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On 25 October 1944, during the Battle off Samar, USS Samuel B. Roberts faced one of the most powerful Japanese surface fleets of the Second World War. Built as a destroyer escort to hunt submarines and protect convoys, she was never intended to fight battleships and heavy cruisers in open combat. Yet her captain and crew deliberately charged a vastly superior enemy to shield the escort carriers of Taffy 3, turning an impossible mission into one of the U.S. Navy's most extraordinary fighting actions.
This documentary follows the desperate battle from the surprise appearance of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force to the torpedo attack, close-range gun duel, and the final sacrifice of USS Samuel B. Roberts. Through documented history, it explores how the determination of one small warship and her crew helped delay the Japanese advance, contributed to the survival of Taffy 3, and secured a lasting place in naval history as a symbol of courage, professionalism, and duty.
This documentary follows the desperate battle from the surprise appearance of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force to the torpedo attack, close-range gun duel, and the final sacrifice of USS Samuel B. Roberts. Through documented history, it explores how the determination of one small warship and her crew helped delay the Japanese advance, contributed to the survival of Taffy 3, and secured a lasting place in naval history as a symbol of courage, professionalism, and duty.
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00:00The ship had never been built for battles like this.
00:02Ahead lay some of the most powerful warships still sailing under the Japanese flag.
00:07Battleships armed with enormous guns capable of striking targets more than 20 miles away.
00:13Heavy cruisers built to hunt enemy surface fleets.
00:16Destroyers fast enough to surround almost anything that tried to escape.
00:20Against them stood USS Samuel B. Roberts.
00:24She was a destroyer escort, a ship designed to protect convoys, hunt submarines, and shield larger vessels from attack.
00:33She carried only a fraction of the firepower of the ships now appearing over the horizon.
00:38On paper, there was almost nothing about this fight that favored her survival.
00:42Every instinct of naval warfare suggested she should turn away.
00:47Instead, she accelerated toward the enemy.
00:49Within minutes, one of the smallest fighting ships in the Pacific would charge directly at one of the largest Japanese
00:56surface forces ever assembled.
00:58The odds were so uneven that even surviving the first exchange of gunfire seemed unlikely.
01:04Yet the men aboard Samuel B. Roberts were not charging because they believed they could win a duel against battleships.
01:11They were charging because behind them sailed ships that could not defend themselves against an attack like this.
01:17What happened next would become one of the most remarkable actions in the history of the United States Navy.
01:24But to understand why such an impossible decision was made, the story begins with a morning that seemed almost routine.
01:32Dawn broke over the waters east of the Philippine island of Samar on October 25, 1944.
01:40For the sailors of Task Unit 77.4.3, better known as Taffy-3, the day began much like many
01:48others during the campaign to retake Leyte.
01:50The group's mission was not to seek out enemy battleships or fight decisive fleet actions.
01:56Its escort carriers launched aircraft to support American soldiers ashore, attack Japanese positions, and fly anti-submarine patrols.
02:04Around them, a screen of destroyers and destroyer escorts guarded against submarines and aircraft, threats they had trained to face
02:13again and again.
02:15USS Samuel B. Roberts fit perfectly into that role.
02:19Commissioned only months earlier, she was small by fleet standards, but highly regarded by her crew.
02:25Like other destroyer escorts, she had been built quickly to meet the enormous demands of a global war.
02:32Her purpose was clear.
02:34Protect others.
02:36That morning, aircraft were already taking off from the escort carriers.
02:41Pilots prepared for strikes over Leyte.
02:44Flight crews directed aircraft across crowded flight decks while lookouts scanned the skies, expecting the danger to come from above.
02:51Surface attacks seemed almost unimaginable.
02:54The powerful Japanese fleet that had once threatened American naval operations had been fought repeatedly across the Pacific.
03:02Many officers believed the greatest danger that morning would come from scattered aircraft, or perhaps a submarine lurking beneath the
03:09waves.
03:10The eastern horizon remained calm.
03:13Smoke drifted lazily from the ship's funnels as the task unit continued its work.
03:18Radios carried routine reports.
03:21Engines maintained steady speed.
03:23Sailors performed familiar duties that had become second nature after months at sea.
03:29Then, shortly after sunrise, reports began arriving that made little sense.
