Tin Can Sailors

The mighty 3rd to the north did steam, Chasing a ghost not to be seen Guard the landing your task assigned, Quiet the day is to be benign At dawn the Imperial fleet does appear, Surprise complete, ranging fire splashes near Outnumbered and out gunned, duty is clear, Close the range you must in spite of your fear Laying smoke, a jagged course you take, An account of yourselves you will make Steel your heart and make sure your eye, For each salvo keeps you alive Toe-to-toe the battle, you exchange mighty blows, Triumph impossible, yet into the fray you all go In perfect rhythm, the mad dance goes on, As smoke filled gunhouse loads powder and shot Decks strewn with the dead and dying, Teams repair to keep the ensign flying Struck and struck again, yet to point blank you steam, Hard to port, you cross the “T” “All guns to fire at the turn, torpedoes away!” The enemy scatters in disarray Too late, mortal blows you take To the deep, no more your enemy to rake One final salute their captain does render, For you fought to the death and did not surrender On this all men do still agree, These were the finest two hours of Taffy 3 ***************************************** On October 25th, 1944, 3 destroyers and 4 destroyer escorts of Task Force Taffy 3 engaged a combined force of Imperial Japanese Navy battleships and cruisers in a 2 hour running gun battle to protect the escort carriers and troop transports taking part in the Leyte Gulf landings in the Philippines. Two of the three destroyers and one of the escorts were sunk while sinking three Japanese heavy cruisers and damaged three more. Due to the fierceness of the attack, the Japanese fleet retired from the area thinking they had been attacked by a much larger force. At the outset of the battle, the commanding officers of these 7 ships, without orders, individually decided to attack and headed at flank speed to the fight all knowing they would most likely not survive the day. Almost 1600 did not. In a final act of respect, the commander of one Japanese cruiser saluted the crew of an American ship that had just sunk as his ship passed them floating in the water.