USS Colorado - Naval Cruise Book

Page 26 text:

The turrets have fired their shattering blasts, and off we go to get ammo and food and mail. At Okinawa we fired two thousand tons of main battery ammunition . . .

Page 25 text:

• i Again they struck and hit. This is a Kamikaze ' s dream and our nightmare, for think what that explosion was like, not from our ship, but from the battleship that was hit . . . But the battle was won, and the score was uneven, in our favor. Here is the scoreboard: eleven planes and far more assists, and eight major invasions. At Saqami Wan and Tokyo Bay we were ready too, not just any style but with the same preparation and planning that marked our victories at Tarawa or Linqayen. This is the accounting, and Hirohilo wouldn ' t give us a medal for it . . .

Page 27 text:

There ' s an alphabet being aired there, vital flags that speak across the water clearly and without error, setting speed, maneuvering great armadas skillfully and silently. In this hideout we loaded ammo. Prohibition style. Kerama Retto was a welcome haven for great patrol planes, and here the mighty desttoyers from the famous picket stations limped home to mend the wounds of battle. And here we laid in a supply of death for Japs, over two million pounds for Okinawa alone . . .