03:34Observers noticed tall columns of water rising far beyond the formation.
03:40At first, no one could say exactly what they were seeing.
03:43The splashes appeared distant enough to invite uncertainty, yet far too large to ignore.
03:49Within moments, more lookouts confirmed the same unsettling sight.
03:54Someone, somewhere beyond the horizon, was firing very large naval guns.
03:58The towering splashes were not the work of a lone cruiser or a wandering destroyer.
04:04They came from Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's center force, one of the most powerful surface fleets Japan had committed during
04:11the entire Pacific War.
04:13The force included the giant battleship Yamato, whose main guns were the largest ever mounted aboard a warship, along with
04:20additional battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers.
04:25Despite suffering losses and air attacks during its approach through the Sibuyen Sea, Kurita's force remained overwhelmingly superior to anything
04:33guarding Taffy III.
04:36American commanders had not expected to face such an enemy.
04:39The Japanese plan called for several naval forces to converge on the invasion area around Lady Gulf.
04:45While other formations drew attention elsewhere, Kurita had pushed through the San Bernardino Strait during the night.
04:52Many American commanders believed that Root no longer posed an immediate threat after the previous day's fighting.
05:00Instead, as daylight spread across the Philippine Sea, Kurita emerged directly behind the lightly protected escort carriers.
05:08The imbalance was extraordinary.
05:10The American escort carriers carried aircraft, but lacked the armor and heavy guns needed for a surface engagement.
05:17Their escorts possessed courage and skill, but they had never been intended to fight battleships in open combat.
05:24For a few critical moments, confusion spread across the American formation.
05:29Smoke began pouring from funnels as ships increased speed.
05:33Escort carriers turned to launch every available aircraft, many of them carrying bombs or ammunition intended for ground support rather
05:41than anti-ship combat.
05:43Pilots climbed into the sky with whatever weapons they happened to have, knowing there would be little time to prepare
05:49for the unexpected battle unfolding beneath them.
05:52Meanwhile, Japanese shells continued falling closer.
05:56Massive columns of water erupted around the American ships, each one a reminder that the enemy could strike from distances
06:02far beyond the range of the destroyer escort's own guns.
06:07Aboard USS Samuel B. Roberts, Commander Robert W. Copeland quickly understood the reality confronting his crew.
06:15Running offered little hope.
06:17His ship could not shield the escort carriers by retreating, and it certainly could not outrun shells already reaching the
06:23formation.
06:24If Taffy-3 was going to survive, someone would have to confront an enemy force that possessed overwhelming advantages in
06:32size, armor, and firepower.
06:34The question was no longer whether Samuel B. Roberts had been built for this kind of battle.
06:40The question was whether a destroyer escort could make any difference at all against battleships.
06:46USS Samuel B. Roberts was never intended to become the centerpiece of a surface battle.
06:51She belonged to the John C. Butler class of destroyer escorts, a type of warship developed during the Second World
06:58War to meet a growing need rather than a glamorous one.
07:01The United States needed ships that could be built quickly, operate economically, and protect the enormous convoys carrying men and
07:09supplies across the Atlantic and Pacific.
07:12Instead of matching enemy battleships shell for shell, destroyer escorts were designed to defeat submarines, defend merchant shipping, and provide
07:21anti-aircraft protection for slower formations.
07:23Everything about Samuel B. Roberts reflected that mission.
07:27At just over 300 feet in length, she was significantly smaller than a fleet destroyer, and tiny compared to the
07:34battleships now approaching Samar.
07:36Her single 5-inch gun offered respectable firepower against aircraft, submarines on the surface, or lightly armed ships, but it
07:44was never expected to duel heavy cruisers.
07:46Her torpedoes were limited in number, and her thin hull carried almost no armor capable of resisting large-caliber naval
07:54shells.
07:55Her greatest strengths were vigilance, discipline, and versatility.
07:59The crew trained constantly in anti-submarine tactics, convoy escort procedures, damage control, and rapid response drills.
08:07They understood how to protect larger ships from unseen dangers lurking beneath the sea.
08:12Fighting enemy battleships at close range was simply not part of their mission.
08:18Yet war has a way of ignoring design specifications.
