Okinawa declared secured, June 21, 1945

What was William Herman Mills’ first mistake? He believed the U.S. Marine Corps recruiter, “Bill, join the Marines, and you’ll have easy duty being part of a U.S. Embassy security detail.”Bill joined the USMC in October 1941, a month shy of his 22nd birthday in November. The recruits were at Camp Mathews’ rifle range on Dec. 7, 1941, when Bill’s drill instructor informed them about the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii — forget easy duty.The next six months were intense