Remembering Suwannee: U.S.S. Suwannee, Part 5

Eric Musgrove, County Historian Last week, we left Suwannee and her consorts facing the might of the Japanese fleet off the coast of Samar in the Philippine Islands. The Americans were outnumbered and outgunned, but risked their lives to protect the defenseless troop transports unloading men and material offshore. The battle that followed became one of the most inspiring in the United States, and indeed, in all recorded history. While the outnumbered and outgunned American destroyers and destroyer escorts charged toward the advancing Japanese fleet, Suwannee and the other escort carriers were busy launching aircraft as quickly as they could. Men died in a hail of explosions as