A movie is in the works. You can check out developments at SmallBoysTheMovie.com as well as The Battle Off Samar Squidoo site.
Tag Archives: Samar
Book: For Crew and Country: The Inspirational True Story of Bravery and Sacrifice Aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts by John Wukovits
New 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.
Film about the Sammy B and Battle off Samar in the works
From the Naval Historical Foundation:
We recently learned about a new film project being developed about the Battle off Samar. An independent group of filmmakers is working on a virtual recreation of this pivotal American victory in the Pacific during World War II – one of the great “upsets” in naval history. This ambitious project is currently in the research and development process, with a targeted shooting date of 2013.
Source: Naval Historical Foundation
DE 413 Survivors Association Newsletter May 2012
Stories
- USS Carr FFG 52 to be Decommissioned
- Veterans Walk of Honor
- Know your shipmates
- Mother’s Day tribute
- Author’s Corner
- Bud Comet Donates Model of DE 413 to Pacific War Museum
Full Newsletter: DE413 newsletter 201205
The Battle Off Samar – Taffy III at Leyte Gulf book (5th Edition) available
Friend Bob Cox, creator of the bosamar.com website, announces that the 5th edition of his “The Battle Off Samar – Taffy III at Leyte Gulf book is available for purchase. The book is available in both soft and hardcover, xviii + 268 (292 total pages) and electronic PDF format.
Bob’s website:
is dedicated to the men of RADM C.A.F. Sprague’s U.S. Seventh Fleet Task Unit 77.4.3, Taffy III, for action against VADM Takeo Kurita’s Imperial Japanese Navy Centre Force on October 25, 1944. Task Unit 77.4.3 consisted of six escort carriers (CVEs) FANSHAW BAY, ST LO, WHITE PLAINS, KALININ BAY, KITKUN BAY, & GAMBIER BAY, three destroyers (DDs) HOEL, HEERMANN, & JOHNSTON, and four smaller destroyer escorts (DEs) JOHN C. BUTLER, DENNIS, RAYMOND, & SAMUEL B. ROBERTS. They fought the vastly superior Imperial Japanese Navy Centre Force at Leyte Gulf on October 25, 1944, sustaining losses of five warships sunk and nearly all remaining warships heavily damaged; with the high cost of nearly 900 American lives.
Bob indicates that his website
is here to educate the world about the Battle Off Samar and what Taffy III did at Leyte Gulf. I could not have chosen a better topic or a better group of veterans to honor and pay tribute to. Thanks for stopping by, God Bless, and happy web surfing!