234.1. Start of Service in US Navy

234.2. Transfered to Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, IL for recruit training

234.3. Recruit Training

234.4. Transfered to Armed Guard Training Center, Little Creek, VA for armed guard training

234.5. Armed Guard Training

234.6. Changed rate from AS to S2c

234.7. Transfered to Armed Guard Center, South Brooklyn, NY for duty

234.8.1. Start of Armed Guard Duty

234.8.2. TDY aboard SS BORINQUEN

234.8.3. TDY aboard SS GEORGE WEEMS

234.8.4. Changed rate from S2c to S1c

234.8.5. TDY aboard SS CORNELL

234.8.6. Transfered to USN Hospital, St. Albans, Long Island, NY

234.8.7. Hospitalized for treatment of unknown

234.8.8. Transfered to Armed Guard Center, South Brooklyn, NY for duty

234.8.9. Changed rate from S1c to GM3c

234.8.10. TDY aboard SS JOHN LANGDON

234.8.11. End of Armed Guard Duty

234.9. Transfered to Receiving Station, Navy Yard, Washington, DC for New Construction Gunner’s Mate School

234.10. New Construction Gunner’s Mate School

234.11. Transfered to Receiving Ship, San Francisco, CA for duty in the Pacific

234.12. Suspect Richard a passenger on USS CHANDELEUR (AV-10) enroute to Pearl Harbor, HI

234.13. Transfered to Receiving Ship, Pearl Harbor, HI for assignment with Commander Service Force, PACIFIC Fleet, Subordinate Command

234.14. Reported aboard USS SAN FRANCISCO (CA-38) for duty

234.15. SUMMARY COURT MARTIAL INCIDENT

234.16. *** TIME UNACCOUNTED FOR 27 NOV 1944 THRU 11 JAN 1945 ***

234.17. Transfered to U.S. Naval Training and Distribution Center (TADCEN), Shoemaker, CA

234.18. Transfered to ComServForce 7th Fleet for duty

234.19. Richard a passenger on USS TORRANCE (AKA-76) enroute from San Francisco to Samar, PI

234.20. Richard Crossed the equator this date and duly initiated as a Qualified Shellback.

234.21. Reported for duty with ComServForce 7th Fleet at Samar Island, PI

234.22.1. Start of Reported aboard USS LCI(G)-461) for duty

234.22.2. Operation Iceberg

234.22.3. TRANSIT - KERAMA RETTO to SAIPAN

234.22.4. Changed rate from GM3c to GM2c (T)

234.22.5. TRANSIT - SAIPAN to ENIWETOK

234.22.6. TRANSIT - ENIWETOK to PEARL HARBOR

234.22.7. End of Reported aboard USS LCI(G)-461 for duty

234.23. Transfered to Waipio Amphibious Operating Base, Pearl Harbor, HI

234.24. *** TIME UNACCOUNTED FOR 13 OCT 1945 THRU 24 OCT 1945 ***

234.25. Reported to Naval Receiving Station, FRAY, Pearl Harbor, HI

234.26. Reported to USN Personnel Staging Center, Pearl Harbor, HI

234.27. Transfered to Naval Receiving Station, FRAY, Pearl Harbor, HI for duty

234.28. Reported to Naval Receiving Station, FRAY, Pearl Harbor, HI

234.29. Transfered to Naval Rifle Range, Puuloa, HI for duty

234.30. Reported to Naval Rifle Range, Puuloa, HI for duty

234.31. Changed rate from GM2c to GM1c

234.32. Charged with Reckless Driving - Captain’s Mast: Outcome - Awarded Deck Court

234.33. Deck Court Proceedings - Pled GUILTY - Loss pay of $60 and 30 days EPD (EPD Remitted)

234.34. Transfered to Naval Receiving Station, Pearl Harbor, HI for duty

234.35. 1st Degree Burglary Charge - General Court Martial

234.36. Transfered to General Detail, Pearl Harbor, HI for further transfer

234.37. Suspect Richard a passenger on UNKNOWN enroute from Pearl Harbor, HI to San Francisco, CA for leave

234.38. Reported to Naval Receiving Station, Yerba Buena Island, San Francisco, CA and granted 52 days of leave

234.39. Leave Granted and Taken

234.40. Transfered to USS ARNEB (AKA-56) for duty

234.41.1. Start of Reported aboard USS ARNEB (AKA-56) for duty

234.41.2. Discharged after initial enlistment period - GENERAL (COG)

234.41.3. Reenlisted for a period of two years

234.41.4. End of Reported aboard USS ARNEB (AKA-56) for duty

234.42. Leave Granted and Taken

234.43. Transfered to SUBGRUONE, PHILAGRULANTRESFLT for duty

234.44. Reported to SUBGRUONE, PHILAGRULANTRESFLT for duty

234.45. Attended five days of courses at Fire Fighter’s School, US Naval Base, Philadelphia, PA

234.46. Leave Granted and Taken

234.47. Transfered to USS SPOKANE (CL-120) for duty

234.48. Leave Granted and Taken

234.49. Reported aboard USS SPOKANE (CL-120) for duty

234.50. Leave Granted and Taken

234.51. Leave Granted and Taken

234.52. Transfered to Naval Receiving Station, Washington, DC for Gunner’s Mate Class “B” training

234.53. Reported to Naval Receiving Station, Washington, DC for Gunner’s Mate Class “B” training

234.54. Extended current enlistment for a period of two years for the purpose of acquiring sufficient obligated service for assignment to a course of instruction in USNavScol Gunner’s Mate, Adv., Class “B"

