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Lieutenant Richard McCool’s decision to stay aboard a burning landing craft off Okinawa turned a kamikaze attack into one of the most remarkable Navy hero stories of World War 2. After helping rescue nearly 300 sailors from a sinking destroyer, the 23-year-old commander of USS LCS-122 faced three Japanese dive bombers, a direct hit, and 120 rockets sitting just feet from the flames.
What follows is a gripping military history documentary-style account of small ship combat, damage control, and leadership under fire. McCool refused evacuation, crawled through smoke to save trapped crewmen, and kept his ship from exploding while his men fought the blaze and held off a third attack. The story later led to his Medal of Honor and a legacy that shaped Navy command doctrine.
Perfect for viewers who enjoy WW2 stories, naval history, Medal of Honor stories, kamikaze attack accounts, and narrated military documentaries. It also fits search intent for war stories, historical storytelling, and real-life heroism at sea.
What follows is a gripping military history documentary-style account of small ship combat, damage control, and leadership under fire. McCool refused evacuation, crawled through smoke to save trapped crewmen, and kept his ship from exploding while his men fought the blaze and held off a third attack. The story later led to his Medal of Honor and a legacy that shaped Navy command doctrine.
Perfect for viewers who enjoy WW2 stories, naval history, Medal of Honor stories, kamikaze attack accounts, and narrated military documentaries. It also fits search intent for war stories, historical storytelling, and real-life heroism at sea.
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LearningTranscript
00:00At 0635 on June 11, 1945, Lieutenant Richard McCool stood in the conning tower of USS LCS-122,
00:08tracking three Japanese VAL dive bombers closing fast through broken clouds 65 miles north of Okinawa.
00:1723 years old, six weeks on radar picket station 15, zero ships lost under his command.
00:23The Japanese had already sent 18 kamikazes against his station in the past 72 hours.
00:30McCool commanded a landing craft support ship, 158 feet long, 23 feet wide, crew of 65 men.
00:39Most Navy officers called them pallbearers, small amphibious gunboats designed to screen destroyers from suicide attacks,
00:47five twin 40-millimeter guns, four 20-millimeter cannons, and 120 rockets mounted in launchers across the deck.
00:55If fire reached those rockets, the entire ship would explode in seconds.
01:00The Battle of Okinawa had entered its third month.
01:03More than 12,000 American servicemen dead.
01:07Japanese kamikaze pilots had sunk 36 Allied ships and damaged 368 more.
01:13Radar picket duty was the most dangerous assignment in the Pacific Theater.
01:17Ships positioned in a wide circle around Okinawa to detect incoming attacks.
01:23Destroyers carried the radar.
01:25LCS ships like McCool's provided the guns.
01:28Station 15 sat northwest of Okinawa, closest to the Japanese home islands, first to be hit.
01:35McCool's ship had been on station since May 10th.
01:38Every day brought attacks.
01:40Every night brought alerts.
01:41The crew slept in shifts.
01:44Nobody slept well.
01:4524 hours earlier, McCool had watched a different kamikaze attack unfold.
01:50June 10th, 08-15.
01:53A lone Val dive bomber dropped through clouds without warning, headed straight for USS William D. Porter, Fletcher-class destroyer.
02:02Crew of 273 men.
02:04The Porter's guns opened fire.
02:06Five-inch shells.
02:0840-millimeter rounds.
02:09The Val took multiple hits but kept coming.
02:12The destroyer turned hard to starboard.
02:14The kamikaze missed by 30 feet.
02:17Splashed into the ocean.
02:18Then the Val exploded directly beneath the ship.
02:22The underwater blast lifted the Porter completely out of the water.
02:26She crashed back down.
02:27Power failed.
02:29Steam lines ruptured throughout the ship.
02:31Fires erupted in three compartments.
02:33The destroyer began listing to starboard within minutes.
02:36Her crew fought the damage for three hours.
02:39Pumps failed.
02:40Flooding increased.
02:41At 1100 hours, the commanding officer gave the order to abandon ship.
02:46McCool brought LCS-122 alongside the burning destroyer.
02:50Nearly 300 men needed evacuation.
02:52His crew worked for three hours straight, pulling sailors from the water, treating burns and shrapnel wounds, loading the injured
03:00onto stretchers.
03:01The Porter rolled over and sank stern-first 12 minutes after the last man stepped off.
03:06Not a single fatality.
03:08McCool's crew had saved every soul aboard.
03:11That rescue earned recognition from the task force commander.
03:14But it also marked McCool's ship.
03:16The Japanese knew Station 15 now.
03:19They knew which ships responded to attacks.
03:21They knew LCS-122 carried firepower.
03:24And they knew McCool wouldn't abandon his position.
03:27If you want to see how McCool handled what came next, please hit that like button.
03:32It helps us share more forgotten stories of courage.
03:35Subscribe if you haven't already.
03:36Back to McCool.
03:37The evening of June 11th arrived with clear skies.
03:41Perfect visibility.
03:42McCool's ship held the northernmost position in a diamond formation.
03:46Three other LCS ships spread out below him.
03:49The nearest destroyer sat three miles away.
03:52If kamikazes came from the north, they would reach McCool first.
03:55His guns would be the first line of defense.
03:58His ship would be the first target.
04:00The radar operator called out a contact at 1,800 hours.
04:03Multiple aircraft, bearing 350, ranged 12 miles, closing fast.
04:10McCool ordered his gun crews to battle stations.
04:1265 men rushed to their positions.
04:15The 40mm crews loaded fresh ammunition drums.
04:18The 20mm gunners checked their sights.
04:21Below deck, damage control teams readied fire hoses and foam equipment.
