This week in the war, in early June 1945, after a three-day bombardment by the battleship USS Mississippi , American troops occupied the site of Shuri Castle, which had served as Japanese headquarters in Okinawa.

In one form or another, the castle had existed for 450 years. It had been burnt down many times and repeatedly rebuilt.

The American, Commodore Perry, had visited the castle in the 1800s.

The castle now serves as a campus for the University of the Ryukyus, which is one of the national universities of Japan.