Today, Friday, June 21, is the first official day of summer; a walk outside brings that very much to attention.
Today is also the anniversary of the end of the battle for Okinawa, a bloody, fierce conflict that resulted in many casualties of Americans, Japanese and citizens of Okinawa. The capture of Okinawa gave the Americans and our allies a stage from which to launch an invasion of Japan and the conclusion of the war.
Our military and political leaders saw the effectiveness of suicide plane attacks, which had taken more lives of Naval personnel than Army and Marine together. This was at least a major factor in President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb. Veterans who were scheduled to be in the proposed invading force are often heard crediting Truman for saving their lives by using the bomb.
Our ship, the USS Pickens, had done its job, landing troops and picking up survivors from three ships that sustained attacks by suicide planes. We had returned to Saipan and were idle there awaiting orders. In June, four days after crossing the equator and going through Shellback initiation, we headed for Noumea, New Caledonia, a French possession, for days of relaxation.
I can remember going on liberty only one day, an eventful day during which I and my companions were drunk out of our minds from some kind of alcohol. I wrote about this experience on my blog two years ago, (See July 30, 2010) relating that a third of the crew went on liberty, a third took care of the ship, and a third took care of those who had been on liberty. Several days later we returned to Saipan and then to the United States to prepare for the invasion of Japan.
Today is also the anniversary of the end of the battle for Okinawa, a bloody, fierce conflict that resulted in many casualties of Americans, Japanese and citizens of Okinawa. The capture of Okinawa gave the Americans and our allies a stage from which to launch an invasion of Japan and the conclusion of the war.
Our military and political leaders saw the effectiveness of suicide plane attacks, which had taken more lives of Naval personnel than Army and Marine together. This was at least a major factor in President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb. Veterans who were scheduled to be in the proposed invading force are often heard crediting Truman for saving their lives by using the bomb.
Our ship, the USS Pickens, had done its job, landing troops and picking up survivors from three ships that sustained attacks by suicide planes. We had returned to Saipan and were idle there awaiting orders. In June, four days after crossing the equator and going through Shellback initiation, we headed for Noumea, New Caledonia, a French possession, for days of relaxation.
I can remember going on liberty only one day, an eventful day during which I and my companions were drunk out of our minds from some kind of alcohol. I wrote about this experience on my blog two years ago, (See July 30, 2010) relating that a third of the crew went on liberty, a third took care of the ship, and a third took care of those who had been on liberty. Several days later we returned to Saipan and then to the United States to prepare for the invasion of Japan.
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