June 16, 1945
This was a night to remember! Four GQs kept all awake most of the night because of heckling raids. A first-quarter moon and plenty of light accounted for their actions. As usual, our protective cover was the smoke screen. Because of fewer ships the cover was not so good. For many minutes no smoke covered us at all. If this defense is used ships must draw closer. By the time all stations reported in as “manned and ready”, there was a whoosh accompanied by a swish and an explosion. Every man aboard automatically hit the deck, and my order to “take cover” was probably the most superfluous one I ever made. This was the first Baka launched in our direction; planes had, during the night, dropped bombs and launched Bakas from some distance away. Shore batteries fired on aircraft silhouetted by searchlights and brought one down. Quiet reigned briefly for a while, but then out of the smoke, at masthead height, came planes with engines roaring giving credence to the story that the Japanese are trying this new tactic - flying through the smoke 20 feet high hoping to hit something.
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Following four comparatively peaceful days, at 2030 the western Hagushi fire support area destroyer Twiggs (DD 591) was hit on the port side by a torpedo and sank in an hour. The explosion of her #2 magazine was visible to the men on deck of Yolo. Casualties were heavy with 126 killed. To halt the flights over the anchorage TF 38 sent five flights daily to hit Amami. Some of the smaller carriers were released as planes from the Okinawa fields have taken over more of the operations.