234.55. Transfered to Naval Receiving Station, Norfolk, VA for duty

234.56. Reported aboard Naval Receiving Station, Norfolk, VA for duty

234.57. Discharged after initial enlistment period - HONORABLE (COG)

234.58. Reenlisted for a period of five years

234.59. Leave Granted and Taken

234.60. Leave Granted and Taken

234.61. Leave Granted and Taken

690. Birth of Catherine Anne Hoffman, Bloomington, IL?

695. Birth of Thomas John Hoffman, Norfolk, VA

697. Birth of Richard Paul Hoffman, Norfolk VA

686. SAINT ALPHONSUS CHURCH, 5800 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107, USA

687. RICHARD/ALICE, 6750 19th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117, USA

688. RICHARD/ALICE, 1738 N 15th St, Philadelphia, PA 19121, USA

689. RICHARD/ALICE, 1738 N 15th St, Philadelphia, PA 19121, USA

691. RICHARD/ALICE/CATHY, 1739 N 15th St, Philadelphia, PA 19121, USA

692. RICHARD/ALICE/CATHY, 836 W 46th St, Norfolk, VA 23508, USA

693. RICHARD/ALICE/CATHY, 836 W 46th St, Norfolk, VA 23508, USA

694. RICHARD/ALICE/CATHY, 836 W 46th St, Norfolk, VA 23508, USA

696. RICHARD/ALICE/CATHY/TOM, 836 W 46th St, Norfolk, VA 23508, USA

3. Husband Kimmel and Walter Short received a report noting the weakness of the base at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii to surprise air attacks.

4. US Navy Admiral Husband Kimmel ordered long range air patrols to be conducted from various Pacific Ocean bases in case Japan reacted aggressively against US President Franklin Roosevelt's executive order to freeze Japanese assets.

5. Joseph Rochefort reported to US Navy Admiral Husband Kimmel that the Japanese fleet detected outside of Japanese home waters were heading back to Japan, thus there was no immediate threat of an aggressive Japanese response to Franklin Roosevelt's decision to freeze Japanese assets.

6. Joseph Rochefort's cryptanalytic team detected sudden increase in Japanese naval radio traffic.

7. Joseph Rochefort's cryptanalytic team detected increased radio traffic between carriers and land bases, and interpreted it as the Japanese Navy conducting fitting out operations of carriers with new air groups.

8. Joseph Rochefort's cryptanalytic team in US Territory of Hawaii noticed carrier Akagi was using new call signs in her radio communications.

9. Joseph Rochefort warned US commanders at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii that the Japanese communication codes were being changed.

10. Joseph Rochefort warned US commanders at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii that the recent Japanese Navy communications changes might mean the preparation of a large exercise or another major action.

11. Harold Stark informed Husband Kimmel that in his personal opinion that while he expected Japan to take action some time in the near future, an attack on Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii was not likely.

12. On this date, Japan time, the Combined Fleet Order No. 1 was issued for additional radio communications to be generated to make US cryptanalytic efforts more difficult. Meanwhile, on the other side of the international date line, Joseph Rochefort's cryptanalytic team of the US Navy in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii reported that all Japanese Navy call signs had changed.

13. Chief of the Japanese Naval General Staff Admiral Osami Nagano approved the draft plan for the attack on Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. On the other side of the international date line, Joseph Rochefort's cryptanalytic team of the US Navy in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii was realizing that the Japanese were inflating the amount of radio traffic.

14. Joseph Rochefort's cryptanalytic team in US Territory of Hawaii detected improvements in security of Japanese naval communications and the recall of some of the merchant ships back to home waters.

15. Joseph Rochefort's cryptanalytic team in US Territory of Hawaii continued to encounter a great deal of dummy radio traffic being sent by the Japanese Navy.

16. Ten Japanese submarines departed from Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan for Kwajalein of the Marshall Islands, where they would proceed for US Territory of Hawaii.

17. Japanese Admiral Yamamoto gathered his commanders at Iwakuni air base at Yamaguchi, Japan to discuss Pearl Harbor tactics.

18. Obsolete Japanese battleship Settsu began to sail around the Inland Sea in Japan to generate fake radio communication messages at different ports.

19. Japanese Navy Admiral Yamamoto revealed the Pearl Harbor attack plan to the naval leadership.

20. Five large Japanese carrier submarines, each containing midget submarines, departed from Kure Naval Base, Japan for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. Meanwhile, Joseph Rochefort's US Navy cryptanalytic team reported no Japanese carrier movement.

21. Joseph Rochefort's US Navy cryptanalytic team in Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii detected the arrival of a Japanese submarine squadron in the Marshall Islands.

22. US Navy issued Task Force Ultrasecret Operation Order 1: warships were to proceed to Hawaiian waters in secrecy, with mission to conduct pre-emptive strikes on any potential threats against Hawaii.

23. Japanese carriers made a rendezvous at Hitokappu Bay, Kurile Islands, Japan in preparation for the Pearl Harbor attack. On the other side of the international date line, Joseph Rochefort reported to his superiors that his cryptanalytic team had detected a Japanese submarine squadron moving into the Marshall Islands.

24. The Japanese carrier fleet departed Hitokappu Bay, Kurile Islands, Japan for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. At Pearl Harbor, Joseph Rochefort sent a report for his superiors that his cryptanalytic team had detected Japanese fleet movements and that the Japanese warships were seemingly staging for actions in the South Pacific.

