Kurita emerged unopposed from San Bernardino Strait and was racing southward heading for Leyte Gulf. At daybreak on Oct. 25, American carriers were sighted on the horizon. Kurita thought he had caught Halsey’s fast carriers with most of their planes down. In fact, Halsey was 300 miles to the north and his planes were taking … More The Battle of Leyte Gulf – Part 5
Originally posted on Rosalinda R Morgan:
Mom & Dad on the back terrace overlooking the backyard at the 50th wedding anniversary My mom, Fausta (Pacing) Rosales, lovingly called Lola by her grandchildren, passed away on Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. She was 96 years old, a month shy of her 97th birthday on Dec. 16. She…
At the same time that Halsey was chasing Ozawa’s decoy carriers, the second arm of the Japanese pincers, Vice Admiral Nishimura’s Southern Force, was approaching Surigao Strait, the southern entrance to Leyte Gulf. Although he knew that Kurita had been delayed and would not be able to keep the dawn rendezvous in Leyte Gulf, Nishimura … More The Battle of Leyte Gulf – Part 4
Admiral Halsey’s pilot reported that four of Kurita’s battleships had been severely damaged, that nine cruisers and destroyers had been sunk or heavily damaged, and that the remains of the armada were retreating westward. Halsey assumed that the Center Force was no longer a threat. On the contrary, air attacks by Halsey’s carriers, though damaging … More The Battle of Leyte Gulf – Part 3
The messages from the Dace and the Darter, warning of the advance of Kurita’s fleet, began arriving in Flag Plot aboard USS New Jersey at 6:20 am on Oct. 23. Halsey and his staff pondered the significance of the sightings by the two submarines. Halsey was not the only fleet commander tracking the Japanese movements. … More The Battle of Leyte Gulf – Part 2
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the last great naval confrontation in history and the largest naval battle of World War II in term of ships and men. It was fought from Oct. 23 to 26, 1944, between combined American and Australian forces and Imperial Japanese Navy in the waters off the Philippines. The battle … More Battle of Leyte Gulf – Part 1
Alligators Charge toward the Foe on Leyte. Official U.S. Coast Guard photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Seventy-five years ago today, MacArthur fulfilled his pledge and returned to the Philippines. Even with reports of weak resistance and the expedited time schedule, the Leyte invasion promised to be the largest and most complicated … More October 20, 1944 – Invasion of Leyte
