Story 2692
Southern Okinawa, December 11, 1944
Patrick stayed low in his fighting scrape. The company had made good progress that morning. They had advanced over eight hundred yards from dawn to mid-day. And then the Japanese held line erupted with automatic fire and well spotted artillery. The company to the south of him had gotten plastered. However, his men were still being targeted and the advance had come to an end. American artillery was already inbound.
Two miles off shore, Jack heard the radio shack squawk. A fire support mission was needed. USS Gamble and her division mates had the inshore gun line duty for the day. Within minutes, every gun was manned aboard the minelayer and the four inch rifles started to bark. Corrections were called and soon a steady thrum of shooting began as the gun crews would fire six or eight or twelve rounds at a time and take a moment to police the deck and bring up more ready ammunition as the observers called for a new target and a new set of spotting rounds.
Patrick stayed low in his fighting scrape. The company had made good progress that morning. They had advanced over eight hundred yards from dawn to mid-day. And then the Japanese held line erupted with automatic fire and well spotted artillery. The company to the south of him had gotten plastered. However, his men were still being targeted and the advance had come to an end. American artillery was already inbound.
Two miles off shore, Jack heard the radio shack squawk. A fire support mission was needed. USS Gamble and her division mates had the inshore gun line duty for the day. Within minutes, every gun was manned aboard the minelayer and the four inch rifles started to bark. Corrections were called and soon a steady thrum of shooting began as the gun crews would fire six or eight or twelve rounds at a time and take a moment to police the deck and bring up more ready ammunition as the observers called for a new target and a new set of spotting rounds.