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Battle off Samar

Discussion in 'What Granddad did in the War' started by gq_johnnie, Oct 25, 2013.

  1. gq_johnnie

    gq_johnnie recruit

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    Today is the 69th anniversary of this epic fight! My dad is 87 now, he was 18 then. He was on the USS Johnston as it charged the Japanese central fleet repeatedly and with a few other small ships protected MacArthur and the tiny flattops supporting the landings. When the Johnston's bridge was knocked out, the captain, Ernest E Evans, went back to the aft steering room where my dad and another sailor manually steered the ship while Capt Evans barked down directions. When the ship was finally sunk, my dad spent 52 hours in the ocean, watching friends get attacked by sharks or swim away never to be seen again. He eventually found a raft and pulled in 8 other survivors.

    God bless the Greatest Generation!
     
  2. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    You speak much of the truth. Do a Search in the forums for Samar to find more threads about this. I would recommend Tin Can Sailors for the uninitiated.
     
  3. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Please extend to your father my humblest regards.

    The men of the Johnston certainly earned their pay that day. I have read of the heroics of your father and his crewmates in books such as Lou mentioned above. The Last Stand of Tin Can Sailors is a great book

    The men of the USS Johnston, what a mighty crew!
     
  4. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    gq_johnnie and Slipdigit like this.
  5. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    Forgot about the 500kb limit. Here's page 2:
     

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  6. gq_johnnie

    gq_johnnie recruit

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    Thanks for the views of the report!
     
  7. George Patton

    George Patton Canadian Refugee

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    Thanks for the reminder. The defense of Taffy 3 was certainly one of the bravest naval actions during the war.

    There was another member on here whose father was a Johnson survivor as well. I think he joined about a year ago. If I recall correctly, he said his father was one of the last men off the ship.
     
  8. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Thanks Tommy. I'm not a member of Fold3, so reading this was both exciting and informative. Certainly both the Johnson and Gambier Bay deserve both our attention and remembrance.
     
  9. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    No problem, Lou. If you'd ever like info on a ship just send me a PM.

    Navsource.org has some great photos of the Gambier Bay during the Battle off Samar. At the same time, it is very sobering when one thinks of what the crew was going through when those photos were taken.
     
  10. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    I've seen the Navsource pictures. Very sobering.

    Thanks for the offer, Tom. I appreciate it.
     

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