Cassin Young
Between 29 August and 2 October 1944, "Cassin Young" guarded the carriers of Task Group 38.3 as strikes were flown from their decks to hit targets on Palau, Mindanao, and Luzon in support of the assault on the Palaus, stepping-stone to the Philippines. Only four days after her return from this mission to Ulithi, "Cassin Young" sailed on 6 October with the same force on duty in the accelerated schedule for the Philippines assault. First on the schedule were air strikes on Okinawa, Luzon, and Formosa; these led to the furious Formosa Air Battle of 10 to 13 October, during which the Japanese tried to destroy the carrier strength of the imposing TF 38. On 14 October, the cruiser was struck by a "kamikaze", which wounded five of "Cassin Young"s men with machine gun fire. "Cassin Young" aided in shooting down several aircraft in this attack.