Status - John Skinner - USS Daly:
USS Daly (DD-519) - Morotai Island
September 12th:. At sea all day heading for the invasion of Morotai Island. Radar tracking exercises in the morning. Temperatures 80s, light breezes.
September 13th: Proceeding to Morotai operation. Mail received in the morning. Temperatures 80s, light breezes.
September 14th: Met attack force set for invasion. Temperatures 80s,
light to moderate breezes.
September 15th: Reached the invasion area, provided anti-submarine screen for cruisers, also bombarded the island. Landings completed, patrolling the rest of the day near Morotai Island.
Temperatures 80s, light winds.
-------------------------
The Navy conducts extensive attacks in the central Philippines. A number of ships are sunk and resistance is light. Information is received that the Japanese garrison on Leyte is small. Admiral Halsey suugests moving up the Philippines timetable from the currently scheduled December invasion to October.
The Peleliu invasion was launched on the 15th. The fight for the island would be intense, with large casualty numbers, and conducted in oppressive heat. Though a small island, its capture would take a full month. This invasion came on the same day as the invasion of Morotai Island.
Romania signs an armistice and joins the Allies. Canadian troops capture Le Havre, France with 12000 German troops. The Battle of Rimini begins in northeast Italy. Soviet forces move on Riga, Latvia.
-------------------------
More Information:
- Official Navy Chronology, pp. 537-541.
- Leyte, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 13-16.
- Events of September, 1944
- Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, September 1944
NEXT POST: SEPTEMBER 19TH
