The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-04-07
Nv ERNIE PYLE

OK1NAWA - (by Navy radlo)-
An hour and a half before H-Hour
at Okinawa, our vast naval fleet
began its final, mighty lombard
ment off the shore with its big
guns. They had been at it for a
week, but this was a concentration
whose fury hadn't been approach
ed before.
The power of the thing was
CHASTITY. Great sheets of flame
would flash out from a battery Of
guns, gray broWnish smoke would
puff up in a huge cloud, then the
crash of sound and conclusion
would carry across the water and
hit you. Multiply that by hundreds
and you have bedlam.
Now and then the smoke from
battlewagon would come out in
a smoke ring, an enormous one,
20 or 80 feet across, and float up
ward with perfect symmetry.
Then came our carrier planes,
diving on the beaches. And torpedo
planes, carrying heavy bombs and
incendiarjes that spread deep red
flame.
Smoke and dust rose up from
the shore, thousands of feet high.
until finally the land was COM
pletely yelled.
Bombs and strafing machine
guns and roaring engines mingled
with the blended crash of naval
bombardmsnt and seemed to
drown out all existence.
The ghostly conclusion set up
vibrations in the air - sort of
flutter - which panied your ears
and pounded upon you as though
some Almighty were beating you
with invisible drumsticks.
During all this time the waves
of assault craft were forming up
behind us.
The water was a turmoil of
movement. Dispatch an d control
boats were running about. LSM's
and LISTS were moving slowly
forward to their unloading areas.
Motor torpedo b o is dashed
around IS guides. Even the destroy
ers moved majestically across the
fleet as they closed up for the
bonbardr1ent of the shore.
From our little control ship and
the scores like it, waves of as
sault craft were directed, advised,
hurried up, or slowed down.
H-Hour was set for $3.50. BY 8
a m. directions were being radioed
and a voice doomed out to sea to
form up waves and 2, to hurry
up, to get things moving.
Our first wave consisted solely
of heavy guns on amphibious
tanks which were to wade ashore
and blast out the pillboxes on the
beaches. One minute behind them
came the second wave-the first
of our foot troops.
After that, waves came at about
1O-minute intervals. Wave 6 was
ON its way before wave ever
hit the beach. Wave Is was NOV
ing up before wave got to the
beach. That's the way it went.
y
We were on the control boat
about an hour. I felt miserable
and that awful weight was still
on my heart. There's nothing ro-
mantle whatever in knowing that
an hour from now you may be
dead. And the fury of our bomb
bardment was in itself horrifying.
Some officers I knew came
aboard. They weren't going ashore
until afternoon. They wanted to
talk. simply couldn't carry on
conversation. I just couldn't talk.
went below to use a civilized
toilet for the last time in many
days. I got a drink Of water,
though wasn't thirsty. Then one
sailor came up and introduced
himself and said he read the col
umn. Then knot of sailors gath
cred around on deck.
One sailor with black, close.
cropped hair and glasses offered
me a cigar. I didn't even have the
wit to put down his name.
I told him I didn't smoke ci-