Letter from Tom Crew
Submitted by Sonny Walker
The following is a letter from Tom Crew. This should be posted on our website for all of the WWII veterans to see. I’m sure they will appreciate the sentiment from the view of more heroes.
Mr. Walker,
I saw you on the History Channel show about the WW II kamikaze actions against the USS Laffey. I am the author of the recently published book "Combat Loaded: Across the Pacific on the USS Tate." While the existing literature does a good job of describing the actions of the Laffey on April 16, 1945, it does not mention what the larger implications of those actions were. During the time when the Laffey was under attack, just over the horizon to the south a whole squadron of amphibious transports (including the Tate) packed with troops, ammo and fuel was landing the 77th Infantry Division on Ie Shima. You don't hear much about Ie Shima, because it was an operation executed with great speed and precision and was all over in a few days, giving the US control of the then largest airfield in Asia. In my book I give most of the credit for this operations success in its initial phases to the destroyers who were taking it on the chin while the infantry was clawing its way ashore--not far away. The main reason the Laffey was at Radar Picket Station #1 was to provide a screen for the transports operating west of Okinawa. Oddly, when this same Transport Squadron left for Saipan it was accompanied by the battered and charred Laffey before she returned to Seattle. The men on those transports knew what the historians have often failed to realize, that it was but for the Grace of God and the tin can sailors on picket duty, that they escaped a similar fate. I thought you and your fellow Laffey shipmates might find this information of interest. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them.
Attached are the links for "Combat Loaded"
Respectfully,
Tom Crew
Long Beach, Mississippi