04:25Everyone knew the drill.
04:27Everyone knew the odds.
04:29Three Val dive bombers broke through the clouds at 6,000 feet.
04:33They came in low.
04:35Fast.
04:36McCool's gunners opened fire at 4,000 yards.
04:39The lead Val took hits across its wings and fuselage.
04:42It kept coming.
04:44Smoke trailing.
04:45Wings shredded.
04:46Still flying.
04:49The first Val passed 8 feet above the forward deckhouse.
04:53McCool felt the displaced air.
04:55The kamikaze's wheels nearly clipped the No. 1 40mm gun mount.
04:59The gunner ducked.
05:01The plane crashed into the water 100 yards off the port bow.
05:05It exploded on impact.
05:07Water and debris shot 200 feet into the air.
05:11McCool's attention snapped to the remaining two aircraft, both diving now.
05:15The second Val came in from starboard.
05:18All five 40mm mounts tracked it.
05:21Guns 2, 3, 5, and 7 poured fire into the approaching bomber.
05:27Tracers ripped through the cockpit canopy.
05:29The greenhouse shattered.
05:31The Val's engine started smoking.
05:33Black smoke.
05:35Heavy smoke.
05:36But the pilot held his dive angle.
05:38The third Val stayed higher.
05:40Circling.
05:42Waiting.
05:42McCool divided his attention between both threats.
05:46The second Val closed to 1,000 yards.
05:49500 yards.
05:50The 20mm cannons joined the barrage.
05:53Every gun on the ship firing.
05:56Shell casings littered the deck.
05:58The noise became continuous.
06:00Deafening.
06:01The Val's left wing caught fire.
06:04Pieces of the aircraft started falling away.
06:07Armor plating.
06:08Control surfaces.
06:09The plane wobbled, but maintained course.
06:12It was aimed directly at the conning tower.
06:15Directly at McCool's position.
06:17At 200 yards, McCool saw the pilot.
06:20Young.
06:21Maybe 20 years old.
06:23Wrapped in a white headband.
06:25The Kamikaze's bomb hung visible beneath the fuselage.
06:28500 pounds.
06:30Contact fuse.
06:31If it detonated on impact, the explosion would destroy the entire forward section of LCS-122.
06:39McCool braced for impact.
06:41The Val struck the starboard side of the ship at the base of the conning tower.
06:45Metal screamed.
06:47The aircraft's fuselage crumpled.
06:49The bomb penetrated the radio shack and punched through the opposite side of the ship before exploding in the water.
06:55The blast wave hit the hull from outside.
06:58Not inside.
06:59That single detail saved the vessel.
07:02But fire consumed everything.
07:04Burning aviation fuel spread across the deck.
07:07The radio shack erupted in flames.
07:10Ammunition began cooking off.
07:1220-millimeter rounds exploded in random directions.
07:16Pyrotechnic flares ignited.
07:18White phosphorus burned at 4,000 degrees.
07:21The conning tower filled with smoke and heat.
07:24The blast knocked McCool unconscious.
07:27He came 2 seconds later.
07:28Maybe 10 seconds.
07:30Maybe 30.
07:31Time felt distorted.
07:32He was alone in the conning tower.
07:34Everyone else had been blown clear or killed.
07:37He tried to stand.
07:39His right side wouldn't respond properly.
07:41He looked down.
07:42His uniform was shredded.
07:44Blood soaked through.
07:46Burns covered his right arm and torso.
07:48Shrapnel had penetrated in multiple places.
07:51The fire below intensified.
07:54McCool could hear it.
07:55The roar of flames.
07:56The crack of ammunition.
07:58The screams of wounded men.
08:00He tried the ladder.
08:01His legs barely worked.
08:03He grabbed the ladder rail with his left hand and lowered himself down.
08:07Each movement sent waves of pain through his chest.
08:10He dropped onto the main deck.
08:12Fire surrounded the amidship section.
08:15The damage control team fought the blaze with foam and water, but the fire kept spreading.
08:20Moving toward the rocket launchers.
08:22120 rockets.
08:24If those detonated, the ship would disintegrate.
08:28McCool found his chief engineer near the forward gun mount.
08:31The man's face was covered in soot.
08:33McCool gave orders through gritted teeth.
08:36Flood the forward magazines.
08:37Seal the aft compartments.
08:39Keep water on those rockets.
08:41The engineer nodded and ran.
08:43McCool moved aft.
08:45Each step took enormous effort.
08:47His right lung felt wrong.
08:49Heavy.
08:50Like breathing through water.
08:52He looked up at the conning tower.
08:54The entire structure was engulfed in flames.
08:57Then he saw movement inside.
08:59Two men.
09:00Trapped in the burning deckhouse.
09:02Trying to get out.
09:03Failing.
09:04The fire reached toward the rocket launchers.
09:0630 feet away.
09:0820 feet.
09:09McCool had seconds to decide.
09:11Save the trapped men or protect the rockets.
09:14He turned toward the flames.
09:18McCool pushed through the smoke toward the burning deckhouse.
09:21The heat hit him like a physical barrier.
09:24His burns screamed.
09:25Every breath pulled hot air into his damaged lung.
09:29He could taste blood in his mouth.
09:31Copper.
09:32Thick.
09:33He kept moving.
09:35The deckhouse doorway was blocked by twisted metal from the kamikaze impact.
09:40Flames poured from the opening.
09:42Flames poured from the opening.
09:43Inside, one man lay pinned under debris.
09:46Another crouched beside him, trying to lift a collapsed beam.
09:50Neither could escape without help.
09:52The fire gave them maybe 30 seconds.
