Status - John Skinner - USS Daly:
USS Daly (DD-519) -New Guinea
May 15th:
Underway at 3 PM for the rest of the day. Temperatures 80s-90s, light winds. Left Seeadler Harbor about 2 PM to meet cruiser task forces for next mission,
May 16th: Underway all day. Temperatures 80s, light winds. At noon, north of Hollandia en route to Wakde area. Radar calibration in the morning.
May 17th: Underway all day. Temperatures 80s, light winds. Shelling in support of invasion force at Wakde early morning. Patrol rest of morning and then released to return to Humboldt Bay, New Guinea. Reached Hollandia (Jayapura) in the evening and anchored.
May 18th: Anchored in the morning, then underway. Temperatures 80s-90s, light breezes.
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The Wakde invasion was the next jump across the north side of New Guinea. Landings were successful, and the airfield at Wakde would be operational by the 21st.
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In the Central Pacific, the focus was now mostly on gathering forces for the invasion of the Mariana Islands, with Guam, Saipan and Tinian being the main island targets. This operation was slated to begin in mid-June.
US Navy operations continue in the Marshall Islands against atolls where Japanese troops remain.
Fighting continues in Italy at Anzio and at Monte Cassino. The fourth and final assault in the Monte Cassino area was underway. In the next few weeks, Rome would be captured, but an opportunity was lost to cut off and surround a large German force.
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More Information:
- Official Navy Chronology, pp. 482-484.
- New Guinea and the Marianas, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 96-102, 157-169.
- War at the End of the World, James P. Duffy, pp, 311-317.
- Events of May, 1944
- Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, May 1944
NEXT POST: MAY 22ND
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