LSM(R)-196 was laid down at Charleston Navy Yard. The ship was commissioned on 12 December 1944, Lt. Dennis D. O'Callaghan, USNR, in command.

Service History (Turner)

During World War II the ship was assigned to the Asiatic Pacific theater. At that time the fleet was under the command of Admiral Spruance

Raymond A. Spruance

Raymond Ames Spruance was a United States Navy admiral in World War II.Spruance commanded US naval forces during two of the most significant naval battles in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea...

 and named the Fifth fleet

United States 5th Fleet

The Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy is responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and coast off East Africa as far south as Kenya. It shares a commander and headquarters with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command . The commander of the 5th Fleet is currently Vice...

. Vice Admiral

Vice Admiral

Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

 Richmond Kelly Turner

Richmond K. Turner

-Footnotes:...

 was Commander of Amphibious Forces Pacific and was to be in charge of operations until the beachhead was established. The Kerama Retto islands were a small chain of islands 15 miles west of the southwest tip of Okinawa. The invasion of the Kerma Retto was an opportunity to break in all twelve of the 188-class LSM(R)s. One of the reasons that Admiral Turner wanted to capture Kerama Retto was his knowledge that the Japanese Sea Raiding Units had suicide boats hidden there. On the morning of March 29 three of these boats attacked the USS LSM(R)-189 but were promptly destroyed. The northern half of the six-mile-wide invasion beach was assigned to Task Force 53, under the command of Rear Admiral Lawrence F. Reifsnider. Embarked were the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions under Major General Roy S. Geiger

Roy Geiger

General Roy Stanley Geiger was a United States Marine Corps General who, during World War II, became the first Marine to lead an army. Marine Corps base Camp Geiger in North Carolina is named in his honor....

. The northern support craft included USS LSM(R)-194

USS LSM(R)-194

USS LSM-194 was a LSM-188 class Landing Ship Medium of the United States Navy during World War II, which took part in the Battle of Okinawa. LSM-194 was laid down at the Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina on 21 November 1944. The ship was under the command of Lt.jg Allen M....

, USS LSM(R)-195

USS LSM(R)-195

LSM-195 was laid down at Charleston Navy Yard. The ship was commissioned on 21 November 1944, Lt. William E. Woodson, USNR, in command- Service history :...

, USS LSM(R)196, USS LSM(R)-197

USS LSM(R)-197

LSM-197 was a United States Navy vessel laid down at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina. The ship was commissioned on 8 December 1944, Lt.John N. Cooper, USNR, in command.-Design:...

, USS LSM(R)-198

USS LSM(R)-198

USS LSM 198 was a Landing Ship Medium of the US Navy during World War II.It was laid down at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina. The ship was commissioned on 12 December 1944 with LtJG. George B...

, and USS LSM(R)-199

USS LSM(R)-199

LSM-199 was a LSM-188 class Landing Ship Medium of the US Navy during World War II. laid down at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina, The ship was commissioned on 12 December 1944, Lt. Charles D. Cobb, USNR, in command....

.
On 3 May 1945 the 188-class LSM(R)'s were put to the test and were not found wanting. The action at the picket stations proved that the courage and punishment endured by US Navy personnel was unrelated to the size of the ship. The Japanese launched their fifth kikusui attack on May 3. Picket station 10 was the hardest hit. Shortly before dusk, the destroyer USS Aaron Ward

USS Aaron Ward

USS Aaron Ward may refer to:, served between 1919 and 1940 and then became the HMS Castleton., served between 1942 and her sinking by Japanese bombers in 1943., was a destroyer minelayer that served in 1944 and 1945....

 was hit by a series of six kamikazes, suffering 45 killed or missing and 49 wounded. The ship survived, but was later decommissioned because it wasn't worth repairing. About the same time, approximately 20 planes attacked destroyer USS Little

USS Little

Two ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Little for Captain George Little.*USS Little , was a Wickes-class destroyer, launched in 1918. In 1940 she was later redesignated a high-speed transport, APD-4. She was sunk in action off Guadalcanal in 1942.*USS Little , was a Fletcher-class...

.

