The U.S.S. ''Estes'' was positioned about two miles off-shore during the bombardment, and Admiral Blandy, being the old Gunnery type, kept ordering the captain to come in a little closer so he could "..see the whites of their eyes..". About the time we would be within a little less than a mile from the beaches, a battery of shore guns up on the side of Mount Surabachi would start taking pot-shots at us. Geysers of water would erupt on either side of the ship, and the voice of Vice Admiral Turner in overall charge of the campaign on the U.S.S. ''Mount McKinley'' — a sister ship to the USS ''Estes'', — would come in over the "TBS" ship to ship radio ordering Blandy to "..get your () out of there before you get it blown off!". We would then back off to a safe distance, only to have the same thing happen a few hours later.〔War journal of WO1 J.J. Dennis〕

"The bomb will not start a chain-reaction in the water converting it all to gas and letting the ships on all the oceans drop down to the bottom. It will not blow out the bottom of the sea and let all the water run down the hole. It will not destroy gravity. I am not an atomic playboy, as one of my critics labeled me, exploding these bombs to satisfy my personal whim."