Samuel N Moore (DD 747) - Naval Cruise Book

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Q , www ff sk Force, in an unprededented maneuver, commenced transit of, t, VAQNI CHQN EL, entering the South Chine See, hitherto the privegeuL domein of the Emptror. The force steamed southwerd undetedted across the China Sea, and effected complete surprise when th carriers struck herd against the eirfi ing in Onhhilh BAY, in IVDO-CHINAM and Coast on the l2th of Jenuery. Three d egein, this time from the west, and on HONG KONG, LMQY, and SWATOH areas with - Then on the l7th, operetions were dftyphoon, of lesser violence than the royers off LUZQN on the leth of Decemb the typhoon struck over twenty pilots Mgnnn on their way to carriers. They the enemy over his own airfielus and w e planes from the THIRD FLEWT ei-as on ones vnnniil and ship blasted ships along the CHIN ays ister they nit ronnosl ti the following dey rocked the their bombs. , discontinued temporarily as one which hed sunk the dest er, gripped the force. when were eboerd the SAMUEL N. ' were the men who had fought od. The destroyer was roll- ing nearly fifty degrees, and the fliers, who were used to the relatively steady deck of an aircraft carrier, called it the rough- est ride they hed ever had- or hoped to have., The destroyer men, hardened to the pitching and tossing of the Wtin oann, helped the flyers Q some of whom weie sensick 7 es much as they could. They felt they owed them something, even es every American owed then something for the job they were doing. The pilots, too, held the who mdnned th' buciing Htin censh n C . .Q Q2 4.1. J , the Hcensn who braved alone the enemy in some esteem, for it was waters to be there to pick them out of'me Pacific if they went down. Pilots and destroyer W sailors get along quite well. After the typhnen hed abated the force steamed through BALIN- TANG'dVANNEL out of the CHINA snr, while the Jape, who tried to stop the, dropped fleming into the see. As they entered the Pace ific on the 2lst of Jenuary still more strikes were made against FORMOSA, end on the following day OKI! ILWL JIMA WGS btt5CKSQ- , 'On the 26th theSAMUEL N, MOORE was again in ULITHI, and on the 27th was placed under the tecticel command of Admiral SPRUANCE, and famous TjQK FQRCE 58. von the lOth of February the SAMUEL F. MOORE steamed northward in the greatest task force in the historyl of the world, in the screen of TASK GRQUP 58.1. i M Five deys later, on February l5, were filled with plenes from gnerican RAY felt the blast of nmerictn explosives, SHG the Emperor's Pele shuddered from the tremor of American elirdled skyward from the Japanese capitnl. TASK FORCE 58 st through mine infested wnters, shooting uown the Jupanes plane Agget ettecked it, and dispatching swiftly, with well placed f v few small enemy vessels it encountered as it cruised bac Ofbh Ofi the coast of the enemy's homeland. The strikes cont with full vialence until the 19th and upward to the flaming skies, United 3 completed e lending on e strategic li , and the bloody beetle for en successful in divertin, t the so M58 had 1945, the skies over TOKYO cerriers. The ships in bombs, as smoke end flame s , es the eyes of RAPAN l tutes Marines successfully ttle iSlUHQ some eco mil IWO JIML had begun. T6 he attentiun of the mill

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gn the 7th the SAMUEL N MOGRE joined the remainder of her vaadron C Destroyer Squadron 615 in the screen of TASh GROUP 38 n four days liter, as a unlt of T G 38.1, saw strikes launched agalnst enemy shlpplng in ORMOC BAY, in the PHILIPPINVS On the 11th ard lhth the force struck central and southern LUZON, and on the 19th Mlppopg a well, felt th brunt of the carrler based air ett or f fble attempts t let ll tlon were swiftly dispatche by the guns nd lxtrpid alrmen oi the powerful Task Force. The Zhth of November found t e group ste mlng ln to anchor at ULITHI, wn re rep lrs nd ovelhauls were continued until the lOth of the Iollowlrg month, wn n the MQWQ wlth part of T Sh PROUU 38 steamed out ior further 8CtlOH The n vt dey the shlp holned the remainder of TASI PVCT' 38 e anc he ded for the war torn Phlllp pine watfrs L Ol W S L t red by d y by Hell ats, Helldlvers, an pveng r , und t hlght t QAVU 1 O RE, with three other destroy rs, WOl7G e colt the light carrler IIDV Prplygr, out of thg qaln T h Proup to op 1 te lndependently, launching night fl h ers to heck e th en my through the hours of eerhness The air lields th t dotted LUZOI w re Ilt eg ln 1nd eg ln, keeplng grounde Ol d stroylng tk J pane e llenfs, whlle our ground forces landed on th be ches of IIVDKPO only after the larLHJ,s had been successfully 8CCOmpllSh6d W the force ciugnt ln the n w oi a tropical typhoon th t was able to do wh t the Teps could ot stop our offenslve operftlons strucl 1t tll when the shlps were about to fuel, nd B6fOlG the fury of the st lh had b te ny ol the de troyers hed Just abou exhausted trelr fu l supply Elg carllers, like the WISP and the HUPVVW, were t llng OllQ water over thelr fllght decks forward, bettl skins nd crulscrs were dar.ged, and thlee destrolers went down The S, TCE s nk only e wort dlstanoe from the SAMUWL N M0 TF and w s not efn to YO down The ships were IOlIlHg so bad that even the oper tlon of rec r wes lnpalred Of thehyndreds wx m nned the rll fated de troyers, only 8h were picked up during the s-arch thft th- more fortun te DD's made durlng the next few days Th6 Use JVLL, wlth th most men s ved of eny of the s nk-n shlps, c'rr1ed to the bottom ill but 53 of her crew of approxlm tely 275 men Tre Log,H tool part lH a search for Iurthel survlvors, but without sueeefs Of the crew oi the USQ LOhPGhlN only sir men su, vived Th f st, llght ClTllLTS, OO'PFVp and LONE HEY, were bud be-t n by the storm, and reny plenes from all the CHTll6TS would fight no more, h vlng been washed into the sea The see more powerful then the wo Ks of m n h-d sent the fle t limping beck t port On the dey before Christmas, the 7 7 once geln d op ed ancho ln the lwgoon t ULITKI on Chrl tmas day the wo.K of readylng th ships for combat w-s in full SWlHg ter takes no holldays On th 30th, the SAMUEL V NQQLE was once egain underway, this tlme as a member of TASK GROTP 33 l v On the 3rd and hth days of January l9L5, the force StFU0K thi enemy stronghold of Formosa. Then, on the 6th end 7th, the alr- fields end enemy shipping in the eree eround LUWON end MANILA werf shateered, The 9th sew the planes of TASK FORCE 33 bldiigng FOHMC again, supporting the troops going shore on LUZON et Life Yen Gulf as they had supported the assault of nlntono. on the same day, the