08:22Samuel B. Roberts had earned a reputation for aggressive training even before arriving off the Philippines.
08:28Her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland, believed that confidence at sea came from preparation.
08:35He pushed his officers and enlisted men hard, demanding quick reactions and high standards in every exercise.
08:43The crew jokingly referred to their ship as the destroyer escort that acted like a destroyer,
08:49a reflection of the demanding pace Copeland expected every day.
08:54Those months of training had forged a crew that trusted both their captain and one another.
09:00They knew the strengths of their ship.
09:02They also knew its limitations.
09:05As reports continued to arrive from around the formation,
09:08no one aboard Samuel B. Roberts needed to be told how badly the odds favored the approaching Japanese fleet.
09:15Every experienced sailor understood the difference between a destroyer escort and a battleship.
09:21Every gun crew knew the range advantage enjoyed by the enemy.
09:24Every engineer below deck understood that speed alone would not carry them.
09:29Out of danger.
09:30If they fought, they would be fighting an opponent built for exactly this kind of battle.
09:36If they turned away, the escort carriers behind them would remain exposed.
09:40Within moments, Commander Copeland would choose the only course he believed still offered Taffy 3 a chance.
09:47The first priority was simple.
09:50Hide the carriers.
09:52Almost immediately, the American escorts began laying dense smoke screens between the Japanese fleet and the vulnerable escort carriers.
10:00Thick clouds rolled across the sea, driven by the wind as the smaller ships zigzagged across the formation.
10:07Visibility dropped, making it increasingly difficult for Japanese gunners to maintain accurate aim.
10:19Behind the growing curtain, escort carriers launched every aircraft they could.
10:24Some departed carrying bombs intended for ground targets.
10:28Others carried depth charges or very little ammunition at all.
10:32Many pilots would attack repeatedly, regardless of what weapons remained, simply to distract the advancing Japanese ships.
10:40On the surface, the destroyers and destroyer escorts faced an equally desperate task.
10:46Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague understood that allowing Kurita's force to maintain a steady advance would almost certainly end in disaster.
10:54The only realistic chance of disrupting the attack was to force the Japanese commanders to react.
11:00That meant aggressive torpedo attacks against ships carrying vastly heavier guns.
11:05One after another, the American escorts accelerated toward the enemy.
11:09The order demanded extraordinary courage.
11:12Closing the range meant sailing directly into increasingly accurate gunfire.
11:17Every mile reduced the Japanese advantage in range,
11:20but every mile also increased the likelihood of being hit by shells weighing hundreds of pounds.
11:28Commander Copeland did not hesitate.
11:31Samuel B. Roberts increased speed and moved forward to join the attack.
11:35Later accounts described the ship pushing beyond her normal operating limits
11:39as the engineering crew coaxed every possible knot from the engines.
11:43The destroyer escort surged ahead,
11:46determined to place herself between the enemy and the carriers she had been assigned to protect.
11:50Around her, towering shell splashes continued climbing into the sky.
11:55Columns of water crashed back across the decks.
11:59Fragments screamed through the air.
12:01Still, the ship pressed forward.
12:03The men at the guns concentrated on their drills.
12:06Damage control parties prepared equipment they hoped they would never need.
12:10Below decks, engineers monitored boilers and turbines under increasing strain,
12:15fully aware that every additional knot of speed shortened the distance to an enemy whose firepower dwarfed their own.
12:22No speeches were necessary.
12:24The situation spoke for itself.
12:27The officers and sailors aboard Samuel B. Roberts understood that this attack was not about destroying an entire Japanese fleet.
12:34It was about forcing hesitation, creating confusion, and giving the escort carriers a few more precious minutes to escape.
12:43Every minute gained increased the chances that aircraft could launch.
12:47Every minute gained allowed the carriers to disappear deeper into the smoke.
12:51Every minute gained improved the odds that someone else might survive.
12:55As Samuel B. Roberts continued charging toward the enemy line, the moment for hesitation disappeared behind her wake.
13:03The ship had committed herself to the attack.
13:06There would be no turning back.
13:08The distance closed with astonishing speed.
13:11Commander Copeland steered aggressively, weaving to complicate Japanese fire while maintaining the course needed for a torpedo attack.