09:55McCool grabbed the twisted metal door frame.
09:58The hot steel burned through what remained of his gloves.
10:01He pulled.
10:03The frame didn't move.
10:04He repositioned his grip and pulled again.
10:07The metal gave slightly.
10:09Not enough.
10:10His right arm barely functioned.
10:13He switched to his left hand and threw his full body weight backward.
10:17The frame broke free.
10:19The doorway cleared.
10:21McCool stumbled into the compartment.
10:23Smoke choked him immediately.
10:26Zero visibility.
10:27He dropped to his knees where the air was slightly clearer.
10:30Found the first sailor by touch.
10:33The man was conscious.
10:34Badly burned.
10:35Trapped under a section of the bulkhead.
10:38McCool tried to lift the beam.
10:40His right side refused to cooperate.
10:43The weight was too much for one arm.
10:46The second sailor joined him.
10:48Together, they lifted.
10:50Six inches.
10:51Eight inches.
10:52The trapped man pulled himself free.
10:55His legs were shattered.
10:57He couldn't walk.
10:58McCool hooked his left arm under the injured sailor's shoulders
11:01and dragged him toward the door.
11:03Each movement sent agony through his chest.
11:07The burning sensation in his lung intensified.
11:10He coughed.
11:11Blood came up.
11:12Not a good sign.
11:14Possibly a punctured lung.
11:16Possibly worse.
11:17He kept dragging.
11:19They reached the doorway.
11:21McCool handed the injured man to waiting crewmen outside.
11:24They pulled him clear.
11:25One down, one to go.
11:29McCool turned back into the flames.
11:31The second sailor had found the exit on his own.
11:34He emerged, coughing, disoriented.
11:37But alive.
11:38McCool counted.
11:40Two rescued.
11:41He tried to stand fully upright.
11:43Couldn't.
11:44His chest felt like it was caving in.
11:47Each breath brought less oxygen.
11:49More blood.
11:49His vision started narrowing.
11:52The chief engineer appeared beside him.
11:54Grabbed his arm.
11:55Tried to lead him away from the fire.
11:57McCool pulled free.
11:59Pointed at the rocket launchers.
12:01The engineer nodded.
12:02Already handling it.
12:03Water poured onto the rockets from three different hoses.
12:06The fire line had stopped advancing.
12:08For now.
12:10McCool looked around his ship.
12:12Flames still consumed the midship section.
12:14The conning tower was completely destroyed.
12:17The radio shack was gone.
12:18Bodies lay on the deck.
12:20Some moving.
12:21Some not.
12:22The medical corpsman worked frantically on the wounded.
12:25Too many wounded.
12:26Not enough corpsmen.
12:28Then McCool remembered the third Val.
12:30The one that had circled higher.
12:32He scanned the sky.
12:33Found it.
12:34Still up there.
12:36Banking.
12:36Coming around for another run.
12:39Headed straight for LCS-122.
12:41His gun crew saw it too.
12:43The undamaged mounts swung to track the new threat.
12:46But half his firepower was gone.
12:48The forward 40mm was damaged.
12:51The midship's guns were surrounded by fire.
12:54Only the aft weapons remained fully operational.
12:56Not enough.
12:58Not nearly enough to stop a determined kamikaze.
13:01McCool tried to move toward the aft gun director.
13:04His legs gave out.
13:05He collapsed onto the deck.
13:07The chief engineer caught him.
13:09McCool's chest filled with fluid.
13:11He couldn't breathe properly.
13:13Couldn't speak.
13:13He pointed at the approaching Val.
13:16The engineer understood.
13:17He ran toward the gun crews shouting orders.
13:20McCool lay on the deck watching the kamikaze descend.
13:23The pilot had seen everything.
13:25Seen the damage.
13:26Seen the fires.
13:28Seen the chaos.
13:29He knew LCS-122 was crippled.
13:32Easy target.
13:33The Val dropped from 4,000 feet into its final dive.
13:37Smoke still trailing from its damaged engine.
13:39But it was coming.
13:41Fast.
13:42The aft 40mm mount opened fire.
13:45Tracers reached up toward the diving bomber.
13:48McCool watched the shells climb.
13:50Watched them connect.
13:51Watched pieces of the Val start breaking away.
13:54But the plane kept diving.
13:55Closer.
13:56500 yards.
13:58300 yards.
13:59McCool's surviving crew scrambled for cover.
14:02The Val's trajectory brought it directly over the damaged midship section.
14:06Over the rocket launchers.
14:08Over the fire.
14:09If the kamikaze hit those rockets, everyone died.
14:14Gun 7 tracked the third Val through its dive.
14:18The gunner fired in sustained bursts.
14:2050 rounds.
14:2175 rounds.
14:23Tracers walked up the kamikaze's fuselage.
14:26The Val's right wing caught fire.
14:28The aircraft shuddered.
14:30Its dive angle steepened.
14:31Too steep.
14:32The pilot had lost control.
14:34The kamikaze missed the ship by 40 yards.
14:37It plunged into the ocean off the starboard quarter.
14:41The explosion sent a column of water higher than the mast.
14:44Debris rained down on the aft deck.
14:46But no direct hit.
14:48No secondary explosion.
14:50The rockets remained intact.
14:53McCool tried to breathe.
14:55Failed.
14:56His chest felt like it was collapsing from the inside.
14:59Blood filled his mouth.
15:00He turned his head and coughed.
15:03Dark blood.
15:04Frothy blood.
15:05His right lung had definitely collapsed.
15:07Possibly hemorrhaging.
15:09He needed immediate evacuation.
15:11But no help was coming yet.
15:13The other LCS ships were engaging their own targets.