25. American radio intelligence analysts stationed in the Philippine Islands reported their suspicion that, contrary to the findings of their counterparts in the Hawaiian Islands, the Japanese warships detected to have been recently moved into the Marshall Islands were likely to take actions eastward rather than southward. Also, they concluded that main Japanese carrier force was still at Sasebo, Japan rather than in the Marshall Islands.

26. Radio messages sent from Sasebo, Japan using outdated call signs tricked US Navy cryptanalysts in US Territory of Hawaii into believing that carrier Akagi was still in home waters. Later on the same day, the cryptanalysts realized that all Japanese warships' call signs had changed.

27. Japanese carrier fleet refueled in the North Pacific at 42 degrees north and 170 degrees east; at 2000 hours, the code "Niitaka Yama Noboru 1208" was issued, indicating that the attack on Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii was to be launched on 8 Dec 1941 Tokyo time, 7 Dec on the other side of the international date line. Meanwhile, at Pearl Harbor, Admiral Husband Kimmel was briefed of the disposition of the Japanese fleet, with the whereabouts of Carrier Division 1 and Carrier Division 2 (four fleet carriers total) not known; the best American guess was that they were at Kure, Japan. Finally, at Honolulu, Hawaii, Consul-General Nagao Kita was asked to provide a report regarding the presence of any barrage balloons or torpedo nets.

28. The Japanese carrier fleet tasked with the Pearl Harbor attack turned south after refueling on the previous day, approaching the Hawaii Islands with increased speed. At Pearl Harbor, the American intelligence report on the location of Japanese Navy warships had "no information on submarines or carriers". Elsewhere in Hawaii, Consul-General Nagao Kita received orders to burn code ciphers and important papers; this was noticed by the Americans, who also received intelligence that several Japanese embassies around the world were doing the same.

29. Schedule of Pearl Harbor attack was transmitted to the Japanese submarine fleet along with the latest intelligence and weather information.

30. Japanese submarines surrounded Hawaii Islands.

31. Japanese carrier fleet reached the rendezvous point at 34 degrees north, 158 degrees west, and then began a high speed approach for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. At the same time, the 30 Japanese submarines in the Hawaii area began to tighten the ring around the islands; I-74 spotted USS Lexington, but no action was taken. At Pearl Harbor, Admiral Husband Kimmel told a reporter from the news agency Christian Science Monitor that the chance of a war in the Pacific Ocean involving the United States was slim. Nearby, Vice Admiral William Pye told Kimmel (via intelligence officer Edwin Layton) that war with Japan was inevitable, although Pearl Harbor was not a likely target, thus there was no need to send the battleships out to sea as a precaution. Finally, at Honolulu, Hawaii, Consul-General Nagao Kita sent a cable to Japan that he observed no barrage balloons over Pearl Harbor and he did not believe there were torpedo nets around the battleships.

32. Operation Z: 360 Japanese carrier aircraft (104 bombers, 135 dive bombers, 40 torpedo bombers, and 81 fighters) attacked Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, sinking or damaging 8 battleships, 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 1 anti-aircraft training ship, 1 minelayer; destroying 188 aircraft; and killing 2,459 (57 of which were civilian) and wounding 1,282 (35 of which were civilian). The Japanese lost only 29 aircraft and 5 midget submarines; 55 were killed and 10 were wounded.

33. USS Helena suffered a torpedo hit during the Pearl Harbor raid at Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii.

34. Aircraft from USS Enterprise sank Japanese submarine I-70 in Hawaiian waters.

35. US Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox arrived at Hawaii to personally assess the damage inflicted on 7 Dec 1941 by the Japanese. Meanwhile, Japanese submarine I-9 shelled the unarmed US freighter Lahaina about 800 miles northeast of Honolulu.

36. Niihau Incident: Downed Japanese pilot attempted to recover sensitive documents seized from him by Niihau islanders; two of the islanders attacked and killed the pilot.

37. Japanese submarine shelled Kahului and Maui, US Territory of Hawaii.

38. Japanese submarine I-22 shelled Johnston Island, destroying a 1,200-gallon oil tank; another submarine, I-1, shelled Kahului, Maui, Hawaii Islands.

40. At Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii, the Roberts Commission began investigating the American preparations prior to the Pearl Harbor attack.

42. Japanese submarine I-1 shelled Hilo, US Territory of Hawaii.

43. Japanese submarines shell Hawaiian Islands of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii.

44. At the US Army Air Forces Headquarters Major Jimmy Doolittle began planning an air raid against Japan.

45. The Roberts Commission completed its investigation work at Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii and departed for Washington DC, United States.

129. Under strict security sixteen modified B-25 bombers were lifted onto the USS Hornet and lashed to the flight deck at Naval Air Station Alameda, California, United States.

130. USS Hornet departed Naval Air Station Alameda near San Francisco, California with James Doolittle and his 16 US Army B-25 bombers on board.

139. American submarine USS Thresher provided a weather report on Tokyo, Japan for the Doolittle Raiders.

150. The task force carrying the Doolittle Raiders refueled at about 1,000 miles away from Tokyo, Japan.

151. 16 US Army Air Force B-25 bombers launched from USS Hornet attacked Tokyo, Yokohama, Yokosuka, Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, and other targets in the Japanese home islands at about 1200 hours. Most of the bombers would fly on to crash land in or bail out over China, while one landed in Russia and the crew were interned by the Soviets, who had a non-aggression treaty in place with Japan.

158. Large number of Japanese warships were dispatched in search for the carriers that launched the Doolittle Raiders.

163. Troops of the Japanese 22nd Infantry Division began to conduct a search in Zhejiang and Jiangxi Provinces on the Chinese coast, burning down and massacring entire villages suspected of assisting the Doolittle Raiders.

