Us Official Photographs

American Cemetery on Okinawa

OLD GLORY AND WHITE CROSSES MARK CEMETERIES ON OKINAWA, RYUKYU RETTO. A grim reminder of the Okinawan campaign is this typical American military cemetery, of which there are several on the island. Set on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean, with native trees and foliage serving as a restful background, is the Island Command Cemetery. Ernie Pyle is buried there among the people he wrote about. The memorial to commemorate where he fell on 18 April 1945, still stands at the nearby island of Ie Shima. The metal marker on his cross reads as follows: "Pyle, Ernest T., W.C. (War Correspondent) 175. 18 April 1945."