Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner was Commander of Amphibious Forces Pacific and was to be in charge of operations until the beachhead was established.

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.

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.

Shortly before dusk, the destroyer USS Aaron Ward (DM-34) was hit by a series of six kamikazes, suffering 45 killed or missing and 49 wounded.

LSM(R)-195 was also on Picket Station 10 and while rushing to the aid of Aaron Ward and the Little was likewise crashed by a kamikaze.

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.

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.

Dennis L. Francis LSM Commander, Flotilla Nine for the period 2 – 20 April, Action Report indicated that these ships are not particularly suited for picket duty.