Tag Archives: Roberts

Shafter C. McAdams, Jr., RM3C

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We received news from Shafter’s granddaughter in January 2024, who shared information with us about her grandad:

Hello! My name is Lakisha McAdams. I’m the granddaughter of a radarman Shafter Claude McAdams Jr, who was a survivor of the USS Samuel B. Roberts DE-413. While my grandfather passed away  […] in 2000, I’ve collected some of his war memorabilia that I thought you might be interested to know about! I found your website regarding the survivors association. I have attached a newspaper article from our hometown that was written after he returned home from the war. I have also included a picture of him in his naval uniform as well as a photograph of a silver plate he received from his time in the service that is inscribed with a photo of the USS Samuel B. Roberts DE-413. It’s really cool to have this piece of history in my home and be able to share it with my kids and others, as I know they have just recently discovered the wreckage of the destroyer, making it the deepest shipwreck found in history.

Thank you so much for sharing, Lakisha!

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Book: For Crew and Country: The Inspirational True Story of Bravery and Sacrifice Aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts by John Wukovits

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For Crew and Country: The Inspirational True Story of Bravery and Sacrifice Aboard the USS Samuel B. RobertsNew book forthcoming on the history of the Samuel B. Roberts by acclaimed author John Wukovits

In For Crew and Country, John Wukovits tells of the most dramatic naval battle of the Pacific War and the incredible sacrifice of the USS Samuel B. Roberts.

On October 25, 1944, the Samuel B. Roberts, along with the other twelve vessels comprising its unit, stood between Japan’s largest battleship force ever sent to sea and MacArthur’s transports inside Leyte Gulf. Faced with the surprise appearance of more than twenty Japanese battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, including the Yamato, at 70,000 tons the most potent battlewagon in the world, the 1,200-ton Samuel B. Roberts turned immediately into action with six other ships. Captain Copeland marked the occasion with one of the most poignant addresses ever given to men on the edge of battle: “Men,” he said over the intercom, “we are about to go into a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected.”

The ship churned straight at the enemy in a near-suicidal attempt to deflect the more potent foe, allow the small aircraft carriers to escape, and buy time for MacArthur’s forces. Of 563 destroyers constructed during WWII, the Samuel B. Roberts was the only one sunk, going down with guns blazing in a duel reminiscent of the Spartans at Thermopylae or Davy Crockett’s Alamo defenders. The men who survived faced a horrifying three-day nightmare in the sea, where they battled a lack of food and water, scorching sun and numbing nighttime cold, and nature’s most feared adversary—sharks.

The battle would go down as history’s greatest sea clash, the Battle of Samar—the dramatic climax of the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Buy the book For Crew and Country: The Inspirational True Story of Bravery and Sacrifice Aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts on Amazon.com