During the battle of Leyte Gulf, one act of heroism surpasses all. After Halsey's Third Fleet was lured away from the entrance of the San Bernardino Strait to chase the last carriers in the Japanese fleet, a large task force of Japanese streamed straight through threatening the entire operation.
The force, comprised of 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 11 destroyers, and 4 battleships including the Yamato was a formidable foe. The Yamato itself was the largest battleship ever built and boasting the largest guns ever built and thick armor. Even when it sank, it took 11 torpedoes and 6 bombs to stop this enormous warship. All that stood in their way was a small task force of 6 escort carriers, 3 destroyers, and 3 destroyer escorts. The escort carriers themselves were never meant for battle and were considered sitting ducks while the destroyers' 5 inch guns could do relatively little to the much larger cruisers and battleships. The American force was doomed even from the beginning.
Despite this, as soon as Taffy 3 (the six carrier escorts) came under attack, the destroyers dived in to give cover for the vulnerable and slow ships. Hopefully, the escort carriers would be able to escape the pursuing force. But setting smoke, the commander of the USS Johnston, Earnest Evans, who would be awarded the medal of honor posthumously, ordered his destroyer to head for the enemy force. A single destroyer heading straight at the enemy force. He zigzagged and fired his 5 inch guns scoring over 45 hits on the heavy cruiser Kumano. When he finally got in range, he unleashed all ten of his torpedoes blowing the bow off of the Kumano and forcing other ships to turn away. Even though he was bracketed by fire from all sides, he continued to fire at the enemy ships inspiring other destroyers, planes, and ships to do the same. More than 400 planes launched from Taffy 1, 2, and 3 buzzed over the enemy ships dropping bombs, torpedoes, rockets, and anything they could get their hands on. Even when they ran out of ammunition then committed to making dry runs.
Eventually, the ship's steering was knocked out and they lost power to all 5 inch guns. Luckily, a small rain squall gave them the chance to recover and repair. As soon as his guns were repaired, he steamed right back into battle even though his speed was cut in half. He continued to land hits for hours forcing ships to believe that he was actually a cruiser. All around him he was surrounded yet continued on. The bridge was utterly destroyed and Commander Evans was forced to give orders orally by shouting down an open hatch. He was already injured during the destruction of the bridge yet continued to relay orders and push his men forward into battle. Finally, the Japanese were able to knock out his engines leaving the USS Johnston dead in the water. Instead of pursuing the escort carriers, the Japanese circled the crippled destroyer pouring rounds into its hull. Within 5 minutes, Commander Evans was forced to abandon ship. While men say that they watched him jump into the water, Evans was never seen again. As the survivors gathered in their lifeboats, a Japanese ship was rumored to have passed with its captain saluting her for her brave actions.
In the end, the overwhelming Japanese force lost 3 heavy cruisers while another three were seriously damaged. Meanwhile, the American force lost 2 escort carriers, two destroyers, and over 1500 dead. The USS Johnston was not the only ship to sacrifice themselves in the battle, the USS Hoel and Samual B. Roberts also were destroyed while protecting the escort carriers. The defense of the Americans was so ferocious that the Japanese believed that they were actually engaging the entire 3rd Fleet and all its carriers causing them to withdraw from the battle in defeat. The actions of Earnest Johnston earned him the Medal of Honor and his entire crew a Presidential Unit citation.
https://owlcation.com/humanities/World-War-2-History-Destroyer-USS-Johnston-Attacks-Battleships-and-Cruisers
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/uss-johnston-kamikazecaptain.html
http://destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/ussjohnston/
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