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 night-time 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.
- ISBN10 0312681895
- ISBN13 9780312681890
- Publish Date 29 January 2013
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 10 July 2014
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Saint Martin's Griffin,U.S.
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 352
- Language English