DAVID MURDOCK COLUMN: On the Fourth of July, 2022
When I was 9 years old, Mom and Dad took me to visit the battleship U.S.S. Alabama. That visit to the “Lucky A” made quite the impression on me. Since then, I’ve read a lot about battleships in general and the naval war in the Pacific during World War II. In fact, I have a “dream itinerary” of museum ships from World War II to visit, if I ever have the time and money.
Lately, a couple of things concerning the naval war in the Pacific caught my attention. First, a review of a new biography prompted me to order the book almost immediately. Written by Paul Stilwell, it’s about Vice Adm. Willis Lee, one of the least-known American commanders of the Pacific War, probably because he was our foremost expert in battleship warfare.
Since aircraft carriers became the primary naval warship during World War II, battleship commanders were not quite as lauded as carrier commanders like Fleet Adm. William Halsey. Lee was Halsey’s battleship force commander during one of the most fascinating naval battles of the Pacific War, the Battle of Samar Island. That battle is not as well-known as others of the time, such as the Battle of Midway, but the best account of the battle — “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors” by James D. Hornfischer — has become one of my favorite reads.
Hornfischer’s book engagingly tells the story of a U.S. Navy naval task force codenamed “Taffy 3,” composed of escort aircraft carriers and destroyers, supporting the U.S. invasion of the Philippines. Escort carriers were small aircraft carriers commonly referred to as “jeep carriers” by their crews, and destroyers are small surface combatants that protected larger ships and were commonly referred to as “tin cans.”
During the battle, the Japanese lured Adm. Halsey and his force of large carriers and battleships away to engage a force of Japanese carriers while a group of Japanese battleships and cruisers targeted the U.S. landing forces. Undetected, the Japanese force encountered “Taffy 3” with an overwhelmingly superior fleet. To put it into perspective, the largest Japanese ship involved, the battleship Yamato, was larger in terms of tonnage than the ENTIRE American task force, and a single hit from one of her main guns would have decimated any of our ships.
So, the American ships did the only thing they could … they attacked. The “tin cans” attacked the Japanese battleships and cruisers with such fury that the Japanese commander believed he was facing a force of American battleships and cruisers instead and retreated. Not without inflicting major damage on “Taffy 3,” though. Five American ships were sunk.
One of the American ships sunk that day was the U.S.S. Samuel B. Roberts, a small destroyer escort. Along with her sister ships, she made a heroic attack against the Japanese force before succumbing, though, heavily damaging two much larger Japanese cruisers. Her attack was so devastatingly intense that she’s legendary in the U.S. Navy and has become known as “the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship.” I’ve seen that description repeated so many times that I’ve never been able to track down exactly who said it first.
Recently, the wreck of the “Sammy B.,” as her crew affectionately nicknamed her, has been located. She is now the deepest shipwreck to have ever been discovered. Some of the other ships involved in the battle — most notably the destroyer U.S.S. Johnston — have also been discovered in the last few years.
Adm. Willis Lee is linked to the Battle of Samar, even though he and the battleships he commanded were not present. Chasing the Japanese carriers used as bait, Adm. Halsey briefly considered leaving Lee’s force of battleships behind near Samar to guard against just such a move by the Japanese. He eventually decided that a Japanese attack was unlikely and that his carriers needed the battleships in support. However, that possible “battleship versus battleship” duel has become one of the great “What if?” scenarios discussed and debated by naval historians. And … the U.S.S. Alabama was one of the battleships under Lee’s command that day.
I think Adm. Lee’s battleships would have annihilated the Japanese battleships in that hypothetical battle. However, on paper, the U.S. Navy shouldn’t have won the Battle of Samar Island at all, even if it was a situation where we won that battle by not losing it. So, I’m looking forward to reading Stilwell’s biography of Adm. Lee to find out what he thinks.
The connection between the Battle of Samar and the Fourth of July is not explicit — there is no obvious reason to link the two. However, there’s a link for me. On paper, we shouldn’t have won the American Revolution, either. The British forces arrayed against us were entirely overwhelming. But we won. To me, it has to do with the American spirit. That spirit is fully on display in such places as Lexington and Concord … and Samar Island.
The best representation of that spirit at Samar is an anonymous quote. As one flabbergasted American sailor watched the larger, better armed Japanese fleet sail away, he was heard to say — and I’m paraphrasing the somewhat salty actual quote — “They’re getting away.” With pluck like that, you can’t lose.
Happy Fourth of July.
More David Murdock: On prices (and it's not just old folks griping)
David Murdock is an English instructor at Gadsden State Community College. He can be contacted at murdockcolumn@yahoo.com. The opinions reflected are his own.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: David Murdock links July 4, WWII battle