13:18Enemy shells continued falling around the ship, each near miss, throwing thousands of tons of seawater high into the air
13:26before crashing back across the deck.
13:28The smaller vessel seemed almost insignificant amid the immense battle line advancing from the west.
13:34Appearances were deceptive.
13:36For a torpedo attack to succeed, destroyers and destroyer escorts could not remain at long range.
13:42Their torpedoes were effective only if launched from relatively close distances, where the enemy had less time to maneuver away.
13:50Closing that distance required exposing themselves to the full weight of Japanese naval artillery.
13:56It was among the most dangerous maneuvers in naval warfare.
14:00Accounts differ on the exact sequence of every movement during these chaotic minutes.
14:05Smoke, rain squalls, gunfire, and overlapping attacks from several American escorts.
14:11Make it difficult to reconstruct every detail with complete certainty.
14:16What is well established is that Samuel B. Roberts continued driving directly toward the Japanese formation while under increasingly heavy
14:24fire.
14:25The crew held course.
14:28Rangefinders worked continuously.
14:30Torpedo crews prepared their weapons.
14:32Every second mattered.
14:34At last, Copeland judged the distance sufficient.
14:37The order was given.
14:38Samuel B. Roberts launched her torpedoes toward the advancing enemy.
14:42Almost immediately, she altered course sharply to avoid becoming an easier target.
14:47Whether every Japanese commander fully understood which American ship had fired was less important than the effect these attacks produced
14:54across the formation.
14:55Torpedoes forced ships to maneuver, disrupted carefully maintained formations,
15:00and demanded immediate attention from officers who had expected a much easier pursuit.
15:04For the Americans, that disruption was the entire point.
15:09No one expected a single torpedo attack to destroy Corita's fleet.
15:13They hoped only to slow it.
15:15To create uncertainty.
15:17To force precious minutes of delay.
15:21Samuel B. Roberts had completed one of the most dangerous phases of her mission.
15:25But the battle was only beginning.
15:28The torpedoes were gone.
15:29Now, she would have to fight with the weapons she still carried.
15:32With her torpedoes expended, Samuel B. Roberts turned to her remaining weapon.
15:37Her single, five-inch gun.
15:39The crew worked with remarkable speed.
15:42Loading and firing as rapidly as training and exhaustion allowed.
15:45Shell after shell streaked toward Japanese cruisers, whose larger guns continued returning overwhelming fire.
15:52The destroyer escort had no hope of matching their weight of metal.
15:57Instead, she relied on accuracy, determination, and relentless pressure.
16:03American reports indicate that Samuel B. Roberts scored repeated hits during this phase of the engagement,
16:09contributing to the confusion already spreading through the Japanese formation.
16:14Precisely measuring the effects of every shell remains difficult,
16:18because multiple American ships and aircraft attacked simultaneously.
16:22Historians continued to debate which individual vessel caused specific damage at particular moments.
16:28What remains beyond dispute is that the destroyer escort refused to break off the fight.
16:34Her gun crews maintained an extraordinary rate of fire.
16:37Each salvo demanded another decision from Japanese commanders already forced to respond to torpedoes, smoke,
16:44attacking aircraft, and several aggressive American escorts operating independently across the battlefield.
16:51Time remained the most valuable weapon available.
16:54Every minute the Japanese advance slowed increased the chances that Taffy III could survive.
16:59Every maneuver imposed on Kurita's force complicated an attack that had begun with overwhelming advantages.
17:05But constant resistance also came at a price.
17:09The longer Samuel B. Roberts remained within range, the easier she became to identify.
17:15Japanese ships began directing increasing attention toward the stubborn destroyer escort that refused to disengage.
17:22One by one, larger guns found their mark.
17:25The battle was entering its most dangerous phase.
17:28The Japanese ships had no intention of allowing the destroyer escort to continue her attack.
17:33As Samuel B. Roberts remained within range, the volume and accuracy of enemy fire steadily increased.
17:40Shells landed ever closer until near misses gave way to direct hits.
17:45Steel buckled under the impact.
17:47Fragments tore across exposed positions, cutting through equipment and men alike.
17:52Every hit stripped away more of the ship's ability to fight, yet her guns did not fall silent.
17:58The 5-inch mount continued firing whenever a target presented itself.
