The Battle of Leyte Gulf, Part 8: The Battle off Samar

[@petepal55]

Commander Evans deserves more than the Medal of Honor. Hell, all the tin can skippers and their crews deserve more than mere medals. What they did was near-suicide, but absolutely necessary to save their comrades. It wasn't disastrous, it was heroic, they saved the surviving ships and the landings. Keep those uploads coming!

[@RenKnight347]

They fought like they were battleship class vessels and only with what they had to use.

[@mikearakelian6368]

Yep all of them are my hero's...medals don't reflect enough honors...

[@richardjohnson4365]

I read the Battle of Leyte when I was very young, this video brings back fond memories of reading it. Thank you, very well done!!!!

[@BuzzSargent]

You have a great voice for telling a fantastic story. Thanks for the words added by the sailors that were in the battle.

[@George_M_]

The battle that saved my grandfather, down in the gulf.

[@patreilly1458]

If you are ever in San Diego go to the Fish Market beside the USS Midway museum. There is a large statue of a sailor Kissing a woman. Just to the East of that statue there is a memorial to Taffy 3 with a list of the ships lost and all of the sailors names lost as well. It is worth the time to go and look this memorial up if you are in San Diego.

[@markmclaughlin2690]

My Father Kenneth McLaughlin served on CVE-73 USS Gambier Bay, ha passed in 1969 when I was 3

[@PanioloBee]

My father served on the USS Heermann (DD532) during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He told me he saw the Gambier Bay getting hit. His ship made a torpedo run on the Yamato. The torpedoes missed but they forced the Yamato to take evasive maneuvers which monumentally took the Yamato out of action. My father didn’t have any kind words about Halsey. He felt he left Taffy 3 unprotected. However, Taffy 3 turned the tide on the Japanese causing them to leave. The Japanese erroneously thought the Fletcher class destroyers were light cruisers. One error was the Japanese fired armor piercing shells which passed through the ship without exploding. One of Yamato’s shell passed through the bow of my dad’s ship destroying his bunk department. My dad said the Navy replaced his uniforms but not his jar of jawbreakers. I bet your dad’s ship had a favorite bar on Hotel Street in Honolulu. My dad’s ship did. My dad and I found his ship’s bar. Unfortunately the owner refurbished the bar. Sailors carved their name and ship on the wood. My dad has passed after serving in WWII, Korean War, and the Vietnam War. My brother and I served in the Vietnam War. Mom was a nervous wreck! 😂 If you want to find out more about your dad and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, try to go to the Pacific War Museum in Fredericksburg, TX. It has a room dedicated to that battle. I donated everything I had from my father to the museum. They are categorizing and digitizing everything on the Pacific War for future generations. You will enjoy the place. They also have a reenactment of an island landing that is interesting to witness. Sorry I made this too long of a read. Bless your father!

[@ronny2639]

Thank you for your vdo

[@harrymurphey2634]

.... there is no way to measure the courage in the hearts of the sailors of Taffy 3 that walked the decks and manned the guns ...