She was crashed by four of them and sank within 12 minutes of the first hit. She lost 30 dead or missing and 79 wounded. LSM(R) 195 was also on Picket Station 10 and while rushing to the aid of the Aaron Ward and the Little was likewise crashed by a kamikaze. The crash started her rockets exploding and knocked out the fire main and auxiliary pumps. LSM(R) 195 had to be abandoned and, after being ripped by heavy explosions, sank. The following day the ordeal for the LSM(R)'s reached its tragic climax. The day dawned bright and ominous. USS LSM(R)-190

USS LSM(R)-190

USS LSM-190 was a United States Navy LSM-188-class Landing Ship Medium . She was built at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina and was commissioned on 21 November 1944. LSM-190 took part in the Battle of Okinawa from 7 April–May 4, 1945. She was hit and sunk by a Japanese suicide plane...

 was patrolling at Picket Station 12. Not long after sunrise the anticipated kamikazes arrived and were met by American combat air patrol

Combat air patrol

Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...

. Several of the Japanese planes managed to get through and attack the ships on this station. Three kamikazes crashed LSM(R) 190. The ship that had seen so much previous action and had been credited with rescuing 180 survivors of other stricken ships was herself sunk. In the same attack the destroyer USS Luce

USS Luce

USS Luce may refer to various United States Navy ships:, a Wickes-class destroyer launched in 1918 and scrapped in 1936, a Fletcher-class destroyer launched in 1943 and sunk during the Battle of Okinawa, 1945, a Farragut-class guided missile destroyer launched in 1958 and scrapped in 2004See also,...

was sunk, carrying 126 of her 312 officers and men with her. At the same time as LSM(R) 190 was fighting her final battle, LSM(R) 194 was facing the same fate at Picket Station 1. GM1c Joseph A. Staum crewman of the LSM(R) 196 was killed off Okinawa On 1 April 1945.

Okinawa Radar Picket Line(C.T.G. 52.21)

The American plan for defense against the kamikazes was to have fighters intercept the Japanese as early as possible. Sixteen radar picket stations were established around the island, in some cases almost 100 miles out, to give early warning of the Japanese planes which might be coming from any direction. Each station was manned around the clock by a handful of ships ranging from destroyers down to minesweepers. Their job was to sound the alarm and vector fighters to intercept before the Japanese could attack the fleet anchored off Okinawa and the Allied forces and supply dumps ashore. Unfortunately, some of the eager-to-die Japanese wanted to attack the first American ships they saw: the pickets. Dennis L. Francis LSM Commander, Flotilla Nine for the period April 2 - April 20, Action Report indicated that these ships are not particularly suited for picket duty. Since their primary function is to deliver rockets during invasion operations, it seems feasible that subjecting them to continual enemy air attack will allow this secondary duty to seriously effect their ability to perform their primary function due to damage. They have no great value in combating enemy air craft due to the absence of air search radar, adequate director control for the 5"/38 main battery, and director control for the 40mm single guns. The fact that they carry a considerable quantity of explosive rockets in their magazines presents another hazard. In general, it is believed that assigning them to picket duty should be avoided since it means risking the operation of a limited number of specialized ships which could be performed by any number of other landing craft whose primary function is more closely conincident with screening operations. Before these recommendations were implemented the USS LSMR-195 was sunk on May 3, 1945 with 9 killed and 16 wounded, the USS LSMR-190 was sunk on 4 May 1945 with 13 killed and 18 wounded, the USS LSMR-194 was sunk on May 4, 1945 with 13 killed and 23 wounded.

Tribute To Those Who Served (Turner)

The victory at Okinawa was never in doubt, but the price paid was very, very high. The numbers for American casualties were the highest of any campaign against the Japanese. Total casualties were 49,151, of which 12,520 were killed or missing and 36,631 were wounded. Of this number the Navy casualties were 4,907 killed or missing and 4,824 wounded. The ship losses were 36 sunk and 368 damaged, with many of the damaged ships never being returned to combat readiness. Approximately 110,000 Japanese were killed. These numbers rung up during the last campaign of World War II, may seem appalling, but in hindsight would have seemed small in comparison to the casualties on both sides had the invasion of Japan taken place as planned.