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USS KIDD Kamikaze Attack Remembrance Ceremony
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BATON ROUGE – The USS KIDD will host a remembrance ceremony for 72nd anniversary of the day a kamikaze aircraft struck the ship in World War 2.
The ceremony will be free and open to the public and will begin at 1:55 p.m., the exact time that the attack began on April 11, 1945, off the coast of Okinawa.
After fighting off three aerial raids earlier in the day, a kamikaze aircraft crashed into the hull of the USS KIDD during another attack. According to the USS KIDD Veterans Museum, 38 crew members were killed and an additional 55 members were hurt.
"According to the 'The Sacrificial Lambs' by Bill Sholin, more than 300 vessels were struck by kamikazes at the Battle of Okinawa with over 5,000 sailors lost,” said Ship Superintended Tim NesSmith. “That's more vessels damaged or lost than in any other single battle in the history of the U.S. Navy. The majority of the ships struck were destroyer type ships like KIDD."
The KIDD Crew will remember those onboard the ship during the attack as well as one of the few remaining survivors of the attack, Coach Fred King of Miami, Florida.
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