The 1945 Battle of Okinawa razed nearly every structure on the island

Evidence

Okinawa Island is about the size of New York City, and most of the population lives in the island’s southernmost third, which is almost entirely one unbroken, paved urban area. Satellite images show the stark divide: lush green on top, gray below. Outside the shiny capital, many of the cities and towns look like run-down strip-mall American suburbia—roads clogged with cars and lined with car dealerships, fast food joints, small casino parlors, and 100 yen stores (the Japanese version of dollar stores). Almost every one of the densely packed buildings dates from after World War II, because almost every town and village on the island was bombed, burned, or razed during the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 838

Categorization

• CANDY: The lush-green-on-top gray-below satellite image and ‘strip-mall suburbia’ description is a memorable, tweetable image of Okinawa’s postwar rebuild.