of 4 May was bright, clear, and ominous. At 07:15 the combat air patrol was called on to stop a force of about 25 planes headed toward Morrison, but some got through. The first attack on Morrison, a main target as fighter-director ship, was a suicide run by a "Zeke". The plane broke through heavy flak to drop a bomb which splashed off the starboard beam and exploded harmlessly. Next a "Val" and another "Zeke" followed with unsuccessful suicide runs. About 08:25 a "Zeke" approached through intense antiaircraft fire to crash into a stack and the bridge. The blow inflicted heavy casualties and knocked out most of the electrical equipment. The next three planes, all old twin-float biplanes, maneuvered, despite heavy attack, to crash into the damaged ship. With the fourth hit, Morrison, heavily damaged, began to list sharply to starboard. Few communication circuits remained intact enough to transmit the order to abandon ship. Two explosions occurred almost simultaneously, the bow lifted into the air, and by 08:40 Morrison had plunged beneath the surface. The ship sank so quickly that most men below decks were lost, a total of 152. In July 1957 the sunken hull of Morrison was donated, along with those of some 26 other ships sunk in the Ryukyus area to the Government of the Ryukyu Islands for salvage.Morrison received eight battle stars for World War II service. References Brown, David. Warship Losses of World War Two.'' Arms and Armour, London, Great Britain, 1990. . External links USS Morrison website navsource.org: USS Morrison hazegray.org: USS Morrison Survivors perspectives on ''Morrison'''s Sinking Morrison (DD-560) Ships built in Seattle World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean 1943 ships Morrison (DD-560) Ships sunk by kamikaze attack Maritime incidents in May 1945 Destroyers sunk by aircraft Naval magazine explosions