Status - John Skinner - USS Daly:
USS Daly (DD-519) -New Guinea
May 19th:
Underway until 11 AM, anchored the rest of the day at Hollandia. Several alerts due to air attacks. Temperatures 80s, light winds. General quarters in late evening; all clear by midnight.
May 20th: Anchored all day until 7 PM. Temperatures 80s, light winds. Fueling in morning, left port with task force in the evening. Task force destination was Sawar, a coastal airfield a little further west from the Wakde area.
May 21st: Underway all day. Temperatures 80s, light breezes.
May 22nd: Underway all day, patrolling in the Sawar/Wakde area. Temperatures 80s, 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.
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.-------------------------
More Information:
- Official Navy Chronology, pp. 484-486.
- 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 26TH
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