to 11 January. The French Indochina coast next received its share of attention, with Japanese shipping and coastal installations feeling the might of the American naval air arm. Then, moving northward against virtually no opposition from Japanese planes or ships, the task group aircraft bombed Hong Kong and Hainan Island. Monsoon and typhoon-type winds and seas buffeted the group on the 17th and 18th, with Trathens inclinometer registering a staggering 67 degrees from the vertical at the height of the storm. 1945 After leaving the South China Sea through the Balintang Channel, Trathen and her mates participated in more strikes against Taiwan and in raids on Sakishima Gunto which served Japan as a staging area for the kamikazes. In the course of her plane-guarding duties, Trathen steamed astern of Hancock (CV-19) on 21 January and witnessed the detonation of a Grumman TBF Avenger as it landed hard on the flight deck. One man was blown overboard by the explosion, but Trathen soon fished him from the water. Following the strikes on Okinawa, Trathen got underway from Ulithi on 10 February to support carrier operations between Iwo Jima and the Japanese home islands. Six days later, TF 58 commenced the first strikes against Tokyo launched from 150 miles south east of the Imperial city. After a night retirement, the group conducted further strikes the next day. With the landings at Iwo Jima, Trathen arrived in the vicinity on the 20th and screened the carriers as they conducted air strikes for the next four days supporting the American marines fighting for that fanatically defended island. The force swept north with Trathen in its screen and arrived at a point off Tokyo at dawn on the 25th to launch strikes to hit the Japanese capital again. That night, the carriers steamed in the direction of Nagoya, but heavy weather cancelled the strikes scheduled to be launched against that industrial city on the 26th. While in Japanese waters, Trathen and her division mates sighted a number of floating mines. The destroyer herself sank one with gun fire on 27 February. Following availability at Ulithi, Trathen returned to the "front lines" on 14 March, rendezvousing with TG 58.4 in preparations for air strikes on the Japanese home islands and on Okinawa. Temporarily detached to pick up a downed pilot, the destroyer rejoined the group as it plowed on towards Japan. She later sank several more