As fighting surged back and forth over the ridge for several days, about 2,500 Americans lost their lives and nearly twice as many Japanese troops, said Chris Majewski, a former marine who, as director of the island's battle of Okinawa museum, leads regular battlefield tours of the site.

How many Americans died in hacksaw?

About 2,500 Americans lost their lives and nearly twice as many Japanese troops. In the movie Hacksaw Ridge, they show Japanese soldiers killing wounded American soldiers.

How many Americans died on Okinawa?

Read more in our online classroom. Victory at Okinawa cost more than 49,000 American casualties, including about 12,000 deaths. Among the dead was the Tenth Army's commander, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., killed on June 18 by enemy artillery fire during the final offensive.

Did the Japanese surrender at Hacksaw Ridge?

In doing so, the Allied forces had a foothold for the planned invasion of mainland Japan. However, the development of the atomic bomb led to the surrender of Japan, meaning the war ended only a few months after the successful capture of Hacksaw Ridge.

How many Japanese died in Hacksaw Ridge?

As usual on Okinawa, Japanese casualties were many times greater than the number of American lives lost. Upwards of 3,000 Japanese are believed to have died in the fight for Hacksaw Ridge.

DESMOND DOSS REAL FOOTAGE OF SAVING LIVES IN WAR | HACKSAW RIDGE.

How many US soldiers died in Japan?

Total U.S. combat casualties in the war against Japan were thus 111,606 dead or missing and another 253,142 wounded. Japanese military casualties from 1937-1945 have been estimated at 1,834,000, of which 1,740,000 were killed or missing.

How accurate is Hacksaw Ridge?

Most characters in Hacksaw Ridge are real as it is a biographical film. Desmond is the central figure and his life experiences are faithfully depicted. Other characters in the movie are composites or represent multiple people.

Why didn't they cut the rope at Hacksaw Ridge?

Originally Answered: After watching "Hacksaw Ridge", my question is why didn't the Japanese just cut that rope ladder? This question has been answered in a documentary starring the actual Desmond Doss. The japanese didn't cut the rope because that was the only entrance to the battlefield.

Why didn't the Japanese cut the ladder in Hacksaw Ridge?

If the US took the time to put a mesh rope ladder up, they would leave enough forces to defend it. Any Japanese soldiers that came close enough to the ridge to attempt to cut it would have been gunned down.

Did the US lose Hacksaw Ridge?

Eventually, the Americans took Hacksaw Ridge. Okinawa was captured inch by bloody inch. Several days later, during an unsuccessful night raid, Desmond was severely wounded.

What was the worst place to fight in WWII?

Two US Coast Guardsmen pay homage to their comrade killed in the Ryukyu Islands. The Battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War.

Who was the highest ranking soldier killed in WWII?

Lt Gen Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr was killed in the final days of the Battle for Okinawa during World War Two. Posthumously promoted to the rank of four-star general, Gen Buckner became the highest-ranking military officer killed on the battlefield during that war.

What did the Japanese think of us marines?

WW2 Japanese soldiers were terrified of U.S. Marines because their officers told them they would be eaten if they surrendered.

How brutal was Hacksaw Ridge?

At around the halfway mark, the fighting comes, and the film explodes into a kaleidoscope of horrors. To put it bluntly, Hacksaw Ridge contains some of the most gruesome and brutally violent mass battle scenes I've ever seen on the big screen.

Who was the soldier who refused to carry a gun?

Desmond Thomas Doss (February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006) was an American United States Army corporal who served as a combat medic with an infantry company in World War II. Due to his religious beliefs, he refused to carry a weapon.

How tall was the cliff at Hacksaw Ridge?

Using cargo nets, Doss' battalion was tasked with climbing a treacherous, 400-foot-high jagged cliff, nicknamed Hacksaw Ridge, to get to a plateau. Waiting for them were thousands of heavily armed Japanese soldiers entrenched in hidden caves and holes.

Is Hacksaw Ridge unrealistic?

"[Mel Gibson and I] were very accurate with Desmond and what happened to him," veteran producer Bill Mechanic tells PEOPLE. But, he admits "we were not accurate on some of the details around it," like the exact backstory of Doss's father, or the chronological details of his marriage to his wife, Dorothy.

Did the Japanese target medics?

The Japanese liked to target corpsmen and Army medics, as well as doctors. They knew if they hurt or killed someone with medical training, they wouldn't be able to help other wounded Marines or soldiers.

How bloody was Hacksaw Ridge?

Violence & Gore (16)

They are long, and filled with bloody gunfire, graphic stabbings with knives and bayonets, and many explosions which separate limbs and leave blood everywhere. Guts, limbs, intestines, and blood everywhere.

How many lives did Desmond Doss save?

[1]Desmond Doss is credited with saving 75 soldiers during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II in the Pacific — and he did it without ever carrying a weapon. The battle at Hacksaw Ridge, on the island of Okinawa, was a close combat fight with heavy weaponry.

How many bodies did Hacksaw Ridge save?

Doss spent a grueling 12 hours on Hacksaw Ridge, saving the lives of 75 people, including his captain, with his acts of bravery as a combat medic. Doss deflected enemy grenades and sustained injuries but remained at the top of the cliff, refusing to leave until all injured soldiers were brought to safety.

Who had the knife in his foot in Hacksaw Ridge?

Sgt Howell : [referring to the knife impaled into the top of Smitty's foot] Who placed the knife there, Private? Smitty Ryker : It was an accident, Sarge. We was playin' Stretch. Sgt Howell : I'm heartened by the knowledge you did not place it there with intention.

Did Desmond Doss really help a Japanese soldier?

On May 4, 1945, Doss spent 12 hours single-handedly retrieving and lowering wounded soldiers from the battlefield to safety, down the edge of the cliff at Hacksaw Ridge. He tried to rescue both American and Japanese soldiers, though no Japanese soldiers survived.

How did Desmond Doss save 75 lives?

Doss successfully rescued 75 men trapped at the top of the escarpment by lowering them with a special knot he knew. He had miraculously not been wounded and stayed in the fight with B Company. On May 21, Doss was wounded several times by grenade fragments and a sniper's bullet through his arm.

Did Desmond Doss have PTSD?

Doss, who was injured at Hacksaw Ridge (known as Maeda Kochi in Japan) in Urasoe during the fighting, was admitted to a U.S. army hospital five and a half years after the war for symptoms including persistent dreams of the battle, suffering from what we now know as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).