The USS Pickens, along with some 1200 other vessels of various sizes and capabilities was just three days out of Saipan and some two days away from Okinawa. I don't remember that Tokyo Rose informed us that the invasion of Okinawa was planned for April 1, but she warned us Japanese resistance would be fierce and out casualties would be high. She said the Japanese realized that if we took Okinawa, giving the United States forces a nearby platform from which to attack, that Japan could not win the war.
Looking back from the viewpoint of 66 years, I don't believe the elected officials in Washington, our top military leaders, or we rank and file servicemen had any idea how difficult the battle would be. We had experienced kamakaze attacks at Iwo Jima a few weeks before but that was only a sample of what we would get at Okinawa. We radarmen searched the skies diligently for unidentified planes and lookouts kept visual watch as we got closer and closer to Okinawa.
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