15:17The destroyers were three miles away.
15:19LCS-122 was on its own.
15:22The fire in the midship's section continued burning.
15:25Damage control teams fought it from three sides.
15:28Water.
15:29Foam.
15:30Sand.
15:31Nothing seemed adequate.
15:32The flames had found fuel lines.
15:35Oil spread across the deck.
15:37The fire followed.
15:38Moving toward undamaged sections.
15:40Threatening the forward magazine.
15:42If that magazine detonated, the bow would separate from the rest of the ship.
15:47The chief engineer organized bucket brigades.
15:50Men passed water hand to hand.
15:52Primitive, but effective.
15:54The fire's advance slowed.
15:57Then stopped.
15:58Then began retreating.
15:59Slowly.
16:01Inch by inch.
16:02The crew pressed the advantage.
16:04More water.
16:05More foam.
16:06The flames diminished.
16:08McCool watched from the deck.
16:10Unable to help.
16:11Unable to move.
16:12His vision kept fading to gray at the edges.
16:15He forced himself to stay conscious.
16:18Counted his crew.
16:19Counted the bodies.
16:20Twelve men lay motionless.
16:22Twenty-three more were wounded.
16:24Some critically.
16:25His medical corpsman had set up a triage station near the aft deckhouse.
16:30The worst cases went there.
16:32The walking wounded helped fight fires.
16:34The battle had lasted eleven minutes from first contact to the third valve's destruction.
16:39Eleven minutes.
16:41But it felt like hours.
16:42McCool's entire body trembled.
16:45Shock setting in.
16:46Blood loss.
16:47Burns covering thirty percent of his right side.
16:50Shrapnel wounds in seven places.
16:52Collapsed lung.
16:53Internal bleeding.
16:54He was dying.
16:55He knew it.
16:56His crew knew it.
16:57But the ship was still afloat.
16:59Another LCS appeared through the smoke.
17:01LCS 84.
17:02She came alongside carefully.
17:04Her commanding officer surveyed the damage.
17:07The burning wreckage.
17:08The casualties.
17:09The destroyed conning tower.
17:11He immediately ordered medical assistance transferred.
17:14Two corpsmen jumped across with supplies.
17:16Stretchers.
17:17Plasma.
17:18Morphine.
17:19They reached McCool first.
17:20Checked his vitals.
17:21Started an IV.
17:23The senior corpsman looked at McCool's chest and shook his head.
17:26Punctured lung.
17:27Probable internal hemorrhaging.
17:29Maybe worse.
17:29He needed surgery.
17:31Real surgery.
17:32Hospital surgery.
17:34Not what could be provided on a small landing craft.
17:36The corpsman tried to move McCool to a stretcher.
17:39He resisted.
17:40Pointed at his wounded crew.
17:41They needed attention first.
17:43The corpsman ignored him.
17:45Orders from above.
17:46The commanding officer goes first.
17:48Always.
17:49McCool tried to argue.
17:50No breath to argue with.
17:52The corpsman lifted him onto the stretcher.
17:54They carried him across to LCS 84.
17:57The transfer took three minutes.
17:59Careful work.
17:59The seas were calm.
18:01Lucky.
18:02Any swell would have complicated the evacuation.
18:05McCool looked back at his ship as they moved him.
18:07LCS 122 was still burning.
18:09Still fighting.
18:10Still afloat.
18:11His crew lined the rail.
18:13Watching their captain leave.
18:15Some saluted.
18:16Some just stared.
18:17Most had tears in their eyes.
18:19McCool reached LCS 84's deck.
18:21They carried him below to the crew quarters.
18:24Laid him on a bunk.
18:24The corpsman cut away what remained of his uniform.
18:27The damage underneath looked worse in proper light.
18:30Burns.
18:31Deep burns.
18:32Third degree in places.
18:33Shrapnel embedded in his shoulder.
18:35His ribs.
18:36His abdomen.
18:37Blood continued seeping from multiple wounds.
18:39The corpsman administered morphine.
18:42Started a second IV.
18:44Checked McCool's breathing.
18:46Still labored.
18:47Still bloody.
18:47The collapsed lung needed immediate attention.
18:51But LCS 84 had no surgical capability.
18:54No chest tubes.
18:55No proper equipment.
18:57They could only stabilize him.
18:59Keep him alive until proper medical facilities arrived.
19:02McCool faded in and out of consciousness.
19:05Pain.
19:06Morphine.
19:07Shock.
19:08Everything blurred together.
19:10He heard voices.
19:11Distant voices.
19:13Talking about casualties.
19:15Talking about damage.
19:16Talking about him.
19:18Not expected to survive.
19:20Too much internal damage.
19:21Too much blood loss.
19:23They were wrong.
19:24He would survive.
19:26He had to.
19:27His crew needed him.
19:28His ship needed him.
19:32A destroyer arrived two hours later.
19:35USS Cassin Young.
19:36Fletcher class.
19:37Full medical facilities.
19:39Real doctors.
19:40Real operating equipment.
19:42The transfer happened at 2200 hours.
19:46Seas had picked up.
19:47Three foot swells.
19:48The stretcher swung dangerously as they hoisted McCool across.
19:52He remained semi-conscious.
19:54Aware, but disconnected.
19:56The morphine helped.
19:58Not enough.
19:59The destroyer's chief medical officer examined McCool immediately.
20:04The destroyer's chief medical officer examined McCool immediately.
20:0428 years old.
20:05Naval Academy graduate.
20:07Three years of combat experience.
20:09He had seen hundreds of casualties.
20:12This one was bad.
20:13Collapsed right lung.
20:15Collapsed right lung.