422. US President Roosevelt made the official announcement regarding the Japanese execution of downed American airmen who had participated in the Doolittle Raid.

446. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched a raid on Chichi Jima and Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands.

447. Japanese Navy devised Operation A-Go for the defense of the Mariana Islands; it would be launched in Jun 1944.

448. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) reached the launch point and began sending planes to soften up of targets in preparation for the invasion of Saipan, Mariana Islands. Yorktown aircrews concentrated primarily upon airfields located on Guam, Mariana Islands. Those raids continued until the 13th.

449. American troops invaded Saipan, Mariana Islands.

450. US submarines detected two large Japanese fleets near the Philippine Islands, headed towards the Mariana Islands.

451. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched a raid on Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands before heading back to the Mariana Islands and joining in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

452. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) rejoined Task Force 58 in the Mariana Islands and waited for the approaching Japanese Fleet.

453. US carrier aircraft won a decisive victory over their Japanese counterparts in the Mariana Islands, shooting down over 200 planes with only 20 losses in what became known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot, or, officially, Battle of the Philippine Sea.

454. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) began strikes on Japanese air bases on Guam, Mariana Islands in order to deny them to their approaching carrier-based aircraft and to keep the land-based planes on the ground. During this, the first day of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Yorktown aircraft claimed 37 enemy planes destroyed and dropped 21 tons of bombs on the Guam air bases.

455. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) steamed west while search planes groped for the fleeing enemy task force. Contact was made with the enemy late in the day and Yorktown?s planes attack the Japanese carrier Zuikaku.

456. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) and Task Force 58 chased the enemy but made no contact with the Japanese fleet.

457. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) conducts air strikes against Pagan Island in the Mariana Islands.

458. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands.

459. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) continued combat operations with attacks on Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands.

460. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched strikes in the Mariana Islands and continued them for the next 17 days.

461. In the Mariana Islands, US Seventh Air Force P-47 Thunderbolt fighters based on Saipan again struck Tinian Island. At Guam, US battleships joined in on the pre-invasion bombardment while transport USS Dickerson delivered US Navy underwater demolition specialists to survey landing beaches on the island.

462. Iwo Jima, Chichi Jima, and Haha Jima were the targets of land-based aircraft for the first time as US Navy Bombing Squadron 109 PB4Y Liberator bombers based at Isley Field, Saipan, Mariana Islands dropped bombed on their airfields. In the United States, USAAF chief General Hap Arnold warned the Joint Planning Staff about the new Japanese Ki-84 fighters. As a precaution, he recommended seizing Iwo Jima to provide emergency airfields for bombers that might be damaged by new Japanese fighters such as the Ki-84.

463. In the Mariana Islands, US Seventh Air Force P-47 fighters based on Saipan attacked targets on Tinian.

464. In the Mariana Islands, P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft of US Seventh Air Force from Saipan attacked Japanese targets at Tinian. At Merizo, Guam, Japanese Army troops massacred 30 civilians.

465. US Navy underwater demolition teams began destroying beach obstacles at Guam, Mariana Islands.

466. In the Mariana Islands, American P-47 fighters based on Saipan attacked Japanese positions on Tinian and Pagan.

467. In the Mariana Islands, US 7th Air Force launched P-47 aircraft based on Saipan to attack Tinian.

468. P-47 aircraft of US 7th Air Force continued to attack Japanese positions on Tinian while US Navy warships bombarded Guam in the Mariana Islands. Meanwhile, underwater demolition teams conducted their final missions to remove obstacles on the invasion beaches at Asan and Agat on Guam.

469. The US Army formed the Pearl Harbor Board to analyze the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii of 7 Dec 1941.

470. US 3rd Marine Division landed near Agana and US 1st Provisional Marine Brigade landed near Agat on Guam, Mariana Islands; the landing was supported by US Navy Task Force 53. US Navy and US Army aircraft attacked Tinian of Mariana Islands, Eniwetok of Marshall Islands, and Truk and Yap of Caroline Islands as indirect support. Troops of the US Army 77th Infantry Division arrived in the afternoon; their landing was difficult due to the lack of LVT vehicles. A mile-deep beachhead was established at both landing sites by sundown. The Japanese attempted a counterattack during the night, which was repulsed.

471. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) anchors at Garapan Roads, Saipan, Mariana Islands to load bombs and ammunition.

472. American troops landed on Tinian, Mariana Islands.

473. US Marines captured the old US Marine Corps parade ground on Guam, Mariana Islands. Elsewhere on the island, Lieutenant General Takeshi Takashina, commanding the 19,000 Japanese garrison on Guam, was killed by machine gun fire.

474. US forces declared Guam, Mariana Islands secured.

475. 19 American B-24 bombers based in Saipan, Mariana Islands struck Japanese positions at Iwo Jima.

476. American cruisers, destroyers, and carrier aircraft attacked the Bonin Islands. At Iwo Jima, a Japanese landing ship was sunk by destroyer fire. At Chichi Jima, destroyer USS Fanning sank a Japanese freighter by gunfire and a torpedo, while destroyer USS David W. Taylor was damaged by a mine.

477. 19 American B-24 bombers based in Guam, Mariana Islands attacked Iwo Jima, Japan.

478. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) and TF58 strike the Tokyo area of Honshu, Japan in the first carrier-borne air strikes against the Japanese home islands since the Doolittle Raid on 18 Apr 1942.

479. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) and TF58 strike the Tokyo area of Honshu, Japan before heading toward the Bonin Islands.

480. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) bombed and strafed installations on Chichi Jima, Bonin Islands

481. At 0905 hours, the first of 30,000 US Marines landed on Iwo Jima, Japan after heavy naval bombardment.

482. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched 3 days of support missions over Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands.

483. US Marines and a Navy corpsman raised an American flag atop Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima, Japan.

484. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids to bomb and strafe airfields in the vicinity of Tokyo, Japan.

485. 28 American P-51 Mustang and 12 P-61 Black Widow aircraft landed on Iwo Jima, Japan.

486. American fighters began flying escort operations from Iwo Jima, Japan.

487. The island of Iwo Jima was declared conquered by Chester Nimitz, noting that "all powers of government of the Japanese Empire in these islands are hereby suspended", but fighting would continue.

488. Americans declared Iwo Jima, Japan secure, but fighting continued.

489. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) arrived in the operating area off Japan and began launching strikes on airfields on Kyushu, Honshu, and Shikoku. The task group came under air attack almost as soon as operations began. Yorktown was struck by a single bomb that killed 5 but otherwise caused minimal damage.

490. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) continued air operations against the three southernmost islands of Japan.

491. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) began softening-up strikes against Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands and continued through 28 Mar 1945.

492. Tadamichi Kuribayashi passed away on Iwo Jima, Japan. He reportedly committed ritual suicide, but his body was never found.

493. A small scale special attack by aircraft was conducted by the Japanese off Okinawa, Japan, but a large scale tokko campaign was to come in the future.

494. The Japanese mounted the final suicide charge with 200-300 men at Iwo Jima, Japan.

495. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched two raids and one photographic reconnaissance mission over Kyushu, Japan. A single Yokosuka D4Y ?Judy? dive bomber made a diving attack on Yorktown but missed the carrier by about 60 feet.

496. British warships including the battleship HMS King George V, under the command of Vice Admiral Sir Bernard Rawlings, and a carrier force led by HMS Illustrious, commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Philip Vian, participated in an attack on the Sakashima Islands, 180 miles south-west of Okinawa, Japan.

497. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) pounded Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands and its surrounding islets in softening-up strikes.

498. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) pounded Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands and its surrounding islets in softening-up strikes.

499. US Tenth Army invaded Okinawa, Japan. Japanese aircraft launched a massive counter-attack, damaging USS West Virginia, USS Tennessee, and HMS Indefatigable, among others.

500. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) began several days of direct support missions for the troops landing on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands. About every three days, USS Yorktown (Essex-class) retired east for refueling, rearming, and re-provisioning.

501. Americans established an advanced air base on Iwo Jima, Japan.

502. Operation Kikusui No. 1 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 230 Japanese Navy and 125 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft.

503. Destroyer Yukikaze rescued survivors of battleship Yamato and destroyer Isokaze; she suffered minor damage from American air attacks during the action (3 were killed, 15 were wounded).

504. Kosaku Ariga, commanding officer of battleship Yamato, went down with the ship as the battleship sank.

505. When Yamato was discovered was steaming south, Air Group 9 from USS Yorktown (Essex-class) claimed several torpedo hits on Yamato herself just before the battleship exploded and sank. USS Yorktown (Essex-class)?s planes also had at least three 500-pound bombs hit light cruiser Yahagi before that ship also sank. Yorktown then resumed her strikes on Okinawa.

506. While enroute to attack the US fleets off Okinawa, Japan, battleship Yamato was attacked by US carrier aircraft resulting in her loss, along with several of her escorts.

507. Two destroyers were damaged by Japanese special attack boats and aircraft off Okinawa, Japan.

508. The Japanese Navy scored a notable success against the Americans when a large Shinyo Motor Boat packed with explosives charged out of Naha harbour, Okinawa, Japan to ram the USS Charles J. Badger putting the destroyer out of the war with both engines utterly unserviceable. A landing-craft was sunk on the same night and, from the fringes of the destroyer screen, came a report of swimmers armed with hand-grenades, although whether these were, in fact, Fukuryu ("Crawling Dragons") suicide-frogmen still remained uncertain.

509. USS Missouri, USS Enterprise, USS Essex, and 6 destroyers were damaged by Japanese special attack aircraft off Okinawa, Japan.

510. Operation Kikusui No. 2 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 125 Japanese Navy and 60 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft. Destroyer USS Mannert L. Abele was sunk by a Japanese Ohka piloted bomb off Okinawa; she was the first to be struck by an Ohka bomb and was the only to be sunk by one.

511. Japanese special attack aircraft damaged a battleship and two destroyers off Okinawa, Japan.

512. American carrier aircraft struck Japanese airfields in southern Kyushu, Japan while 300 US Army B-29 bombers conducted raids on Kawasaki and Tokyo.

513. Operation Kikusui No. 3 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 120 Japanese Navy and 45 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft.

514. US Army troops landed on Ie Shima off Okinawa, Japan. Meanwhile, Japanese special attack aircraft sank a destroyer and damaged a number of other warships.

515. A major attack was launched against Japanese positions on Okinawa, Japan.

516. Americans declared Ie Shima, Japan secure.

517. Japanese special attack aircraft sank a minesweeper and damaged a number of other ships off Okinawa, Japan.

518. Operation Kikusui No. 4 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 65 Japanese Navy and 50 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft.

520. Japanese special attack aircraft damaged 5 destroyers, 2 hospital ships, and victory ship Bozeman Victory off Okinawa, Japan. None of the four G4M bombers carrying Ohka special attack aircraft hit their targets.

