US Navy

USS Johnston (DD 557)

This ship is famous for its bold fight in the Battle of Samar (25 Oct, 1944), during the American campaign to retake the Philippines. A Japanese force of 11 destroyers, 2 light cruisers, 6 heavy cruisers, and 4 battleships, (including the Yamato) surprised US Task Force Taffy 3, which consisted of 6 escort carriers, 4 destroyers, and 3 destroyer escorts. The Yamato alone outweighed the tonnage of the entire US force, and also had more and heavier guns than the combined US force. The largest gun in the US force was 5” – totally useless against the armor of either battleships or heavy cruisers. The most effective weapons the fleet had were its torpedoes. The Johnston was a Fletcher-class destroyer and lead a spoiling attack against the Japanese fleet to allow the small, slow carriers to flee. The Johnson fought with such audacity and determination that she became known as the destroyer that fought like a battleship. She expended all 10 of her torpedoes in the early minutes of the fight; one heavily damaged the Japanese heavy cruiser Kumano, forcing the Japanese ship to withdraw. The ship kept fighting despite heavy damage and casualties. It was nearly two hours after the fight began that she finally sank. Most of the escort carriers escaped, abd the Japanese took more damage than they gave. The Japanese fleet withdrew. The full story is longer than practical to tell here, but can easily be found in paper or on the Internet. The Johnston’s Captain, Lt. Commander Ernest E. Evans, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The ship received a Presidential Unit Citation as a part of Taffy 3.