In the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific War, by the end of May, some 50,000 Japanese troops had been killed in the Battle of Shuri alone. The Japanese troops were severely weakened as they were successively disintegrated and killed by gunfire, bombardment, and aerial bombardment, some of which were captured. The critically ill Japanese soldiers could not even commit suicide to avoid capture before they were in the hands of the American forces. In light of the number of prisoners of war, the morale of the Japanese troops was in a state of insanity, and the Japanese soldiers fought until they were killed. The dead and wounded of the Japanese army were almost all dead. Wounded Japanese soldiers either died of their wounds or were killed back at the front lines. Japanese combat troops fought without rest after being ordered to do so. Japanese soldiers stayed in the army until they were killed or seriously wounded.
Even at the end of May 1945, American troops had captured only 128 surviving Japanese soldiers. Even American units in the heart of the battle of Okinawa from the end of April to May 1945 had only nine surviving Japanese POWs during that period. Furthermore, most of the captured Japanese soldiers were either seriously wounded or in a state of confusion.
Contributing to the casualties of the Battle of Okinawa was the massive amount of artillery and mortars fired by the Japanese, the most intensive bombardment of the Pacific War. American soldiers, traumatic stress disorder was a close call with fanatical Japanese soldiers with no end in sight. The Battle of Okinawa had the highest incidence of psychosis in the Pacific. Japanese artillery and mortars shattered the spirit among American soldiers. The Japanese soldiers were subjected to a very intense force of artillery, artillery fire, and bombers. However, during the heavy bombing, the Japanese temporarily hid deep underground. American troops were sniped out of shallow trenches, defensive walls, or surfaced from the slopes and peaks of attacked ridges.
Casualties on the American side were the most significant of the Pacific War, with some 1,718 American soldiers killed, 8,852 wounded, and 101 missing in action during the month-long battle at the Shuri front in late May. In particular, during the two months of fighting on the Shuri front, the U.S. soldier casualties were about 2,871 killed, about 12,319 wounded, and about 183 missing. In total, American units lost about 26,044 killed, wounded, or missing. American losses were about one man killed for every approximately 10 Japanese troops. Non-combat casualties became very numerous, mostly cases of neuropsychiatric or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). By the end of May, U.S. military units were accompanied by approximately 6,315 to 7,762 non-combat injuries.
