American Valor Quarterly Issue 9 - Summer 2012 | Page 32

planes for the Jap fleet that had been
sighted west of the Philippines, heading
for Leyte Gulf. Somewhere up the line,
the brass made a terrible decision that
both the dive-bombers and torpedobombers would be armed with generalpurpose bombs. They felt the waters in
the straits might be too shallow for
torpedoes. We never heard a reason the
dive-bombers weren’t armed with
armor-piercing bombs.

wanted nothing more than to close with
the Jap fleet and slug it out, ship to ship.
He had saved the gun barrels of the
battleships for just such an action. He
wanted them to be perfect. That night as
we slept, we could feel the pulse of the
engines as the carrier drove north at full
speed against the relentless sea. Tomorrow
would be a big day.

The Battle off Cape Engaño
Flying west, we found the Jap fleet
headed through the Sibuyan Sea. There
were no aircraft carriers, but a number
of battleships and cruisers, as well as
escorting destroyers. The moment we
came into view, they started to turn and
throw up intense antiaircraft fire. We
carried out a coordinated attack on
battleships and cruisers, and both of our
bomber squadrons scored a number of
hits, but since the bombs were general
purpose, all they did was burn the paint
off the ships. A few of the cruisers
sustained minor damage, but the fleet was
still battleworthy.
Our photo planes took pictures of the
hits, and as we were leaving the scene of
what came to be known as the Battle of
the Sibuyan Sea, the Japanese fleet was
still in a turn and heading west. Once the
staff on our carrier had made an
intelligence appraisal, they decided the
Japanese were seriously damaged and
were heading back to Hong Kong. We
told Jack Wheeler, our intelligence officer,
that this wasn’t the case, but the staff
didn’t take our comments seriously. That
night, after dark, the Japanese fleet turned
east again and headed for MacArthur’s
landing beaches on Leyte.

The dull, red glow of the night-vision
lights in the ready room seemed even
eerier than usual. Hugh Winters, the air
group commander came in.
“Listen up, fellows, I’m going to be the
target coordinator. I’ll be up above you
and pick your target. Since you’re now
the senior group out here, you’ll get first
shot. Any questions? Good luck.” He
started to leave then hesitated for a
moment. “One of the Jap carriers out
there took part in the attack on Pearl
Harbor. I’ll assign it to you if I can.”

At breakfast at three o’clock a.m. on
October 25, 1944, you could feel the
difference and the tension. There was no
small talk. We’d been in a lot of combat
by this time, but we knew this would be
different. We were going against a major We manned our planes in total darkness.
unit of the Japanese fleet.
I took a momentary glance at the 500pound bomb hanging under my wing
“Did you hear they revised the number and hoped I wouldn’t have to dump it
of Jap ships?” Hutto asked.
before we got to the enemy fleet. On the
order, I cranked up my engine and waited
“How many?” someone inquired.
to taxi to the catapult.
“Four carriers, two battleships, two
cruisers, and ten destroyers,” Hutto
answered. “Know how many antiaircraft
guns that means?” No one answered.
“More than four hundred,” Hutto threw

The catapult takeoff required the usual
precarious balance between stalling and
diving into the sea, but once again luck
was with me. I searched in the darkness
for the turtleback light on the plane ahead

The Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku - the last remaining carrier to take part in the attack on
Pearl Harbor.

AMERICAN VALOR QUARTERLY - Summer 2012 - 32
AVQ - Issue 9 Part 2.pmd

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9/4/2012, 11:04 AM

U.S. Navy photo

Admiral Halsey, feeling there was no threat
from that fleet, took the fast carriers and
the six newest battleships and headed
north to attack the Japanese fleet that
Harry had spotted. Although Admiral
Halsey wore wings on his uniform, having
gone through flight school at an advanced
age, he was still a battleship admiral and

out. Somehow the powdered eggs lost
their taste.