20:16Severe burns requiring immediate debridement.
20:18Multiple shrapnel wounds.
20:20Possible liver damage.
20:22Probable internal bleeding.
20:24Blood pressure dropping.
20:26Heart rate elevated.
20:27Signs of hypovolemic shock advancing.
20:29They moved McCool into the ship's medical bay.
20:33Cut away the field dressings.
20:35The burns underneath had already started blistering.
20:38Infection was inevitable without proper treatment.
20:41The doctor ordered plasma.
20:43Antibiotics.
20:44Sulfa powder on the burns.
20:46He examined the shrapnel wounds.
20:48Seven entrance points.
20:49Four exit wounds.
20:51Three pieces still embedded.
20:53One near the spine.
20:54One in the shoulder.
20:56One lodged somewhere in the abdominal cavity.
20:59X-rays would be needed to locate them precisely.
21:01The doctor worked on the collapsed lung first.
21:04Inserted a chest tube without anesthesia.
21:07McCool was too unstable for general anesthesia.
21:10Too much blood loss.
21:12The tube went in through the ribs.
21:14McCool arched his back.
21:15Made no sound.
21:17Couldn't make sound.
21:18No air for screaming.
21:20The tube began draining immediately.
21:22Blood.
21:22Air.
21:24Fluid.
21:24The lungs started re-expanding.
21:26Slowly.
21:28Partially.
21:29Not fully.
21:30Damage was extensive.
21:32Back at Station 15, LCS-122 continued fighting fires.
21:37Three hours after the attack, the flames were finally contained.
21:41Not extinguished.
21:42Contained.
21:43Hotspots remained throughout the midship section.
21:46The crew maintained constant watch.
21:48Water ready.
21:49Foam ready.
21:50The rocket launchers had survived intact.
21:53The forward magazine remained sealed and undamaged.
21:56The ship would not explode.
21:58Not tonight.
22:00The conning tower was completely destroyed.
22:02Twisted metal.
22:04Melted equipment.
22:05Charred bodies.
22:06Four men had died there instantly.
22:09The radio shack no longer existed.
22:11Communication equipment was gone.
22:13The ship could receive messages, but not transmit.
22:16LCS-122 was effectively mute.
22:19She could fight, but not call for help.
22:22The damage assessment took until dawn.
22:25Twelve confirmed dead.
22:26Twenty-three wounded seriously enough to require evacuation.
22:30Fifteen men with minor injuries who remained on duty.
22:33The ship's structure was compromised, but intact.
22:36She could navigate under her own power.
22:38Steering responded.
22:40Engines functioned.
22:41But combat capability was severely reduced.
22:44Three gun mounts were damaged beyond field repair.
22:47Half the 20mm cannons were destroyed.
22:50The fire control system was gone.
22:52A repair vessel arrived at 0600 on June 12th.
22:55She came alongside and began emergency work.
22:58Welding.
23:00Cutting.
23:00Shoring up damaged bulkheads.
23:02The goal was not restoration.
23:04Just stabilization.
23:06Make LCS-122 seaworthy enough to reach port.
23:09Get her off the picket line.
23:11Get her crew to safety.
23:13McCool remained on Cassin-Young through the night.
23:16The medical officer checked on him every hour.
23:19Blood pressure stabilized slightly.
23:21Breathing improved marginally.
23:23The chest tube continued draining.
23:25Too much fluid.
23:26Too much blood.
23:27The lung was damaged internally.
23:30Torn tissue.
23:31Possibly punctured by rib fragments during the blast.
23:34Surgery would be required.
23:36Real surgery.
23:37Hospital surgery.
23:38Not what could be provided on a destroyer.
23:41At 0830 on June 12th, a hospital ship was scheduled to arrive in the area.
23:46USS Solace.
23:48Fully equipped surgical facilities.
23:50Experienced trauma surgeons.
23:52Blood supplies.
23:53Everything McCool needed.
23:55She was 17 hours away.
23:57Steaming north from the main fleet anchorage, McCool had to survive 17 more hours.
24:02The doctor doubted he would make it.
24:05The internal bleeding showed no signs of stopping.
24:08The collapsed lung wasn't responding to treatment.
24:11Infection was already developing in the burns.
24:14McCool's body temperature climbed.
24:16101 degrees.
24:17102.
24:20Fever.
24:21Fever.
24:21Sepsis starting.
24:22Without proper antibiotics.
24:24Without surgical intervention.
24:26He had maybe 24 hours.
24:29Maybe less.
24:30The doctor sat beside McCool's bunk.
24:33Checked his pulse.
24:35Weak.
24:36Thready.
24:37Irregular.
24:37He looked at the young lieutenant's face.
24:4023 years old.
24:42Younger than the doctor.
24:44McCool had saved 300 men 24 hours ago.
24:47Saved his own crew 6 hours ago.
24:50Entered flames with a collapsed lung to rescue trapped sailors.
24:53And now, he was dying on a destroyer bunk because help was 17 hours away.
25:00The doctor made a decision.
25:02McCool wouldn't wait 17 hours.
25:05He would request immediate air evacuation.
25:08Get McCool to Guam.
25:09Get him to a real hospital.
25:11Get him surgery before the internal bleeding killed him.
25:15He left the medical bay and headed for the radio room.
25:18Then remembered.
25:19The main radio was being repaired.
25:22Battle damage from a kamikaze attack three days earlier.
25:25Nothing was simple in this war.
25:28Nothing was easy.
25:31The doctor found the communications officer on the bridge.
25:34Explained the situation.
25:36McCool needed immediate evacuation.
25:39Air transport to Guam.
25:40The communications officer checked his charts.
