"Val" which tried to crash into . Though she claimed no kill, Waters antiaircraft battery was probably instrumental in deflecting that kamikazes aim and causing him to miss his target by a mere . Over the four days before the landings, she screened the "old" battleships while they softened up Okinawa's defenses and supported UDT reconnaissance missions and demonstrations along the Okinawa coastline. Late on the 31st, she joined Tractor Group "Fox" to cover its approach to the beaches on the following morning. During the first week of the assault, she conducted patrols off those same beaches. On 6 April, she teamed up with to splash a "Betty". Early that evening, a kamikaze crashed Morris, and Waters rushed to her assistance, helping to control the fires that blazed on board the destroyer for two hours. Two days later, Waters entered Kerama Retto for fuel and to await reassignment. The following day, she received orders to screen Mine Squadron (MinRon) 3 and, for the remainder of the month, supported minesweeping operations. On 3 May, she took up familiar duty protecting the transport area from submarines, but that assignment proved to be a brief one. The following day, she joined the escort of a Ulithi-bound convoy. On 6 May, she and were diverted to Leyte Gulf, where they arrived on the 8th. There, they picked up a convoy of LSTs and shepherded them back to Okinawa, arriving on the 15th. After four days at Okinawa—punctuated by frequent Japanese air attacks, she departed once again in the escort of a convoy bound for Saipan. The fast transport reached her destination on 24 May, underwent repairs, and shifted to Guam on 5 June to unload her UDT equipment. From Guam, she moved to Ulithi for another week of repairs from 6 to 13 June. On 17 June, the warship returned to Okinawa with another convoy and, after two days at Kerama Retto, cleared the Ryukyus for the last time. During this voyage, which ultimately took her home, she fired her last shot in anger on 24 June when she dropped a barrage of depth charges on an underwater sound contact. Following the attack, she lost contact and continued on her way. After stops at Saipan, Eniwetok, and Pearl Harbor, the warship finally hauled into San Pedro, California, on 21 July. Soon after her arrival, she began an extensive overhaul at the Western Steel &