USS Laffey DD 724

[6thMARDIV]

Anyone here happen to serve on the USS Laffey ?

[13Echo]

A good friend of my father's was Dude Barham who was an officer on the Laffey when it went toe to toe with the Japanese at Iron Bottom Sound. He received the Silver Star for rescuing a large number of his shipmates after she was sunk. Dude later made Admiral in the Cold War Navy. It was a privilege to have known him.

Jerry LIles

[Weasel]

A good friend of my father's was Dude Barham who was an officer on the Laffey when it went toe to toe with the Japanese at Iron Bottom Sound. He received the Silver Star for rescuing a large number of his shipmates after she was sunk. Dude later made Admiral in the Cold War Navy. It was a privilege to have known him.

Jerry LIles

That was an earlier ship named the Laffey. DD459

[Shooter5]

724 was named for the 459 which had been sunk at Guadalcanal. I was recently aboard 724 in South Carolina; worth every minute! of the tour along with the USS Yorktown, CV-10, which was also named for a Yorktown (CV-5) sunk at Midway. Coincidently, my granpa's ship was DD-461 USS Forrest and was part of Destroyer Division 20/Destroyer Squadron 10. DD459 was not part of Destroyer Division 19, as one would think given the sequence of hull numbers, but was instead part of DesRon 12 due to various factors. In yet more coincidence, DD724 was attacked by kamikazes during the Battle of Okinawa with severe damage on 15April 1945 and my granpa's ship was hit by a kamikaze on 27May 1945 near Oki.
http://www.patriotspoint.org/explore_museum/uss_laffey/

http://destroyerhistory.org/benson%2...lass/desron10/

http://destroyerhistory.org/benson-g...lass/desron12/

http://destroyerhistory.org/sumner-g...ass/usslaffey/

[Art]

This brings back a memory. My brother had a friend in High School whose father was on the U.S.S. Barton, DD599 at the first naval battle of Guadalcanal. The Barton was hit by two long lance torpedoes from Tamechi Hara's I.J.N. Amatsukazi and literally blown to bits. He was one of the handful of survivors. He recalled waking up in the water with pieces of the Barton raining down around him. That old boy hated Japs.

[Shooter5]

This brings back a memory. My brother had a friend in High School whose father was on the U.S.S. Barton, DD599 at the first naval battle of Guadalcanal. The Barton was hit by two long lance torpedoes from Tamechi Hara's I.J.N. Amatsukazi and literally blown to bits. He was one of the handful of survivors. He recalled waking up in the water with pieces of the Barton raining down around him. That old boy hated Japs.

Interesting, indeed. His book is worth the read:

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destr...troyer+captain

In contrast, my granpa never said anything about the Japanese (or Germans and Italians), one way or the other. Or much of anything else about the war, for that matter. Just a handful of stories and silence. His records from the National Archives had a large amount of data which left more questions unanswered.

The Japanese had developed the most advanced torpedoes of the day and sheer, obstinate racism prevented the US from coming to terms with their capabilities. The Long Lance was potent and far more advanced than the US arsenal, which was abysmal.

http://www.combinedfleet.com/torps.htm

[Art]

Interesting, indeed. His book is worth the read:

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destr...troyer+captain

In contrast, my granpa never said anything about the Japanese, one way or the other. Or much of anything else about the war, for that matter. Just a handful of stories and silence. His records from the National Archives had a large amount of data which left more questions unanswered.

The Japanese had developed the most advanced torpedoes of the day and sheer, obstinate racism prevented the US from coming to terms with their capabilities. The Long Lance was potent and far more advanced than the US arsenal, which was abysmal.

http://www.combinedfleet.com/torps.htm

I actually read Hara's book a long while back and that was when the story regarding my brother's high school buddy's dad came together. You are correct, the book is a good read. Hara's insight in the way the Japanese fought the war and on some of the Japanese commanders, especially Yamamoto, are very interesting. The I.J.N. navy page (combined fleet) is an excellent naval resource and not just for the Japanese. So is U Boat net.

My father commented little on the war, he did say that the Japanese were good soldiers. He also said that at the time he absolutely loathed them. The war ended and his opinion mellowed, for some, understandably, it did not.

[Clark Howard]

It is quite difficult to kill one's adversary with prejudice when you have admiration and respect for him. Much easier when you absolutely hate the ground he treads on. Regards, Clark

[Shooter5]

It is quite difficult to kill one's adversary with prejudice when you have admiration and respect for him. Much easier when you absolutely hate the ground he treads on. Regards, Clark

Yes, that paradigm works/has worked in the past. Nowadays, general education, culture, communications, etc has changed aspects of warfare. Empathy and sympathy are different. SunTzu's dictum to know both self and enemy has and always will apply. Still, knowing the enemy and doing it well should preclude the professional warrior from carrying out his duty.