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3u4Ul'3r N t 16 I H JAPQN d'in doinv no little amount of damage tg thQ,,g Egggr ofThs sodrggwcs phenogenally lop-sided, for svery ship fhsiEk had gsnetratcd the henrt of dnsensny's umpire otbdmbd OHL to fi again. r s , On the-1 21st, was snatfzzt N. Moons and Q sister snip, uns oss BLUE, received orders to proceed to lWO JIMA to pick up QVlQ?1QB personnel from the Tosh force who had been rescued sfter tneir planes had bcen shot down during tne dny's rains. The two dest- royers sighted The little islsnu wnsn twsnty miles sway, end the smoke of battle GOHfi oc scan iri ting into the afternoon sky. As they neared the 2131, 13, fl LL of gqnfirs und the streeks of ron sts shone brightly against tht brown of thc volcanic S011 of SWQB MOUNT SURAB,CHT who ?,itt1ig plane like 0 massive pillbox, nn e flag of the E sin, but :till iiex evsr it. The destroyers sccompl ished their mission in the gitlsring dusk, and st 1900 get underway to rejoin their Thor sre'p. ns they stecnsd nlone ,nd st high spot ,cross the choppy sci gggy ff'T tix island, they coEldJsss tns AA fiyc Jf tha Qld o,1tltsnios Jiien were bombnrding 1 e npsneso pos itions on the touch, ms they rtpciled s dusk air attack. The blooc bottle for IJO h-u, l1Q,eC, begun. The war was close .o Llese two tiny ships QS they sliced into the darkness off thu :making hell thot wus IWO JIMn. They were olono in ddnanrous m:t,z- wnen they he IU reports that on enemy surface force was thought to ot in the vicinity. Their rendezvous was vogue, ss Tn?j LLWJL 53 wept Tertn to invtstignto the report. All that night the tau ,in 53t.I'S' pr-cms ripped into the surface of the ses, as they strcvs to re ,in their group in the search for battlc. It was en, J ,bt E313 1'l' in5 nirning before TASK GROUP S8 l eppedrnd evnr the herison. YJ unc regorts nod been correct, the Jcps HMG learned of the prqs-nee if TUSL FORCE 58, and had fled, for no en mg rhig ,ic ot Q QE Cwwich wus sunkj was discovered in the ores. On th. lat of March, the force ldunched strikes against OKIN JJWLJEEL, e'm lore in the d,v, tno S.IUZL N. MOORE, in company Wit! seven rihor .,stfeyer: or S,U.CRQ' 6lT, and three light cruisers, the '-ILT -EV 1, QV1, .uric left the Task Group. They Weis assigned tu ',i1l'e -nilf Luft ll- ions on OYINO DMITO JIMA, on isldnt it at mid ff bo1', 1 Ilipfsi end the VOLCANO GROUP. -They cpe: 4 fire, tug no tr enemy conoletsly by surprise, just after midnight. Tic il t-.- ine i'l4nd was dotted with fires when the bombsrc mint group at good off, noting sustained no damage to thsmsslvcs. After this forey, nmfgreup retirod to ULITHI, arriving on More nth. L ring the :toy tr UTT'V7 t' .-.. csrrier RANDOLPH was hit by a Japnnsse sdicids ,lane while lying qt anchor in the lagoon. The plan: rss provnnly frmn tvs enemy bose Lt YAP, loss than a hundred miles away. Other piines that attempted to lenve YAP Were quiCklJ destroyed! TnSK GROUB 58.1 , with ths IOORE ir its screen, formed once moro shi stsancd out of CLTTHI on the lhth, settingzicourss to the northwest. In four days it was off tHE enemy heme islend of KYUS sending sweeps in against bitter opposition. The surfoee force ,D, ,, lXThc USS MADDOX had been hit durinf the passage of BsffnTnNG CHANNI and had not yet rejoined the squs ron.D J, g - , . -- V- - f N --- --- Y---0 N-' - o -t' -- '- .I - - rw-my--is --'- ' -'11---4 ---v-.- - 'i .- -....,. 'Q VVYY - X ' '