Daly (DD 519) - Naval Cruise Book

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II I. II II I I II Il as .I fl I II I I I .44 -v+- I I I I I I I I I . I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 I I I II I I4 II lv I I I I I I I F ifty-six Her Adventures fcontinuedj I ' I I Convoy-Invasion Fleet Okinawa Bound The days between the 12th and 27th of March were spent in intense drills and practices. Once again, the old hands told the newer men that something tbig' was coming soon. The crew had not long to wait. At the appointed time, the Captain called all hands to the fantail. We assembled, trying to guess where the next cstepping stone, was to be. Captain Bradley appeared shortly, charts in hand, and proceeded to fbrief' us on what to be alert for and what to expect on this next operation. I THE ASSAULT AND OCCUPATION OF OKINAWA SHIMA April 1-Easter Sunday-a day of the year for which we used to dress up in our finest for the Easter parade. This time, our parade was much more impressive. A mighty United States invasion fleet was striking at a strong J ap- anese base-a base close to Japan itself, ideal for future o-perations by our air and surface forces. The DALY was a busy lady in this operation. She started off with a bom- bardment of the invasion beach and then supported the landing of our troops. Late the same day, a group of enemy planes were sighted, approaching from overland. One dived for the DALY from dead ahead, but our gunners were far too deadly to allow any damage. The plane was mortally wounded and crashed into the water, 25 yards astern. Another J ap had joined his ancestors with-the assistance of the DALY. X There were many assignments for night illuminations, fire-support and screening activities, as well as numerous air attacks during the following 20 days. On the 21st of April, the DALY moved out to the radar picket line, in charge of a lighter-director team, using a covering air patrol. Under the direc- tion of the DALY, this C.A.P. accounted for five more Jap planes before she was relieved on the 25th of April, to refuel. On the 27th, she was headed back to- tl1e picket line, this time to a dif- ferent position, with another fighter-director team. The 519 arrived on station just as unidentified planes approached the area. It was a clear, dark night and . U , enemy planes were plentiful. Some approached the formation but were driven off by heavy gunfire. The next day-the 28th-broke with perfect weather and the eve1'-pres- ent danger of an attack. The C.A.P., directed by the DALY, accounted for 25 I

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. .:..?!neg',4,' I , Supporting Carrier Action at Iwo this before, so theirs were not letters of new descriptions. They were busy train- ing the newer members of the crew into an efficient operating group, an organ- ization that could best handle the proud lady who was once again their home. A minimum of time was spent in refueling and reprovisioning, for she was needed to do her part once again in another Gstepping-stone' operation against the enemy, the Japs. The DALY left Hawaii on 3 February. The days were busy with gen- eral and emergency drills, all resulting in a better-polished crew, capable of acting quickly and accurately. We entered Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, in the afternoon of the 12th for refueling and fresh provisions. ' ASSAULT AND OCCUPATICN OF IWO JIMA i Once again, the DALY'S departure was not delayed. She left Saipan the next day, on the 13th, headed for Iwo Jima as part of a screening unit for a carrier task force destined to give the .laps on Iwo much trouble. The force reached its operating area on 16 February. The DALY'S duty was as a screening unit against submarine or aircraft attack on the carriers which were furnishing the planes for harassing and bombing the ,laps on Iwo, as well as being an air cover for our ground troops. Many times ,lap planes were reported in the area, but not until early evening of the 21st did any of them come close to our group. An undetermined number of enemy planes attacked the formation, flying close to- the water. The first target fired on by uthe 5I9's guns burst into flames and 'splashed' on the starboard quarter. Two more fassistslwere scored against the attacking suiciders. One of the escort carriers was mortally wounded by a kamikaze. She was the Bismarck Sea, burning fiercely, with many internal explosions. Her crew abando-ned ship when it was seen that her plight was hopeless. The 519 and five other escorting ships were assigned to aid in the rescue of survivors. Here was a renewal for these old salts, and a new, eye-opening epoch for those who were cgreen hands' such a short time before. The many drills, exer- cises and practices all had a much more definite meaning, now, and showed their worth beyond any doubt. They were more ready for what lay ahead of them, more grim and much more determined. Here was the dirty, sickening, bitter war, right in their laps. The 8th of March found the DALY en route to Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands-old stamping grounds for ofthe 5I9 . ' F ifty-five

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Her Adventures fcontinuedj n A , kills and 12 more probables. During the late afternoon, a large group of enemy planes dropped from the clouds in a suicidal attack on the formation. Our portside. guns and main battery splashed two. A minute later, the starboard bat- tery splashed another. The fourth, attacking from starboard, burst into flames, lost its wing and crashed with a large bomb which exploded 25 yards off the port side. This plane hada heavy bomb, and, when the J ap hit thewater, death and destruction hit the 665197 The shrapnel tore and ripped the ship and wounded many of her crew., Immediately following this, the fifth plane came in from astern, but .was asplashedn by the fantail gun at some distance. Five minutes of furious action-one plane a minutetshot down-and three men killed and many wounded. The DALY was injured and forced to retire after she was relieved, by another destroyer. The other ship, in. company with the DALY during the ,quick and costly attack, scored one splash and took a suicider into her bow. fThis ship was later sunk by suicide planes, near the end Mo-f the Okinawa campaignlf The two destroyers made their way back to the 'base under their own power. During the entire trip the sky was lit by tracers, but the Nips left the 519 alone. . .. After transferring her dead for burial, and her seriously wounded for further treatment, the 519 proceeded to the, repair base. A The repairs to the DALY were done efficiently and quickly by members of her crew and of the crew from the repair ship. The two units worked as one, against time, making sure the job was done right, for there was more fight- ing to be done. Many times during those nine days enemy planes approached the area, and work was halted only long enough to man the battle-stations until the fall clear was sounded. . On the 12th of May, the 519 cast off .her mooring lines and reported for duty, again ready for whatever might come. First to hit the DALY was an ava- lanche of mail. Sixty-four bags of mail means plenty for all and enough to keep everyone busy. The second day, the mailmen was still sorting the mail. Where morale had been good before, it now rose to a new high. This was what the crew had been looking for - from those at home. V On the 16th of May, we got under way from our anchorage to proceed to an anti-sub patrol station southeast of Okinawa. Q . , Steaming Out to Radar Picket Duty Fifty seven