Laramie man survives World War II kamikaze attack

Exactly three years to the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, long-time Laramie resident Dale St. John was aboard the destroyer USS Mahan when it was struck by three Japanese kamikaze planes.

NAVY DESTROYER

The Mahan was a relatively new destroyer, having been commissioned only six years before the start of the war. She was 341 feet long, 34 feet wide and could reach a speed of 40 mph. Manned by a crew of 219, her armament included five 5-inch guns, four .50 caliber machine guns and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes.

USS Mahan was named after arguably the most influential naval strategist in the 20th century, Alfred Thayer Mahan. Her duties during the war included shore bombardment, anti-submarine operations, anti-aircraft duties and escorting other Navy ships to protect them from enemy attack.

DEPLOYED IN WWII

A Colorado native, 17-year-old St. John reported aboard the Mahan when it was in California. Soon the ship was bound for the South Pacific where it was continually engaged in combat operations from October 1942 to April 1944. Retuning to friendly waters she received upgraded equipment and sailed again for the South Pacific.

After arriving in the area in late July, Mahan conducted operations around New Guinea and eventually sailed to the Philippines in November. Upon arriving she was ordered to take up station in Leyte Gulf to guard other U.S. Ships in the area against submarine attack.

On the morning of 7 December Mahan was redirected from the anti-submarine operation to use its radar to detect Japanese aircraft in the vicinity intent on attacking U.S. Navy ships. She would soon be engaged in the largest naval battle in WWII, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, where the Japanese employed multiple kamikaze attacks against U.S. ships.

On December 7, 1944, Dale’s duty aboard the Mahan was at the radar station detecting Japanese aircraft intent on attacking the Mahan. What happened next is told in Dale’s own words.

MAHAN HIT

“The fateful day arrived December 7, 1944, when we were ordered to Ormoc Bay. We stood 12 miles off the beach to maintain air control. My job was to plot enemy planes on radar and I immediately saw 12 twin-engine betty bombers headed directly for us.

They were returning from a bombing run and were empty, but they had been indoctrinated into suicide mentality and began to dive toward us. Two U.S. twin-engine fighters managed to knock four of the betty’s out before they reached our ship but four of them managed to hit the Mahan.

“The result was setting fire to the ammo magazines, so it was necessary for us to abandon ship. I was under the bridge in the Combat Info Center and I was wearing earphones and the jerk from the blast knocked me some distance. When I recovered all the lifejackets were gone. I retreated to the main deck where some of us were aware of the empty 5” shell casings and we did know that they would float so it was a simple decision to grab one and jump.

“The Mahan did not sink immediately but the order came for another task force to torpedo the ship and we watched her go down. Our losses were minimal as were injuries. But after floating around in the Pacific for some hours dodging the sharks, we were picked up and taken to Leyte Gulf and then to Kunjalain (sic). We were then transported for home and survivor leave.”

KAMIKAZE ATTACKS

Dale’s account does not include the entirety of the harrowing attack on the Mahan. In total nine Japanese Navy Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” light bombers launched attacks against the Mahan. Dale’s radar picked up those nine plus three enemy fighters. Luckily the three U.S. fighters in the area were able to destroy three of the incoming Japanese planes. The others continued toward the Mahan determined to conduct a kamikaze attack on the destroyer.

Two of the remaining bombers were also hit by the U.S. fighters but sped toward the Mahan, likely at their top speed of 260 miles per hour. Mahan’s gunners were able to destroy the first of the two only about 50 yards from the ship. The other flew just above the ship, turned around and was able to crash into Mahan’s left side causing major damage.

Mahan’s crew was able to shoot down the next two kamikazes before they were able to hit the ship. Almost immediately the fifth bomber struck the ship on the right side at the water line, creating additional severe damage and the sixth bomber also hit the Mahan on its right side.

The crew of the badly damaged Mahan continued to shoot at and ensure the remaining three kamikazes were either destroyed or driven off by the ship’s intense anti-aircraft fire.

When the captain ordered the ship at top speed available toward other U.S. ships that might protect her, Mahan’s crew was unable to stem the fires on board. Unfortunately, the speedy retreat only fanned the flames aboard and the captain had to order the ship to stop.

Recognizing the extensive damage and the raging fires, the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship. Ironically, the captain, Commander Earnest Campbell was a survivor of the sinking of another U.S. destroyer in November 1943.

Dale St. John was very lucky to have survived the attack. He was also fortunate that there were other U.S. ships in the immediate vicinity to rescue him and his shipmates in the shark infested waters.

Amazingly the fierce kamikaze attacks on the ship resulted in only six deaths and 31 wounded with 13 of those requiring hospitalization. As soon as the last crew member left Mahan the destroyer USS Walke sank the disabled ship with a combination of torpedoes and gunfire.

After initial kamikaze attacks against the aircraft carrier USS Franklin in October 1944, there were more than 3,800 others which resulted in the sinking of more than 40 U.S. Navy ships, damage to 368 others, killed 4,900 sailors, and wounded over 4,800.

Dale St. John’s account lists four kamikaze hits on the U.S. Mahan, while the official U.S. Navy report lists only three. The discrepancy is entirely understandable given the chaos that engulfed Dale and the intervening years between the event and when Dale gave his firsthand account. Dale’s written account is courtesy of his widow, Germaine St. John. Dale came to Laramie in 1956. He had a 60-year career in Laramie starting as a businessman, then as a school principal, realtor and “color commentator” on two different scenic railroads.

By Kim VIner

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