25:43Nearest airfield with medical evacuation capability was on Iyashima.
25:48Small island west of Okinawa.
25:5043 miles away.
25:52They could request a PBY Catalina.
25:54Flying ambulance.
25:55But approval would take hours.
25:57Maybe 6 hours.
25:58Maybe more.
26:00McCool didn't have 6 hours.
26:02The destroyer's commanding officer made the call.
26:05Cass and Young would break from picket duty and run for Iyashima at flank speed.
26:0938 knots.
26:1090 minutes.
26:11Get McCool to the airfield.
26:13Get him on a plane.
26:14Get him to Guam where surgeons could save him.
26:17The decision violated standing orders.
26:19Picket ships did not abandon their stations.
26:22Ever.
26:22But the commanding officer had seen McCool's Medal of Honor recommendation.
26:27Had read the report about the porter rescue.
26:29Had heard about the rescue of his own crew under fire.
26:33Some rules could be bent.
26:35Cass and Young came about at 0915.
26:37Her engines pushed to maximum power.
26:40The destroyer carved through calm seas at 36 knots.
26:43The medical officer stayed with McCool.
26:45Monitoring.
26:46Adjusting.
26:47The chest tube continued draining.
26:49McCool's fever climbed to 103 degrees.
26:53Delirium set in.
26:54He spoke occasionally.
26:55Fragments.
26:56Names.
26:57His crew.
26:58His ship.
26:58The porter.
26:59None of it made sense.
27:01The morphine and fever mixed badly.
27:04At Iyashima, a PBY Catalina was already being prepared.
27:08The airfield's medical staff had received advance notice.
27:11Stretcher.
27:12Plasma.
27:13Two Navy corpsmen trained in flight evacuation.
27:16The plane could reach Guam in four hours.
27:18The hospital there had three surgeons.
27:20Full operating theater.
27:22Blood bank.
27:23Everything required for complex chest surgery.
27:26Cass and Young arrived off Iyashima at 1047.
27:29A small boat came alongside.
27:31They transferred McCool carefully.
27:33The seas remained calm.
27:35The transfer went smoothly.
27:37The boat reached shore eight minutes later.
27:39An ambulance waited at the dock.
27:41They drove McCool directly to the airfield.
27:44Two miles.
27:45Rough road.
27:47Every bump sent pain through his chest, despite the morphine.
27:51The chest tube pulled.
27:53The shrapnel wounds reopened.
27:55Fresh blood soaked through the bandages.
27:58The PBY sat ready on the taxiway.
28:01Engines already running.
28:03The crew had filed their flight plan.
28:05Direct route to Guam.
28:07Four hours, 12 minutes estimated flight time.
28:10Weather looked favorable.
28:12Clear skies.
28:13Light winds.
28:14The corpsmen loaded McCool aboard.
28:16Secured him to the stretcher.
28:18Started another plasma drip.
28:20The third one in 12 hours.
28:22He had lost massive amounts of blood.
28:25His body couldn't produce replacement fast enough.
28:28The PBY lifted off at 1120.
28:31McCool remained semi-conscious.
28:33The flight surgeon checked his vitals.
28:36Blood pressure had dropped again.
28:3870 over 40.
28:40Critically low.
28:41Heart rate was 132.
28:44Too fast.
28:45Labored breathing continued despite the chest tube.
28:48The collapsed lung wasn't fully re-expanding.
28:51Possibly too much internal damage.
28:53Possibly beyond repair.
28:57Two hours into the flight, McCool's condition deteriorated sharply.
29:01His blood pressure crashed.
29:0350 over 30.
29:05His heart rhythm became irregular.
29:07Possible cardiac involvement.
29:09The shrapnel near his spine might have caused spinal shock.
29:13Or the blood loss had simply exceeded what his body could tolerate.
29:16The flight surgeon prepared emergency cardiac medications.
29:20Epinephrine.
29:22Atropine.
29:23Ready if McCool's heart stopped.
29:25Back at Okinawa, LCS-122 limped toward the main anchorage.
29:31Engines at half speed.
29:32Fires finally extinguished after 18 hours of continuous firefighting.
29:37The repair vessel escorted her.
29:40Ready to assist if flooding worsened or if structural damage caused failure.
29:45The crew worked in shifts.
29:47Exhausted.
29:49Traumatized.
29:5012 of their shipmates were dead.
29:5223 more were evacuated.
29:55Their captain was dying somewhere between Iyashima and Guam.
29:59Nobody knew if he would survive.
30:01The news about McCool's evacuation spread through the task force.
30:05Other ships radioed inquiries.
30:06Asked for updates.
30:08The story of the port of rescue had already become legend.
30:11300 sailors saved without a single loss.
30:14Now the same officer had saved his own crew while dying from his wounds.
30:18Had entered flames with a collapsed lung.
30:20Had refused evacuation until his men were treated.
30:23The fleet wanted to know if he would live.
30:26At 1332, the PBY was still 90 minutes from Guam.
30:30McCool's blood pressure remained critically low.
30:32His breathing had become shallow.
30:35Irregular.
30:35The flight surgeon administered more plasma.
30:38More epinephrine.
30:39McCool's eyes opened briefly.
30:41Unfocused.
30:42He tried to speak.
30:44No words came out.
30:45Just blood.
30:46The surgeon wiped it away.
30:48McCool's eyes closed again.
30:50The surgeon checked his watch.
30:5290 minutes to Guam.
30:5390 minutes to surgery.
30:5590 minutes McCool might not have.
30:57His heart could stop any moment.
30:59His breathing could cease.
31:00The internal bleeding could overwhelm what little blood pressure remained.
