cleared the topside of Marines and Sailors thus saving many lives. For his heroism and quick thinking he was given the Type 94, Nambu pistol (SN 58787) the Japanese pilot was carrying. The pistol was made in August 1944. PO1 Perry fabricated a box of plywood and shipped it to John O. Perry in Compton, CA. It has been very difficult to track down the squadron and pilot who flew the Ki-61 Hein striking the Hinsdale on that fateful morning. It is known that seven Type 3 fighters (Tonys/Hein) of the Hiko 67 Sentai sortied from Ishigakijima toward the seas around Okinawa that morning; but many records have been lost. Limited power was finally restored through an auxiliary diesel; the dangerous list to port of 13 degrees corrected; the ship taken in tow by ATR-80 at an agonizing 5 knots, for Kerama Retto, some 20 miles away. Emergency repair work began immediately amidst continued kamikaze attacks; Hinsdale exacted some revenge by assisting in the kill of at least two of the suicide craft. Her cargo, mainly equipment and stores needed by the Marines was shifted to , and then Hinsdale was pressed into service as a receiving ship for survivors of other kamikaze victims. On 14 April she departed Kerama Rotta, towed by in a convoy of LSTs. Sailing slowly the convoy reached Ulithi 23 April; there Hinsdale, after a month of intensive work by repair ship , was ready for sea, and on 20 May sailed for the States. Operation "Magic Carpet" Hinsdale put into the Brooklyn Navy Yard 2 July 1945 for a complete overhaul. While she was there undergoing repairs, the Japanese surrendered, but Hinsdale was destined to make one last Pacific voyage. Departing 21 November, to participate in operation "Magic Carpet," the return of Pacific veterans, she sailed via Pearl Harbor to Sasebo and Nagasaki, embarked over a thousand troops and reached San Francisco 24 January 1946. Thence she sailed to Norfolk Navy Yard arriving 20 February, was decommissioned 8 April 1946, returned to the Maritime Commission for disposal 12 April, and her name stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1 May 1946. Hinsdale was subsequently placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet and was berthed in the James River near Norfolk. Fate In 1955 Hinsdale was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet as part of a Repair Program, GAA-Stockard, and then returned. On 16 July 1974