_Cleanliness is next to godliness, figures this Marine, as he stands
knee-deep in water while shaving in the midst of a totally saturated
and flooded bivouac area._]
Such a heavy reliance on artillery support stressed the amphibious
supply system. The Tenth Army’s demand for heavy ordnance grew to
3,000 tons of ammo per day; each round had to be delivered over
the beach and distributed along the front. This factor reduced the
availability of other supplies, including rations. Front-line troops,
especially the Marines, began to go hungry. Again partial succor came
from the friendly skies. Marine pilots flying General Motors Avenger
torpedo-bombers of VMTB-232 executed 80 air drops of rations during
the first three days of June alone. This worked well, thanks to the
intrepid pilots, and thanks to the rigging skills of the Air Delivery
Section, veterans of the former Marine parachute battalions.
Offshore from the final drive south, the ships of the fleet continued
to withstand waves of _kamikaze_ attacks. Earlier, on 17 May, Admiral
Turner had declared an end to the amphibious assault phase. General
Buckner thereafter reported directly to Admiral Spruance. Turner
departed, leaving Vice Admiral Harry W. Hill in command of the huge
amphibious force still supporting the Tenth Army. On 27 May, Admiral
William F. “Bull” Halsey relieved Spruance. With that, the Fifth Fleet
became the Third Fleet--same ships, same crews, different designation.
Spruance and Turner began planning the next amphibious assault, the
long-anticipated invasion of the Japanese home islands.
General Shepherd, appreciative of the vast amphibious resources still
available on call, decided to interject tactical mobility and surprise
into the sluggish campaign. In order for the 6th Marine Division
to reach its intermediate objective of the Naha airfield, Shepherd
first had to overwhelm the Oroku Peninsula. Shepherd could do this
the hard way, attacking from the base of the peninsula and scratching
seaward--or he could launch a shore-to-shore amphibious assault across
the estuary to catch the defenders in their flank. “The Japanese
expected us to force a crossing of the Kokuba,” he said, “I wanted
to surprise them.” Convincing General Geiger of the wisdom of this
approach was easy; getting General Buckner’s approval took longer.
Abruptly Buckner agreed, but gave the 6th Division barely 36 hours to
plan and execute a division-level amphibious assault.
[Illustration: _Okinawa’s “Plum Rains” of May and June came close to
immobilizing the U.S. Tenth Army’s drive south. Heroic efforts kept the
front-line troops supported logistically._
Marine Corps Historical Center
]
Lieutenant Colonel Krulak and his G-3 staff relished the challenge.
Scouts from Major Anthony “Cold Steel” Walker’s 6th Reconnaissance
Company stole across the estuary at night to gather intelligence on the
Nishikoku Beaches and the Japanese defenders. The scouts confirmed the
existence on the peninsula of a cobbled force of Imperial Japanese Navy
units under an old adversary. Fittingly, this final opposed amphibious
landing of the war would be launched against one of the last surviving
Japanese _rikusentai_ (Special Naval Landing Force) commanders, Rear
Admiral Minoru Ota.
[Illustration: