USS GAMBIER BAY (CVE 73) under fire from heavy cruiser HIJMS CHIKUMA

U.S. Navy Photograph

Escort carrier USS GAMBIER BAY (CVE 73) struggles to dodge salvos from the heavy cruiser HIJMS CHIKUMA, seen on the horizon.  Captain W.V.R. Vieweg, her Commanding Officer, later remarked, "One could observe that the salvos would hit some distance away and gradually creep up closer and from the spacing on the water I could tell that the next one would be on if we did nothing.  We would invariably turn into the direction from which the salvoes were creeping and sure enough the next salvo would land right in the water where we would have been if we hadn't turned.  The next few saloves would creep across to the other side and gradually creep back and would repeat the operation.  The process lasted for, believe it or not, a half hour during which the enemy was closing constantly."

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Honor the Missing in Action and Killed in Action of Taffy III

We do remember.  We won't forget.