522. Operation Kikusui No. 5 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 75 Japanese Navy and 50 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft; they sank one destroyer and damaged four other ships. On the same day, a special attack boat damaged a transport also off Okinawa.

524. Operation Iceberg II was commenced by the Allies to support the campaign on Okinawa, Japan. Meanwhile, Japanese special attack aircraft sank two destroyers and damaged a number of other warships off the island, including British carrier HMS Formidable and American minesweeper USS Shea (hit by 1 of 7 Ohka special attack aircraft launched on this day).

525. USS Luce was attacked by two Japanese special attack aircraft off Okinawa, Japan. The first was shot down near the port side of the ship, and the blast of the explosion caused power failures throughout the ship. The second aircraft crashed into the aft portion of the destroyer, knocking out the port engine, jamming the rudder, and flooding engineering spaces. The commanding officer gave the order to abandon ship at 0814 hours. Of the 312 on board, 126 were killed in the attack and the sinking.

527. USS South Dakota was damaged by a magazine explosion off Okinawa, Japan. Nearby, the British Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier HMS Formidable was hit by Kamikaze planes but her steel decking (most US Aircraft Carriers had wooden decking) saved her. Further south, the British Pacific Fleer shelled Japanese positions on the Sakishima Islands of the Ryukyu Islands, 550 miles south of Japan.

530. Every gun present at Okinawa, Japan, including naval guns, fired one round at noon at the Japanese in celebration of V-E Day.

532. Japanese special attack aircraft damaged two destroyer escorts off Okinawa, Japan and two British carriers (Victorious and Formidable) off Taiwan. On land, the Americans still engaged in vicious close quarter fighting on Okinawa. The Japanese defenders resorted to turning themselves into human bombs, loading themselves with explosives to charge US positions; prisoners were a rarity as the US Marines fired on anything that moved.

537. Manhattan Project Target Committee met at Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States to compile a list of potential atomic weapon targets in Japan.

538. Operation Kikusui No. 6 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 70 Japanese Navy and 80 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft.

541. Women's Army Corps typists at Manhattan District headquarters began preparing press kits on the Manhattan Project for use after an atomic bomb had been dropped.

542. A Japanese Navy Ohka combat sortie by 4 G4M bombers off Okinawa, Japan heavily damaged American destroyer USS Hugh W. Hadley. On the island, US troops launched an offensive toward Naha.

543. The Target Committee of the Manhattan Project, led by Robert Oppenheimer, decided the best targets of the atomic bomb were Kyoto, Niigata, Hiroshima, Yokohama, and Kokura.

546. US Army troops landed on Torishima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

548. In Japan, after a vicious 48-hour battle the Okinawan capital, Naha, was captured by the Americans.

549. Destroyer USS Longshaw, stuck on a reef, was sunk by Japanese shore battery at Okinawa, Japan.

550. Specially-modified American B-29 bombers arrived at Tinian, Mariana Islands in preparation of future atomic bomb missions.

551. US 77th Division withdrew near the Ishimmi Ridge at Okinawa, Japan after suffering heavy casualties.

552. American troops reached Shuri Castle, Okinawa, Japan.

553. Japanese traditional and special attacks damaged five Allied ships off Okinawa, Japan.

554. Torrential rain reduced mobility of US armoured forces on Okinawa, Japan and gave the Japanese defenders a temporary respite.

556. Operation Kikusui No. 7 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 65 Japanese Navy and 100 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft. On the island, seven Type 97 bombers attempted to crash-land at an American-controlled airfield to deliver suicide commandos during Operation Gi; several aircraft were shot down, but those who successfully reached the airfield delivered 69 commandos who destroyed 9 aircraft and damaged 29 others and set the fuel dump aflame; all commandos were killed or committed suicide.

557. Japanese special attack aircraft sank destroyer USS Bates and damaged several other ships off Okinawa, Japan. Part of these attacks included an Ohka combat sortie by 11 G4M bombers, most of which were turned back due to poor weather while the few that launched their Ohka weapons reported no hits.

558. Operation Olympic, the invasion of Japan, was approved by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, setting the date at 1 Nov 1945.

559. Corporal Yukio Araki died as a special attack pilot. His Ki-51 aircraft might be one of the two aircraft which crashed into destroyer USS Braine off Okinawa, Japan.

560. Operation Kikusui No. 8 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 60 Japanese Navy and 50 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft; together with manned torpedoes, these special attacks damaged 5 destroyers and 6 other ships in the area.

561. Japanese air offensive sank destroyer USS Drexler and damaged several other ships off Okinawa, Japan.

562. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) resumed air support missions over Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands.

563. US 10th Army captured Shuri Castle at Okinawa, Japan. Off the coast, Japanese special attack aircraft damaged 2 destroyers.

564. US P-47 aircraft from Ie Shima attacked Japanese shipping and the lighthouse at Amami Oshima, which was part of the Ryukyu Islands north of Okinawa, Japan.

566. American carrier aircraft of Task Force 38 attacked airfields in southern Kyushu, Japan. On the same day, 12 Japanese ships were sunk or damaged by naval mines in Japanese waters.

567. American carrier aircraft of Task Force 38 attacked airfields in southern Kyushu, Japan for the second day in a row. On the same day, 7 Japanese ships were sunk or damaged by naval mines in Japanese waters.

568. Operation Kikusui No. 9 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 20 Japanese Navy and 30 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft.

569. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) struck airfields on the Japanese home islands.

570. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) returned to Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands for support missions before steaming off to evade a typhoon.

571. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands.

572. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands.

573. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on airfields on Kyushu, Japan.

574. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on Minami Daito Shima, Ryukyu Islands.

575. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on Minami Daito Shima, Ryukyu Islands and began retiring toward Leyte, Philippines.

576. With Japanese troops hopelessly surrounded in the Oroku sector of Okinawa, Japan requested a ceasefire to allow them to commit suicide rather than surrender. Hundreds blew themselves up with grenades or jumped off cliffs.

577. Japanese Admiral Ota Minoru committed ritual suicide for failing to defend Okinawa, Japan.

578. US Army captured Okinawa, Japan.

579. Operation Kikusui No. 10 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 30 Japanese Navy and 15 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft.

580. The Americans secured Okinawa, Japan. Three months of savage fighting had cost the Japanese 129,700 military and 42,000 civilian dead. Just over 10,000 were taken prisoner. The Japanese had also lost 7,800 aircraft and six capital ships. The Americans had lost 12,520 dead, 36,600 wounded, 763 aircraft destroyed and 40 warships sunk.

581. US Marines landed on Kumejima, Okinawa, Japan.

582. Okinawa, Japan was declared secure.

583. Over 100 American fighters struck eastern Honshu, Japan from their bases on Iwo Jima, Japan.

584. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) arrived off the coast of Japan and launched air strikes on the Tokyo area.

586. A number of B-25 bombers based in Okinawa attacked military airfields on Kyushu, Japan.

587. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched strikes on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido.

588. American battleships USS South Dakota, USS Indiana, and USS Massachusetts and escorting destroyers bombarded Kamaishi, Honshu, Japan; the primary target was the Kamaishi Works of the Japan Iron Company, but several destroyers shells overshot the target and hit the town, killing many civilians; battleship shells were more accurate, destroying about 65% of the industrial complex, but they also killed many civilians; this was the first time the Japanese home islands were subjected to naval bombardment. To the north, the sinking of 6 warships and 37 steamers on the ferry route between Honshu and Hokkaido effectively cut off the latter from the rest of the home islands. At Kure, aircraft of US Navy TF 38 damaged carrier Amagi, carrier Katsuragi, and battleship Haruna. Far to the south, the USAAF XXI Bomber Command canceled a long-range P-51 raid from Iwo Jima to attack Meiji and Kagamigahara near Nagoya due to poor weather.

589. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched strikes on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido.

590. American battleships USS Iowa, USS Missouri, and USS Wisconsin bombarded industrial targets at Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan; the main targets were Wanishi Iron Works plants and the Muroran Works. From the air, American naval aircraft attacked northern Honshu and Hokkaido, destroying railways and coal ferries. 104 US Army P-51 fighters based in Iwo Jima Meiji, Kagamigahara, Kowa, Akenogahara, Nagoya, and Suzuko, Japan. B-24 bombers attacked Tomitaka, Usa, Kikaiga-shima, Amami Islands, Yaku-shima, Osumi Islands, and Tamega Island. After sun down, American B-29 bombers mined Japanese waters at Naoetsu and Niigata and Korean waters at Najin, Busan, and Wonsan, while other B-29 bombers attacked and seriously damaged the Nippon Oil Company facilities at Kudamatsu in southwestern Japan.

591. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched strikes on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido.

592. UK Task Force 37 and US Task Force 38.2 launched their first strike on the Japanese home islands; it was the first British attack on Japan in the Pacific War. British Seafire carrier fighters were launched against Japanese airfields at Kionoke, Naruto, and Miyakawa. American warships bombarded Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. 1,207 16-inch shells from battleships and 292 6-inch shells from cruisers were fired.

593. American battleships USS North Carolina, USS Alabama, USS Iowa, USS Missouri, and USS Wisconsin and British battleship HMS King George V bombarded Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan with 2,000 shells; the Taga Works and Mito Works of Hitachi Manufacturing Company were moderately damaged, and the Yamate Plant and the copper refining plants of Hitachi Mine were lightly damaged. Civilian housing areas were also attacked, causing many deaths.

594. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on the Tokyo area.

595. US Navy Task Force 38 carrier aircraft damaged carrier Amagi, carrier Katsuragi, and battleship Haruna at Kure Naval Shipyard, Japan.

596. US warships of Task Group 35.4 conducted a final bombardment of radar stations at Nojima Saki about 90 kilometers south of Tokyo, Japan.

597. HMS Indefatigable joined UK Task Force 37 and US Task Force 38.2 for an attack on the Japanese home islands. On the same day, an US Army B-29 bomber failed to attack the Imperial Palace in Tokyo with a large "Pumpkin" bomb.

598. The US Army Air Force began launching B-29 bomber raids, each with very few planes, against Japanese cities. The goal of such missions was to make such small raids a frequent occurrence to increase the success rate of the planned atomic bomb missions.

599. The Allied leadership threatened Japan with destruction if it did not surrender.

600. A test bomb in the shape of the atomic bomb Little Boy, designated L-1, was dropped in the sea near Tinian, Mariana Islands from a B-29 bomber piloted by Paul Tibbets, to test the radar altimeter mounted on a B-29 bomber.

601. A test bomb in the shape of the atomic bomb Little Boy, designated L-2, was dropped in the sea near Tinian, Mariana Islands from a B-29 bomber piloted by Paul Tibbets.

