rd Armored Flamethrower Battalion(US Army) was attached for the campaign.

Col Alan Shapley, commander of the Fourth Marine Regiment, briefs his staff and commanders for the assault on Mount Yaetake, mid-April 1945. Shapley had a long and distinguished career in the Marine Corps. Among many notable assignments, he was the commander of the Marine Detachment, USS Arizona, at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

Infantry Marines moving up the line during the destruction of Japanese positions on Mount Yaetake, mid-April 1945. The Marine on the right side of the frame is armed with an M 2-2 flamethrower. These were used extensively in the Pacific war.

A 105mm howitzer of the 15th Marines fires a preparatory mission during the night before the assault on Mount Yaetake.