McCool Survived Kamikazes and Saved His Men

It was the largest Allied amphibious landing in the Pacific theater and marked the final island battle of the Pacific.
On April 1, 1945, approximately 60,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers of the U.S. Tenth Army waded ashore from landing craft onto the beaches of Okinawa.
Dubbed the “Typhoon of Steel” due to its ferocity, Army and Marine divisions in the Battle of Okinawa sought to wrest the island from Japanese control to sever the last southwest supply line to mainland Japan, while establishing the island as a base for American medium bombers.
Amid the chaos and constant onslaught of Japanese aerial attacks, was 23-year-old Lt. Richard Miles McCool, Jr., commander of USS LCS-122.
Stationed at Radar Picket 15, just north of Okinawa, McCool, Landing Craft Support and other destroyers were assigned to alert U.S. forces on the island of approaching enemy aircraft.
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