602. British TF 37 launched 416 sorties, 261 of which were sent against the Japanese home islands and 155 were for defensive patrols; escort carrier Kaiyo was damaged by British carrier planes. On the same day, American TF 38 launched 600 aircraft against Kure, Nagoya, Osaka, and Miho, sinking battleship-carrier Hyuga, heavy cruiser Tone, and target ship Settsu, and damaging carrier Ryuho, carrier Amagi, battleship-carrier Ise, battleship Haruna, heavy cruiser Aoba, light cruiser Oyodo, transport Kiyokawa Maru; the Aichi aircraft factories at Nagoya were seriously damaged.

603. General Henry Arnold, head of the USAAF, was presented with a top-secret memorandum specifying possible targets recommended for attack with atomic bombs.

604. Settsu was attacked by 30 US Navy F6F-3 fighters while off Kure, Hiroshima, Japan after 1500 hours, suffering one direct bomb hit and five near misses. Captain Masanao Ofuji grounded her on the island of Etajima to prevent sinking.

605. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) and TF58 pounded shipping and installations around the Kure naval base.

606. A test bomb in the shape of the atomic bomb Little Boy, designated L-5, was dropped in the sea near Tinian, Mariana Islands from a B-29 bomber piloted by Paul Tibbets.

607. The final wartime shipment of uranium-235 left the Clinton Engineer Works in Tennessee, United States, reaching Tinian, Mariana Islands by C-54 transport aircraft 3 and 4 days later. This specific shipment of uranium-235 was used for the Little Boy bomb destined for Hiroshima, Japan.

608. US General Carl Spaatz was ordered to prepare for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, or Nagasaki in Japan; the target date was set for some time after 3 Aug.

609. US carrier aircraft attacked Japanese shipping in the Inland Sea near Osaka and Nagoya, Japan.

610. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) and TF58 pounded shipping and installations around the Kure naval base.

611. The Japanese issued a reply to the United States' threat to utterly destroy Japan if the appeal, made on 21 Jul 1945. Japan refused to surrender. The reply stated that Japan was determined to fight tooth and nail for every inch of her sacred soil.

612. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) and TF58 pounded shipping and installations around the Kure naval base.

613. 137 American P-47 aircraft based in Ie Shima, Okinawa, Japan attacked targest in Kyushu, Japan. On the same day, 471 B-29 bombers attacked smaller Japanese cities in the home islands with incendiary bombs. Finally, from the sea, US Navy TF 38 struck Inland Sea between Nagoya and northern Kyushu, sinking battleship Haruna, battleship-carrier Ise, heavy cruiser Aoba, and light cruiser Oyodo, and damaging carrier Katsuragi and carrier Hosho.

614. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) and TF58 pounded shipping and installations around the Kure naval base.

615. While beached on the island of Etajima, Hiroshima, Japan, Settsu was attacked by 3 US Navy carrier aircraft, suffering two direct bomb hits.

616. A special attack Japanese biplane trainer aircraft crashed into destroyer USS Callaghan off Okinawa, Japan; Callaghan was to be the last American warship to be sunk by special attack aircraft in the war.

617. A test bomb in the shape of the atomic bomb Little Boy, designated L-6, was loaded onto a B-29 bomber. The pilot Charles Sweeney then flew the aircraft from Tinian, Mariana Islands to Iwo Jima, Japan, where emergency procedures for loading the bomb onto a standby aircraft were practiced.

618. American battleships USS South Dakota, USS Indiana, and USS Massachusetts began a two-day bombardment of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

619. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on the Tokyo area.

620. American battleships USS South Dakota, USS Indiana, and USS Massachusetts ended a two-day bombardment of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Meanwhile, carrier fighters attacked airfields, railroads, and tactical targets in the Kobe-Osaka region.

621. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on the Tokyo area.

622. A test bomb in the shape of the atomic bomb Little Boy, designated L-6, was dropped in the sea near Iwo Jima, Japan from B-29 bomber Enola Gay piloted by Paul Tibbets.

623. In a public statement, Douglas MacArthur announced that "a mighty invasion force is being forged", referring to the seemingly impending invasion of the Japanese home islands.

624. The US Twentieth Air Force's meteorological service predicted good weather, on the following day, over the four targets (Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata and Nagasaki in Japan) selected for attack with atomic weapon "Little Boy".

625. Hiroshima, Japan was destroyed by the first atomic bomb, "Little Boy". About 70,000 to 80,000 were killed immediately, while about 70,000 were injured.

626. A limited rail service resumed in Hiroshima, Japan.

627. Manhattan Project scientist Dr. Harold Jacobsen predicted Hiroshima's devastated centre would remain dead, "not unlike our conception of the moon", for 70 years.

628. US President Truman threatened Japan with further nuclear devastation during a radio address.

629. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido, Japan.

630. 258 British Avenger, Corsair, Hellcat, Firefly, and Seafire carrier aircraft of Task Force 37 expended more than 120 tons of bombs and cannon shells on targets in and near the Japanese home islands. Meanwhile, American battleships USS South Dakota, USS Indiana, and USS Massachusetts bombarded Kamaishi, Iwate, Japan. 850 16-inch shells from battleships, 1,440 8-inch shells from cruisers, and 2,500 5-inch shells from destroyers were fired.

631. B-29 bomber Bockscar dropped the atomic bomb "Fat Man" on the city of Nagasaki, Japan, killing 40,000 to 75,000 immediately.

632. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido, Japan.

633. Faced with the threat of more atomic bombs and the menace of the Soviets, Japan announced that it was willing to surrender provided the future status of the Emperor could be assured.

634. USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on Tokyo, Japan.