21,180 feet beneath the surface...Despite all the reading and the writing I've done about this day in history, I did not realize until reading this article that the ship's Captain, Commander Ernest E. Evans was an American Indian...To give some idea of the courage of these men as they instantly obeyed the order of their leader to turn at full speed against the enemy fleet, each one knew that the armor protecting their vessel, most of it no thicker than 1/2 inch, could not protect them from a direct hit from even the smallest enemy ship they faced...One eighteen inch shell from the JIN Yamato, a vessel which outweighed the entire Taffy 3 group, penetrated the bow of the Johnston and passed through it without exploding, hitting the water as the Johnston continued its attack...The armor was so thin it didn't even depress the detonator of the battleship's shell as it hit the destroyer...“The wreck of Johnston is a hallowed site,” said retired Rear Adm. Sam Cox, head of the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington.
“It … serves as a sobering reminder for today’s Sailors: after all that’s asked of them in day-to-day service, they … may one day be asked for far more,” he said in the Navy’s announcement.
It should always be remembered that these men who now rest at the bottom of the Philippine Sea willingly gave their lives in the defense of their country...Cmdr. Evans rightly earned our nation's highest honor when he fulfilled his own prophecy:“I intend to go in harm’s way,” Evans had said when the Johnston was commissioned in 1943. “Anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off right now.”...Ben
Reply With Quote
