We Commemorate...
The LSTs in
THE BATTLE FOR THE PHILIPPINES
80th Anniversary
October 1944 – Spring 1945
LEYTE ★ MINDORO ★ LUZON ★ NASUGBU ★ PALAWAN ★ ZAMBOANGA
★ PANAY ★ NEGROS ★ CEBU ★ BOHOL ★ MINDANAO
Zach S. Morris, Editor
Editor's Note: The following article was originally published in the November 2024 issue of "LST Scuttlebutt" Magazine.
December 3, 2024 8:00 AM EST
An aerial photo of twenty LSTs anchored at Tacloban airstrip, Leyte Island, Philippines in 1944. This photo shows Tacloban airstrip from the east looking west. (US Navy Photo 113-3, WWII Museum)
PART I: THE ARMY’S BATTLE
LEYTE ISLAND
Excerpted from Large Slow Target: A History of the LST (Vol. I)
by Mel Barger, LST-555 (pp. 51–52):
Leyte: MacArthur’s Return
WHEN JAPANESE FORCES WERE CLOSING IN on key defensive positions in the Philippines in March 1942, General Douglas MacArthur was ordered out by President Roosevelt. His great promise to the Philippines, "I shall return," was fulfilled two and one-half years later when soldiers of the U.S. Sixth Army came ashore at Leyte. MacArthur, with his wife and young son, had left Corregidor in a PT boat. PT boats were with General MacArthur when he returned, but also in the background as he waded ashore were the blunt bows of LSTs, ships that had not yet been built when he left the Philippines in early 1942. More than 26 LSTs were at Leyte on D-Day, 20 October 1944, and within a few days they were joined by nearly 100 others. It was now an accepted part of amphibious doctrine that the LSTs would carry in the heavy vehicles and equipment needed to mount a major landing. In the first day of operations at Leyte, more than 125,000 men were put ashore, along with 200,000 tons of equipment. While heavy transports accounted for much of this effort, the LSTs were very much in evidence. Beaching conditions were poor for LSTs at Leyte, but crews quickly adapted to the situation and managed to speed up the unloading with the objective of leaving the area as quickly as possible.
At Leyte, LSTs that remained in the area after 24 October actually were at great risk, although the full danger was not understood until much later. The LSTs and other transport ships of the landing operations survived largely because of superb actions by an outgunned portion of the U.S. fleet and a decision by Japanese Admiral Kurita to withdraw at the very hour he could have entered Leyte Bay and raised havoc with the transport ships anchored there. This threat happened because of Admiral William Halsey's still-disputed decision to take the main fleet north to fight what proved to be a decoy group of carriers. For a short time, the amphibious forces at Leyte were in far greater danger than they knew. LSTs at Leyte also found themselves under frequent attack by Japanese aircraft and came to feel the first effects of the "kamikaze" strategy. Leyte was well within reach of land-based Japanese aircraft from other islands in the Philippines.
The following LSTs are credited with the action of Leyte:
LST-18; LST-20; LST-22; LST-24; LST-26; LST-34; LST-66; LST-67; LST-68; LST-117; LST-118; LST-123; LST-125; LST-126; LST-168; LST-169; LST-170; LST-171; LST-181; LST-201; LST-202; LST-204; LST-205; LST-206; LST-207; LST-213; LST-219; LST-220; LST-223; LST-242; LST-245; LST-269; LST-270; LST-277; LST-341; LST-397; LST-451; LST-452; LST-454; LST-455; LST-456; LST-457; LST-458; LST-459; LST-460; LST-461; LST-462; LST-463; LST-464; LST-465; LST-466; LST-467; LST-468; LST-469; LST-470; LST-471; LST-473; LST-474; LST-475; LST-478; LST-482; LST-483; LST-486; LST-488; LST-549; LST-552; LST-553; LST-554; LST-555; LST-556; LST-557; LST-558; LST- 559; LST-564; LST-565; LST-567; LST-568; LST-569; LST-573; LST-574; LST-577; LST-578; LST-579; LST-586; LST- 605; LST-606; LST-608; LST-609; LST-610; LST-611; LST-612; LST-613; LST-614; LST-615; LST-617; LST-618; LST-619; LST-623; LST-626; LST-658; LST-660; LST-663; LST- 666; LST-667; LST-668; LST-669; LST-670; LST-671; LST-672; LST-673; LST-679; LST-686; LST-687; LST-688; LST- 693; LST-694; LST-695; LST-696; LST-697; LST-698; LST- 699; LST-700; LST-703; LST-704; LST-705; LST-706; LST-707; LST-709; LST-714; LST-733; LST-734; LST-736; LST-737; LST-738; LST-739; LST-740; LST-744; LST-745; LST-746; LST-748; LST-749; LST-750; LST-751; LST-775; LST- 908; LST-911; LST-912; LST-913; LST-916; LST-917; LST-918; LST-919; LST-924; LST-990; LST-991; LST-993; LST-999; LST-1006; LST-1013; LST-1014; LST-1015; LST-1017; LST-1018; LST-1024; LST-1025; LST-1026; LST-1027
The invasion of Leyte Island on A-Day, October 20, 1944. From the official history, U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II.