31:04The surgeon prepared for the worst.
31:06Prepared to start chest compressions at 30,000 feet in a flying boat with no proper equipment and no hope
31:12of success.
31:13McCool's pulse weakened.
31:1470 beats per minute.
31:1660, 50.
31:1850, 50, 50, the surgeon placed his hand on McCool's neck, felt the carotid artery, barely palpable.
31:23He looked at the corpsman, told him to prepare the epinephrine.
31:27The PBY touched down at Guam at 1547.
31:31An ambulance waited on the tarmac.
31:34Engines running.
31:35Two surgeons stood beside it.
31:37They had received updates during the flight.
31:40Knew what was coming.
31:41Collapsed lung.
31:42Internal bleeding.
31:44Burns.
31:44Shrapnel wounds.
31:46Severe blood loss.
31:47Possible cardiac involvement.
31:49They loaded McCool immediately.
31:52No pause.
31:53No assessment.
31:54Straight to the operating theater.
31:56The Naval Hospital Guam occupied a sprawling complex near Apra Harbor.
32:0112 operating rooms.
32:0350 surgeons.
32:04200 nurses.
32:06The facility handled 300 casualties daily.
32:09Wounded from Okinawa.
32:11Wounded from kamikaze attacks.
32:13Wounded from the grinding land battle that had entered its 11th week.
32:18McCool was one case among hundreds.
32:20But his case was critical.
32:22They rolled him into operating theater 7 at 1603.
32:26A team of four surgeons scrubbed in.
32:29The chief surgeon was Commander James Harrington.
32:3242 years old.
32:34Johns Hopkins Medical School.
32:3615 years of surgical experience.
32:386 months at Guam.
32:39He had performed 237 chest surgeries since January.
32:44Lost 41 patients.
32:4682% survival rate.
32:48Better than most.
32:50Not good enough for this case.
32:52Harrington examined McCool quickly.
32:54Blood pressure, 60 over 35.
32:57Heart rate, 140.
32:59Respiratory rate, 32 breaths per minute.
33:02Fever, 104 degrees.
33:04Sepsis had progressed significantly.
33:07The burns were infected.
33:09The shrapnel wounds showed signs of necrosis.
33:12The collapsed lung had partially re-expanded but remained compromised.
33:16Internal bleeding continued.
33:18Somewhere in the abdominal cavity.
33:20Possibly the liver.
33:22Possibly the spleen.
33:24Possibly both.
33:25The anesthesiologist shook his head.
33:28McCool was too unstable for general anesthesia.
33:31His blood pressure couldn't handle it.
33:33His heart might stop.
33:35But they couldn't operate without it.
33:37Harrington made a decision.
33:39Regional blocks.
33:41Spinal anesthesia for the abdominal work.
33:43Local infiltration for the chest.
33:45Keep McCool semi-conscious.
33:47Risky.
33:48Extremely risky.
33:49But the only option.
33:50The surgery began at 1628.
33:53Harrington opened McCool's abdomen first.
33:56Found blood immediately.
33:57Dark blood.
33:58Old blood.
33:59The bleeding had slowed but not stopped.
34:02He traced it to the liver.
34:03A shrapnel fragment had punctured the right lobe.
34:06Three centimeters deep.
34:07The liver was actively oozing.
34:10Harrington packed the wound.
34:11Applied pressure.
34:12Weighted.
34:13The bleeding slowed.
34:14He sutured carefully.
34:16Reinforced with additional packing.
34:17The liver would heal if infection didn't set in.
34:20The second shrapnel fragment was lodged near the spine.
34:23Too close to major vessels.
34:25Too dangerous to remove.
34:27Harrington left it.
34:28Better to let scar tissue encapsulate it than risk paralysis or fatal hemorrhage during extraction.
34:33The third fragment had passed through muscle tissue and exited.
34:36Clean wound.
34:38No internal damage.
34:39The chest surgery took longer.
34:41Harrington drained the remaining fluid from the lung cavity.
34:44One liter.
34:45Dark red.
34:46The lung tissue was badly bruised.
34:48Multiple small tears.
34:49One large laceration along the lower lobe.
34:52He repaired what he could.
34:54Sutured the tears.
34:55Reinforced with pledgets.
34:57The lung would never function at full capacity again.
34:59Maybe 70%.
35:01Maybe less.
35:02But it would function.
35:03The burns required extensive debridement.
35:06Dead tissue removed.
35:07Cleaned.
35:08Dressed with sulfa powder and petroleum gauze.
35:11Third degree burns covered McCool's entire right side from shoulder to hip.
35:14The skin would need grafting eventually.
35:17Multiple grafts.
35:18But not today.
35:19Today was about survival.
35:21Not restoration.
35:22The surgery lasted 4 hours and 17 minutes.
35:26Harrington closed at 2045.
35:28McCool's vital signs had remained stable throughout.
35:31Barely.
35:32His blood pressure never rose above 70 systolic.
35:35His heart rate stayed elevated.
35:37But he lived.
35:38Against every statistical probability, he lived.
35:41They moved McCool to the intensive care ward.
35:4312 beds.
35:44All occupied.
35:46Mostly burn victims.
35:47Mostly kamikaze casualties.
35:50The nurses worked in constant rotation.
35:52Checking vitals.
35:53Changing dressings.
35:55Administering medications.
35:56Morphine every 4 hours.
35:58Penicillin every 6 hours.
36:00Plasma as needed.
36:02McCool required continuous monitoring.
36:04His condition remained critical for 72 hours.
36:07On June 15th, his fever broke.
36:10104 degrees dropped to 99.
36:13His blood pressure stabilized at 90 over 60.
