LSM(R)-195 was laid down at Charleston Navy Yard. The ship was commissioned on 21 November 1944, Lt.(j.g.) William E. Woodson, USNR, in command

Service history (Turner & Woodson)

During World War II the ship was assigned to the Asiatic Pacific theater. At that time the fleet was under the command of Admiral Spruance

Raymond A. Spruance

Raymond Ames Spruance was a United States Navy admiral in World War II.Spruance commanded US naval forces during two of the most significant naval battles in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea...

 and named the Fifth Fleet

United States 5th Fleet

The Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy is responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and coast off East Africa as far south as Kenya. It shares a commander and headquarters with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command . The commander of the 5th Fleet is currently Vice...

. Vice Admiral

Vice Admiral

Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

 Richmond Kelly Turner

Richmond K. Turner

-Footnotes:...

 was Commander of Amphibious Forces

Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...

 Pacific and was to be in charge of operations until the beachhead was established. The Kerama Retto islands were a small chain of islands 15 miles west of the southwest tip of Okinawa. The invasion of the Kerma Retto was an opportunity to break in all twelve of the 188-class LSM(R)s. One of the reasons that Admiral Turner wanted to capture Kerama Retto

Kerama Retto

The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....

 was his knowledge that the Japanese Sea

Sea of Japan

The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...

 Raiding Units had suicide boats hidden there. On the morning of March 29 three of these boats attacked the USS LSM(R)-189 but were promptly destroyed. The northern half of the six-mile-wide invasion beach was assigned to Task Force 53, under the command of Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 Lawrence F. Reifsnider. Embarked were the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions under Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Roy S. Geiger

Roy Geiger

General Roy Stanley Geiger was a United States Marine Corps General who, during World War II, became the first Marine to lead an army. Marine Corps base Camp Geiger in North Carolina is named in his honor....

. The northern support craft included USS LSM(R)-194

USS LSM(R)-194

USS LSM-194 was a LSM-188 class Landing Ship Medium of the United States Navy during World War II, which took part in the Battle of Okinawa. LSM-194 was laid down at the Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina on 21 November 1944. The ship was under the command of Lt.jg Allen M....

, USS LSM(R)-195, USS LSM(R)-196, USS LSM(R)-197

USS LSM(R)-197

LSM-197 was a United States Navy vessel laid down at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina. The ship was commissioned on 8 December 1944, Lt.John N. Cooper, USNR, in command.-Design:...

, USS LSM(R)-198

USS LSM(R)-198

USS LSM 198 was a Landing Ship Medium of the US Navy during World War II.It was laid down at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina. The ship was commissioned on 12 December 1944 with LtJG. George B...

, and USS LSM(R)-199

USS LSM(R)-199

LSM-199 was a LSM-188 class Landing Ship Medium of the US Navy during World War II. laid down at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina, The ship was commissioned on 12 December 1944, Lt. Charles D. Cobb, USNR, in command....

.
On 3 May 1945 the 188-class LSM(R)'s were put to the test when the Japanese launched their fifth kikusui attack on May 3. Picket station 10 was the hardest hit. Shortly before dusk, the destroyer was hit by a series of six kamikaze

Kamikaze

The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....

s, suffering 45 killed or missing and 49 wounded. The ship survived, but was later decommissioned because it wasn't worth repairing. About the same time, approximately 20 planes attacked destroyer . She was crashed by four of them and sank within 12 minutes of the first hit. She lost 30 dead or missing and 79 wounded. LSM(R) 195 was also on Picket Station 10 and while rushing to the aid of the Aaron Ward and the Little was likewise crashed by a kamikaze. The crash started her rockets exploding and knocked out the fire main and auxiliary pumps. LSM(R) 195 had to be abandoned and, after being ripped by heavy explosions, sank. The following day the ordeal for the LSM(R)'s reached its tragic climax. USS LSM(R)-190

USS LSM(R)-190

USS LSM-190 was a United States Navy LSM-188-class Landing Ship Medium . She was built at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina and was commissioned on 21 November 1944. LSM-190 took part in the Battle of Okinawa from 7 April–May 4, 1945. She was hit and sunk by a Japanese suicide plane...

 was patrolling at Picket Station 12. Not long after sunrise the anticipated kamikazes arrived and were met by American combat air patrol

Combat air patrol

Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...

. Several of the Japanese planes managed to get through and attack the ships on this station. Three kamikazes crashed LSM(R) 190. The ship that had seen so much previous action and had been credited with rescuing 180 survivors of other stricken ships was herself sunk. In the same attack the destroyer was sunk, carrying 126 of her 312 officers and men with her. At the same time as LSM(R) 190 was fighting her final battle, LSM(R) 194 was facing the same fate at Picket Station 1.
W.E. Woodson CO LSMR-195 survived the sinking and reported on 5 May 1945: Two planes were observed approaching, the closest identified as NICK. This plane was taken under fire by the 5"/38 and both 40MM guns as he circled and approached from the starboard. The other plane, started an attack run on our port side coming in at a very low altitude and maneuvering violently to confuse our two port 20MM gunners who had taken him under fire. This plane was strafing on its way in and hit the port side ripping the main deck all the way into midships.
The explosion and depth of damage indicated that this plane carried a bomb. The rockets that were loaded in the launchers topside began exploding in every direction as the fire spread from one broken rocket motor to another causing a great deal of shrapnel and fragments to be in the air at all times. These rockets were propelled only short distances with numerous hits about the deck causing fires. The plane or bomb had also penetrated the forward assembly room causing assembled rockets to be propelled throughout the ship and the area surrounding it.