The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1945-09-06

lIOlll VIC SOlllDdl diCds buI lib
this period she was fueled at sea
and provisioned and rearmed
under the impending shadow of
the Kamakaze Corps.
The Santee, with her accom-
panying ships at Okinawa was
expected. along with other
CVE's, 10 do the workhorse job
of furnishing routine ground
support for the invasion forces
while the fast carriers of the
u. S. Fleet saw TO it that the
japanese home air arm did not
interfere from the north. and
the British fast carriers insured
that the well-developed air
fields in the Sakishima Group
were not used by Nip planes
from Formosa and the Chinese
mainland.
ITO the CVE's later fell the
task of protecting the western
flank Of invasion forces for the
greater part Of the Okinawa
campaign.
MUCH AREAL ACTION
During the entire period Of
this unprecedented performance,
the Santee threw punches with
rapid consistency. Her air
group flew 1902 sorties COM
prising $685. hours primarily
against enemy planes, air fields,
and airfield facilities. The tor
pedo squadron, carrying the
payload, flew many and varied
missions from routine dropping
Of bombs on runWays TO laying
smoke screens. Perhaps the
colorful single incident was the
day the Avengers carried 1000
ID. bombs in at tree-top level to
blast a hole in the medieval
twenty foot thick walls of Shuri
Castle on Okinawa, the enemy
headquarters which had with
stood the point blank fire of the
artillery's heavy guns, thus paw
ing the way for the entrance of
the marines of the First Divis-
ion. When Shuri Castle fell, it
was the beginning Of the end.
The Santees performance at
Leyte Gulf is an example of the
stuff of which she is made.
There her air group had carried
out their customary role of close
support which included bomb
ing of airfields. explosion of an
ammunition ship and destruction
OF numerous enemy planes on
the ground and thirty-one in the
air. AS Oct. 25 dawned, she re-
celved the report, that a few
miles away, the Seventh Fleet
under Admiral Oldendorf had,
during the night, crossed the
t. and annihilated the southern
force OF the Japanese Fleet in
SURFACE Strait. Reports were
coming in rapidly that another
unit of CVE's to the north was
under the direct attack of the
main japanese force, which dur
ing the night had slipped
through San Bernadino Straits. |
The United States Third Fleet |
was far to the north and the
Seventh Fleet out Of ammuni-
ton.
The Santee, with Captain r.
E. Blick. USN, now in COM
mand, launched a flight of Wild
cats and Avengers to fly to the
support Of the units to the
north. Without warning a jap
suicide plane carrying a bomb
crashed through the Santees
flight deck and onto her hangar
deck loaded with ammunition
ready for the next strike. Six
teen minutes later. a torpedo
struck the Santee amidships
tearing huge hole in her side.
AT 1040 her planes carried out
successful attack on the Mi
SASH, the Yamoto's sister ship.
contributing directing to the re-
tirement Of the Japanese main
battle force. The Santee had
received hits that would stagger
the normal ship, but not the
Santee.
AT I'LL, she landed her flight
aboard and for the remainder of
the day and the day following.
she maintained her position in
the formation and launched her
planes. carrying the fight to the
enemy in spite Of repeated addi-
tlonal Jap air attacks, mean
while burying the dead. caring
for her wounded and licking her
own wounds. The Santee had
received the baptism Of what
was TO come, the first suicides
of the kamakaze Corps and the
first attack Of this kind on q
eve.
I'm taking it she was among
the first Of many American
fighting ships to demonstrate
that frenzied fanatical tactics
do not and will never affect
their determination 10 close
with the enemy at every oppor-
tunity and carry the fight 10 the
finish"