PART II: THE NAVY’S BATTLE
LEYTE GULF
THREAT ONE: THE JAPANESE NAVY
Modified version of original map, with labels added. (D-Maps)
THREAT TWO: THE JAPANESE KAMIKAZE PLANES
PROFILE OF THE SHIPS
NAME: USS Achilles (ARL-41)
ALIAS: LST 455; Landing Craft Repair Ship
CASUALTIES: 19 KIA, 28 WIA, and 18 MIA
USS LST 455 on March 7, 1943. She was eventually converted to a landing craft repair ship, being renamed USS Achilles. (US National Archive photo No. 19-N-42328)
DETAILS: On November 12, 1944, this ship came under attack and was struck by a Japanese suicide plane. The WWII veterans who witnessed the massive Japanese kamikaze attack against American ships in Leyte Gulf that day would nickname it, “Bloody Sunday.” When the plane crash-dived into the middle of the exposed tank deck, a giant fire erupted. Heroes aboard the Achilles jumped into action.
According to the Achilles’ official action report, all hands performed in a commendable manner fighting the fires that broke out on their ship, but it was a General Motors technician named Ray Dunwoody who stood out the most that Sunday afternoon. Showing complete disregard for his own life, Dunwoody grabbed a fire hose, and fearlessly sprinted up to the top of the deckhouse—amid exploding 20mm ammunition—to rescue men from the inferno. He somehow managed to remove several seriously wounded men all while keeping his hose in action against the fire the entire time. The report detailed Dunwoody’s bravery by stating: “His actions and leadership were an inspiration to everyone. It is recommended that his action receive special recognition.” The report went on to commend one of the brave shipfitters wounded from the fire: “In doing this, [Dunwoody] was assisted by Wayne H. BASS, SF3c., although [Bass was] badly burned about the hands.” Though badly damaged, the Achilles lived to fight another day thanks to those courageous men who helped.
Heroes also emerged from the brave little LCI ships nearby. USS LCI(G)-65, USS LCI(L)-432, and LCI(R)-338, were all alongside the Achilles undergoing repairs of their own. They also jumped into action, helping to fight the raging fires and rescue burning men from the Achilles who had jumped overboard and were stranded in the water. One of those heroes who was never recognized for his heroic actions that day was LCI 65 Fireman and Motor Mac, Paul Cyriel DeWitte. This record within DeWitte’s personal file from the U.S. National Archives was recently discovered by our Editor while researching for this article. The citation from the LCI 65’s commanding officer Lt. (jg) Merle A. Cline reads:
“This man, Paul C. DeWitte, on 12 November 1944 in San Pedro Bay, Leyte Island in the Philippines materially assisted in saving the life of a man on the USS ACHILLES when that ship was hit by a Japanese suicide plane while this vessel was tied alongside. He rescued the burned man from the water and then assisted in bringing the fire on the USS ACHILLES under control.”
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
NAME: USS Egeria (ARL-8)
ALIAS: LST 136
CASUALTIES: 2 WIA
USS Egeria (ARL-8) underway near Baltimore, MD in April 1944, after completing conversion into landing craft repair ship. (National Archives Photo #19-N-63509)
DETAILS: Attacked by a kamikaze plane on November 12, 1944. Plane hit and sunk LCI 684 instead, as the 684 had been tied up alongside this vessel and shielded it from getting hit.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
NAME: USS LST 464
ALIAS: Hospital ship; LST(H); Landing Ship Tank (Hospital); First Aid Ship
CASUALTIES: Countless
USS LST(H)-464 at anchor in San Francisco Bay, CA., circa late 1945. (US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 79010; courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974)
DETAILS: Arguably the most important hospital ship present in Leyte Gulf in late October and early November 1944, because it was one of the only hospital ships allowed to operate in the hazardous gulf, due to the constant threat it faced from kamikaze attacks. Conversion to a "first aid ship" had previously been completed at Sydney, Australia in 1943. Modifications included the installation of a water-tight door in the tank deck bulkhead, in order to afford access to the forward troop compartment from either port or starboard. Spaces were converted into a receiving room, sterilizer room, and operating room. Wounded were brought in over the ramp onto the tank deck and passed into a receiving room through the hatch. On the tank deck were installed 78 hospital beds, refrigerators, lockers, toilets, and wash basins. The ships' medical staff consisted of six doctors, one dentist, and a number of corpsmen. This ship was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for its service in WWII.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
NAME: USS LST 470
ALIAS: Hospital ship
CASUALTIES: Countless
USS LST-470 partial crew photo, date and location unknown. (navource.org)
DETAILS: This ship was critically important to the supply operations during the Battle of Leyte. A medical officer aboard this LST is first credited with coining the nickname “Bloody Sunday” for November 12, 1944, in Vice Admiral Daniel E. Barbey’s book:
“On bloody Sunday, 12 November 1944, while on the Leyte supply run, we had our first experience with Kamikazes. When the shooting started I went back to the liquor locker and selected a good quarter of bourbon that I had hoarded, and reappeared on the deck. I did the best I could to give everyone a ‘nip.’ That’s all they got, but it was a whale of a morale builder. . . . The Executive Officer told me afterwards, ‘Doc, I was green until you came along with the bottle of booze. I was a man after one small snort. I could kill them all.’”
—MacArthur’s Amphibious Navy, p. 278★
