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training there and then left. Stopped at
Saipan over night and then on to
Iwo Jima. Arrived there Feb 25 and stayed
until the early part of March. Went
from there to Ulithi which was then
the fleet anchorage. Stayed there about
two weeks. Took on stores and ammunition
and headed for Okinawa. As I believe I
told you in the last letter we arrived
there March 25th one week before the
landings. We were there or at Le shima
continuously until May 5th, forty-two
days in all. It got tougher each day and
we got tireder each day. Finally, on
May 4th this Jap came diving straight
down on us and made a direct hit, plane
and all. The next day we left for
Guam where we reparied temporaily and
then went on to Pearl for permanent
repairs. That Le Shima I mentioned is the
place where Ernie Pyle was killed.

We had many exciting moments during
air raids. The most exciting came on Easter
Sunday, the morning of the landings. We
were shelling before the troops went in.
A few enemy planes were in the area.