to 26 October, Morrison operated off Luzon. On the 24th, she came to the aid of Princeton (CVL-23), badly damaged by a Japanese bomb, and picked up approximately 400 survivors in an hour and a half. The destroyer then pulled alongside Princeton to assist in fighting fire; she had just reached her position when the small aircraft carrier, drifting and rolling, wedged Morrison'''s mast and forward stack between her uptakes. Morrison managed to get clear and Birmingham (CL-62) took her place. Ten minutes later the after third of Princeton blew off. Not only did Birmingham suffer topside damage and heavy casualties, but Princeton was then so badly damaged she had to be sunk by torpedoes.Morrison debarked the Princeton survivors at Ulithi 27 October and got underway for the West Coast, via Pearl Harbor, in company with Irwin (DD-794) and Birmingham, arriving San Francisco, California, 17 November. On 9 February 1945 the destroyer steamed back to the South Pacific, stopping at Pearl Harbor on the 15th. Battle of Okinawa After shore bombardment exercises in the Hawaiian Islands, Morrison departed for Ulithi 3 March. By 21 March she had joined Task Force 54 (TF 54) underway to support the invasion of Okinawa. The destroyer arrived off the southern shores of Okinawa on the 25th, 7 days before the landings 1 April, and joined in the preparations of bombardment. In the early morning of 31 March she sank Japanese submarine I-8. After Stockton (DD-646) made a positive sound contact off Okinawa and expended her depth charges in the attack, Morrison arrived on the scene to see the submarine surface, then immediately submerge. She dropped a pattern of charges which seconds later forced the sub to the surface, where it was sunk by gunfire. At daylight Morrison's small boats rescued the lone survivor. The ship continued shore bombardment, night illumination, and screen operations off Ōshima Beach. On the night of 11 April Morrison assisted Anthony (DD-515) in illuminating and sinking enemy landing craft heading north along the beach. Three days later Morrison began radar picket duty. Her first two stations, southwest of Okinawa, were occasionally raided at night. She replaced Daly (DD-519) at the third station 28 April after the other destroyer was hit by a kamikaze. On 30 April Morrison was shifted to the most critical station on the picket line. After 3 days of bad weather had prevented air raids, the dawn