Cassin Young
for the invasion of Okinawa, for which she sailed from Ulithi 22 March 1945. After screening heavy ships in the massive pre-invasion bombardment, "Cassin Young" moved inshore to support the activities of underwater demolition teams preparing the beaches. On invasion day itself, 1 April, the destroyer offered fire support in the assault areas, then took up radar picket duty. As the Japanese air arm had been decimated by this point in the war, the lack of trained and experienced pilots led to its most extensive deployment of "kamikaze" attacks during this battle; on 6 April, "Cassin Young" experienced her first "kamikaze" action, rescuing the survivors of two nearby destroyers that were sunk.