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Shane Laemmel, MR3
to remember
MacPherson, James, CAPT.
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Contact Info
Date of Passing Jun 07, 1981
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
USS Sarasota (APA-204)
(at Lingayen Gulf, probably around 1 August 1945)
She was a Haskell-class attack transport ship that was part of the Invasion of Luzon, the Invasion of Okinawa. and the Invasion of Ie Shima (Considered a part of the Battle of Okinawa).
She suffered kamikazi attacks, saved thousands of lives, and earned 3 battle stars during World War II.
Other Comments:
James Ian MacPherson, Captain, USNR
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
People You Remember CDR. MacPherson, James Ian USNR 16 August 1944 - 17 November 1945
Memories Invasion of Okinawa Returning to Leyte, she remained through February. In March, she embarked men and equipment of the 2d Battalion, 381st Regiment, 96th Infantry Division; conducted training operations, and, on the 27th steamed from Philippine waters. On 1 April, she stood off the Hagushi beaches of Okinawa as her LCMs and DUKWs (popularly pronounced "duck") landed the troops on the "White Beaches." Their equipment followed and, by the 4th, Sarasota had completed offloading. She then shifted to Kerama Retto, assisted in offloading the damaged attack transport USS Henrico and prepared for the assault on Ie Shima.
Invasion of Ie Shima (Considered a part of the Battle of Okinawa.) (Iejima (伊江島) is an island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, lying a few kilometers off the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa Honto.) On the 16th, she landed units of the 305th Regimental Combat Team on that island off the Motobu Peninsula. Manny Espinoza, Seaman, of the USS Sarasota was wounded on the Beach, and was awarded the Purple Heart Medal. U.S. journalist Ernie Pyle died there. There is a monument dedicated to his memory on the southern part of the island. Every year on the weekend closest to his death, 18 April, there is a memorial service.
Three days later, she returned to the Hagushi anchorage and, on the 22d, departed the Ryūkyūs for the Marianas.
At the end of April, Sarasota disembarked Okinawa casualties at Saipan. On 2 May, she sailed for the Solomons, whence she carried general cargo, Marines, Army hospitalmen, and Navy passengers to Guam. From there, she transported casualties to Pearl Harbor; then continued on to San Francisco.
After availability at Seattle, she embarked Army troops and, on 18 July, again headed for Okinawa. She arrived in the Hagushi anchorage on 12 August and began disembarking her reinforcement troops and, offloading her cargo. Three days later, hostilities ceased.