This Military Service Page was created/owned by
SFC Kenneth Norman (Rogue 1, Norm)
to remember
Hamner, Henry Rawlings (Pete), LT.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Lynchburg
Last Address Pershing Avenue Lynchburg, Virginia
Casualty Date Apr 06, 1945
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Okinawa
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Okinawa Gunto Operation
From Month/Year
March / 1945
To Month/Year
June / 1945
Description The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg. was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi (550 km) away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). Four divisions of the U.S. 10th Army (the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th) and two Marine Divisions (the 1st and 6th) fought on the island. Their invasion was supported by naval, amphibious, and tactical air forces.
The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Based on Okinawan government sources, mainland Japan lost 77,166 soldiers, who were either killed or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered 14,009 deaths (with an estimated total of more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds). Simultaneously, 42,000–150,000 local civilians were killed or committed suicide, a significant proportion of the local population. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki together with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria caused Japan to surrender less than two months after the end of the fighting on Okinawa.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
March / 1945
To Month/Year
June / 1945
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Howorth was assigned to screen a convoy from Ulithi bound for Okinawa, arriving on 1 April. After arrival at Okinawa, she again provided fire support and anti-aircraft defense. On her first day off Okinawa, Howorth was moving to her station with the cruiser St. Louis (CL-49) and destroyer Newcomb (DD-586), when she was attacked by eight kamikazes. One made it through the ships' anti-aircraft fire and struck Howorth in her superstructure, killing nine men and causing a fire that was quickly put out.
SFC Kenneth Norman (Rogue 1, Norm)
to remember
Hamner, Henry Rawlings (Pete), LT.
