This faded snapshot shows a temporary American military cemetery on Ie Shima, a small island near Okinawa that was the site of intense fighting in April 1945 and later became an important airfield for the 345th Bombardment Group. Rows of simple wooden crosses mark the graves of soldiers who died during the campaign. Ie Shima is also remembered as the place where famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed by enemy fire on 18 April 1945, and a distinctive marker among these rows may correspond to his original burial site before his remains were later moved to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Project: 218239