36:17Still low, but sustainable.
36:19His breathing improved.
36:20The chest tube drainage decreased.
36:22The burns showed no further signs of infection.
36:25The antibiotics were working.
36:27His body was fighting back.
36:30McCool remained semi-conscious for 5 more days.
36:33Morphine fog.
36:34Fever dreams.
36:35Fragments of memory.
36:36The kamikaze.
36:38The fire.
36:39His crew.
36:40The trapped sailors.
36:41The rockets.
36:42Everything mixed together.
36:44Reality and nightmare.
36:46He couldn't separate them.
36:47Didn't try.
36:48On June 20th, McCool fully regained consciousness.
36:52A nurse stood beside his bed.
36:54She smiled.
36:55Told him where he was.
36:56Told him he had survived.
36:58Told him about the surgery.
37:00The liver.
37:01The lung.
37:01The burns.
37:02She didn't tell him about the 12 men who died on his ship.
37:06She didn't tell him about the Medal of Honor recommendation that had already been submitted.
37:10She didn't tell him that his actions off Okinawa had saved not just 300 lives in one day,
37:16but had established new standards for small ship commanders under kamikaze attack
37:20that would save thousands more in the months ahead.
37:23She simply told him he was alive.
37:25And that his crew was asking about him.
37:30McCool spent the next 11 months in hospitals, June through August at Guam, September through
37:35November at Pearl Harbor, December through April at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in California.
37:41The burns healed slowly, required four separate skin graft operations.
37:46The shrapnel near his spine remained embedded, too dangerous to remove.
37:50He would carry it for the rest of his life.
37:52His right lung never fully recovered.
37:5571% capacity.
37:57Enough to function.
37:58Not enough for full duty.
38:00LCS-122 survived.
38:03The repair crews at Okinawa worked for three weeks, replaced the destroyed conning tower,
38:08rebuilt the radio shack, restored the damaged gun mounts.
38:12By early July, she returned to active duty.
38:15Different commander, different crew assignments, but the same ship.
38:19She served through the end of the war, survived seven more kamikaze attacks, never lost another
38:25man.
38:26The Battle of Okinawa officially ended on June 22, 1945.
38:3182 days of combat.
38:33More than 12,000 American servicemen killed.
38:36The Japanese launched nearly 2,000 kamikaze attacks, sank 36 ships, damaged 368 more.
38:44Small ships like LCS-122 bore the heaviest burden.
38:48They sat closest to the threat, took the first hits, absorbed attacks meant for larger vessels.
38:54Four LCS ships were sunk at Okinawa.
38:5714 more were damaged beyond repair.
39:00The crews who served on them had mortality rates exceeding infantry units.
39:05McCool's actions on June 10th and 11th established new protocols for small ship damage control under
39:11kamikaze attack.
39:12His decision to enter flames with a collapsed lung became case study material at naval training
39:17schools.
39:19His prioritization of crew rescue over personal safety influenced command doctrine for decades.
39:24The Navy studied what he did right, what his crew did right, how LCS-122 survived when others
39:31didn't.
39:31President Harry Truman presented McCool with the Medal of Honor on December 18, 1945, White
39:38House Ceremony.
39:40McCool stood in his dress uniform, right side still bandaged under his shirt, breathing still
39:46labored.
39:47Truman read the citation aloud, spoke about gallantry, spoke about sacrifice, spoke about the young
39:54officers who held the line when everything fell apart.
39:57McCool saluted, said nothing, there was nothing to say.
40:02McCool remained in the Navy, rose to the rank of captain, served in Korea, served in Vietnam,
40:1030 years of service, retired in 1974.
40:14He never spoke publicly about June 11th, never gave interviews, never wrote memoirs.
40:20The Medal of Honor sat in a drawer.
40:22The memories stayed locked away.
40:25Some things were too heavy to share.
40:28Richard Miles McCool Jr. died on March 5, 2008, Bremerton, Washington, 86 years old, his wife and
40:37children at his bedside.
40:38He was buried at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.
40:44Section 43, Row 6, Plot 12, A Simple Headstone, Name, Rank, Dates, Medal of Honor.
40:53Nothing about the 300 lives saved.
40:56Nothing about the flames.
40:58Nothing about the collapsed lung.
41:00The stone couldn't hold that much history.
41:03In February 2019, the Navy announced its newest amphibious transport dock would be named USS Richard M.
41:12McCool Jr., hull number LPD-29, San Antonio class, 684 feet long, crew of 360.
41:21The ship is scheduled for commissioning in 2026.
41:25She will carry Marines into combat, support amphibious operations, serve in both Atlantic and Pacific theaters.
41:33A fitting legacy for the man who commanded 158 feet of steel and saved everyone aboard.
41:40The 120 rockets on LCS-122 never exploded.
41:46The fire never reached them.
41:48McCool's crew kept water flowing, kept the flames back, gave their captain time to rescue the trapped sailors, gave themselves
41:56time to survive.
41:58Those rockets represented instant death for 65 men.
42:02They sat 30 feet from flames for 40 minutes, but they never detonated.
42:06Sometimes survival comes down to 30 feet.
42:09Sometimes it comes down to one man willing to enter fire when his lung has already collapsed.
42:15Sometimes it comes down to a crew that refuses to abandon their ship, even when abandoning makes sense.
42:22McCool saved 300 lives in 24 hours.
42:2512 men died under his command.
42:28He carried those 12 names until the day he died.
42:31That's the weight of command.
42:33That's the cost of heroism.
42:35That's what the Medal of Honor means.
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42:53Stories about young officers who saved crews with courage and leadership.
42:57Real people.
42:58Real heroism.
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