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Aaron Ward at Kerama Rettō
on May 4, 1945, the day following
kamikaze attacks
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Presidential Unit Citation
to U.S.S. Aaron Ward
THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
Washington
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the
PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION to the
UNITED STATES SHIP AARON WARD
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:
"For extraordinary heroism in action as a Picket
Ship on Radar Picket Station during coordinated attack by approximately
twenty-five Japanese aircraft near Okinawa on May 3, 1945. Shooting down two
Kamikazes which approached in determined suicide dives, the U.S.S. AARON WARD
was struck by a bomb from a third suicide plane as she fought to destroy this
attacker before it crashed into her superstructure and sprayed the entire area
with flaming gasoline. Instantly flooded in her after engineroom and fireroom,
she battled against flames and exploding ammunition on deck and, maneuvering in
a tight circle because of damage to her steering gear, countered another
coordinated suicide attack and destroyed three Kamikazes in rapid succession.
Still smoking heavily and maneuvering radically, she lost all power when her
forward fireroom flooded under a seventh suicide plane which dropped a bomb
close aboard and dived in flames into the main deck. Unable to recover from this
blow before an eighth bomber crashed into her superstructure bulkhead only a few
seconds later, she attempted to shoot down a ninth Kamikaze diving toward her at
high speed and, despite the destruction of nearly all her gun mounts aft when
this plane struck her, took under fire the tenth bomb-laden plane, which
penetrated the dense smoke to crash on board with a devastating explosion. With
fires raging uncontrolled, ammunition exploding and all engine spaces except the
forward engineroom flooded as she settled in the water and listed to port, she
began a nightlong battle to remain afloat and, with the assistance of a towing
vessel, finally reached port the following morning. By her superb fighting
spirit and the courage and determination of her entire company, the AARON WARD
upheld the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
For the President,
JAMES FORRESTAL
Secretary of the Navy
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