Seven days after that Easter Sunday when the battle for Okinawa began, fierce fighting continued on sea, land and in the air. The USS Pickens was there during the day, serving as a decoy and as a hospital ship. As dusk fell, orders would come to make smoke and leave the battle area. Allied planes were ordered to leave and ships were ordered to attack anything that flew.
On April 7 as dusk fell and we retreated towards Japan, we were informed that the Yamato, the world's largest and most powerful battleship had left Japan and was on a suicide mission to defend Okinawa. Although we were confident our forces would destroy the ship before it reached us, we could not help but be somewhat nervous. Planes form Task Force 58 met the Yamato, hitting it with 12 bombs and 7 torpedos within the first two hours of battle. The ship sank with near total loss of life.
When I described this as a suicide mission, I was not exaggerating. The men were told they would not be coming back, and the ship had enough fuel to last only one day.
On April 7 as dusk fell and we retreated towards Japan, we were informed that the Yamato, the world's largest and most powerful battleship had left Japan and was on a suicide mission to defend Okinawa. Although we were confident our forces would destroy the ship before it reached us, we could not help but be somewhat nervous. Planes form Task Force 58 met the Yamato, hitting it with 12 bombs and 7 torpedos within the first two hours of battle. The ship sank with near total loss of life.
When I described this as a suicide mission, I was not exaggerating. The men were told they would not be coming back, and the ship had enough fuel to last only one day.
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