Louisville (CA 28) - Naval Cruise Book

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OUR 1NcEssAN'r drive against the Japanese Outer Empire had swung into a series of climactic punches. Palau had opened the door to mighty air strikes against the Philippines, Formosa and other strategic Jap possessions. We were on the brink of one of the greatest battles of the Pacific war. Admiral Halsey took his fast carriers o11 exploratory strikes not only to destroy enemy installations but to confirm the reported distribution of principal Jap con- centrations. We were planning multiple landings to start at Mindanao, when Ad- miral Halsey returned from his sweep of the China Sea. His report changed the entire course of the war-Leyte was the open door, not Mindanao. We could strike immediately at that island, thus cutting months from our war eyte calendar. Washington was notified, high commands made the decisiong plans were changed. Headquarters' officers worked night and day for two weeks re-mapping the operation. Leyte was on the way. Meanwhile we of the Louisville were catching up with a little rest and recrea- tion at Manus. We relaxed our bodies on the beaches, but could not drag our active. minds from the driving aggression of the war. We knew the importance of this next offensive and that it would be one of the toughest we had yet faced. The Philip- pines were the heart of the Jap Outer Empiref, By taking them we could sever vital life-lines between Japan and her rich Southern holdings. But most important of all, we would betaking a staging area for the all-out battle for the Homeland itself. Natives, principally feminine, paddled out to our ship to barter and sell to sailors. 137

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138 Then came the news of Admiral Hal- sey's discovery and the plans of an early advance. The ship buzzed with excitement. October 12, 1944, the veteran Lady Lou gathered her fighting crew around her for the initial onslaught against the Philip- pines. lt was becoming af personal war. We were going to avenge the deaths of those who had fought and died on Cor- regidor and Bataan. This was our land and the ,lap could not stop us. As we neared Leyte Gulf a typhoon struck with such violence that carriers were unable to launch aircraft. It was feared that pre-landing bombardments might be postponed until skies cleared and the sea calmed. It was a moment of great decision. Then the storm exhausted its fury, and the treacherous Philippine Sea settled. Out of the calm came the sight of land-our land. To gain entrance to Leyte Gulf and the Eastern beaches on the island itself, we had to pass between two ,lap-held island bastions, Suluan and Homohon. That ob- stacle was quickly overcome, however, when the army's First Cavalry Division stormed ashore to take both positions. We sailed safely into forbidding Leyte Gulf with our spotting planes ranging ahead of the ship to watch for floating mines. Aerial reconnaissance had been thorough and perfect. Our bombardment charts had been rushed to us by special plane-pic tures that had been taken only hours be- fore we opened fire on the beach defenses. We cruised back and forth before the town of Dulag, searching for targets well camouflaged. 0ur observation planes roved far inland searching for troop concentra- tions without success. However, one of our pilots did spot a column of ,lap cavalry moving down a mountain road, and made a bombing run on them. He radioed back, '6Nip cavalry now dismountedf, Our next job was to stand by as pro- tection for the Underwater Demolition Teams who swam near the beach to remove anti-boat defenses. This dangerous work is done by highly-trained swimmers. They were all steel-nerved volunteers, the elite of the amphibious forces. Under the very muzzles of beach pillboxes, the demolition men attached dynamite to anti-boat mines, concrete pillars, barbed wire entanglements, steel pilings, and coral reefs. During our second day of bombardment, one of the small boats operating with the teams was shot up by a well-hidden Jap gun. Almost before the Louisville could silence the enemy offender, two of the demolition crew were brought aboard for treatment in sick bay., One of them died and was buried in the waters of Leyte Gulf--the same water in which he had so heroically performed his last duty. Though we found few targets on the beach, we were constantly on the alert for J ap planes, most of which held just out of firing range. However, all were not so dis- creet, for early in the operation a ,lap 'cVal,' suddenly appeared out of nowhere in a dive on our formation. The ,lapis presence was not detected until his plane unaccountably disintegrated in midair, about 1,000 yards forward of the Louis- ville. The plane's engine struck the water a few yards from a nearby destroyer, while the enemyas bomb plunged into the sea 600 yards off our port bow. It was on AU Day morning, as we were resuming our systematic destruction of shore installations, that a dive bomber slipped in over the formation. Louisville lookouts were the first to spot him, and