18:02Gun crews worked through smoke, heat, and concussion, loading shell after shell despite the growing destruction around them.
18:10Every round fired represented another attempt to delay the Japanese advance,
18:15another reminder that the small American escort refused to surrender the initiative.
18:19Below deck, the battle became just as desperate.
18:23Engineering spaces, normally filled with the steady rhythm of machinery,
18:27turned into scenes of confusion and danger.
18:30Damage to steam lines and machinery threatened the power that kept the ship moving.
18:36Engineers struggled to maintain pressure as casualties mounted around them,
18:40knowing that losing propulsion would leave Samuel B. Roberts helpless before the enemy's guns.
18:45Then, another hit shook the ship from bow to stern.
18:50Flooding spread into damaged compartments,
18:53forcing repair parties to move quickly through smoke-filled passageways.
18:57Fire broke out in several areas,
18:59demanding immediate attention before it could reach ammunition or vital equipment.
19:03Damage control teams carried hoses, sealed, ruptured compartments,
19:08and fought to contain the growing chaos while the battle still raged above them.
19:12The situation worsened with every passing minute.
19:15Hits disrupted steering,
19:17making it increasingly difficult to maneuver as violently as before.
19:21Every turn required greater effort from the crew,
19:24while the Japanese ships continued closing the range.
19:27Ammunition stocks also began to decline
19:29after the extraordinary rate of fire maintained throughout the engagement.
19:34The gun crews conserved nothing.
19:36Every shell that remained was fired,
19:38because every minute still mattered.
19:40Across the ship, sailors moved instinctively from one emergency to the next.
19:44Medics treated the wounded wherever space could be found.
19:48Damage control parties disappeared into smoke-filled compartments.
19:52Signalmen continued passing reports despite shattered equipment.
19:56Men replaced fallen shipmates at battle stations without hesitation,
20:00keeping weapons in action for as long as they remained operational.
20:04The destroyer escort was no longer fighting as she had at the beginning of the battle.
20:08She was fighting simply to remain in the fight.
20:11For more than an hour,
20:13Samuel B. Roberts had challenged an enemy that outweighed and outgunned her in every measurable way.
20:18But courage and determination could not erase the damage accumulating throughout the ship.
20:24Commander Copeland could see what every experienced sailor already understood.
20:29The ship had reached the point where she could no longer continue the battle.
20:32The final blows came against a ship that had already given almost everything she could.
20:37Repeated hits left Samuel B. Roberts critically damaged.
20:41Her engines failed.
20:42Power diminished.
20:43Fires continued burning despite the efforts of exhausted damage control teams.
20:48Flooding spread through the hull,
20:50and the list grew more pronounced with every passing minute.
20:53There was no realistic path back into the fight.
20:56Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland
20:58had delayed the enemy for as long as his ship could endure.
21:01Continuing to resist with a crippled vessel would no longer protect the carriers behind him.
21:07It would only cost additional lives without changing the outcome.
21:10The order was given to abandon ship.
21:13Even then, discipline held.
21:15The wounded received assistance whenever possible.
21:18Life rafts were launched.
21:21Sailors entered the water in an organized manner despite the destruction surrounding them.
21:25Years of training remained visible in those final moments,
21:28as officers and enlisted men focused on helping one another rather than themselves.
21:33Soon afterward, USS Samuel B. Roberts slipped beneath the surface.
21:38For the survivors, the battle was not yet over.
21:42Hundreds of men from Taffy III's ships found themselves scattered across the sea,
21:46many wounded, many exhausted,
21:49waiting hours before rescue vessels could safely recover them.
21:52Some never returned.
21:54Samuel B. Roberts lost a significant portion of her crew,
21:58while many others survived only through endurance, discipline,
22:01and the determination to keep one another alive until help arrived.
22:05The sacrifice of the destroyer escort cannot be measured simply by the moment she sank.
22:10Her mission had never been to destroy the Japanese fleet.
22:14It had been to delay it.
22:17Together with the destroyers, destroyer escorts, escort carriers,
22:21and the relentless attacks launched by American aviators,
22:24Samuel B. Roberts helped create the confusion
22:27that disrupted Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's advance.
22:30Every torpedo attack, every salvo, every smokescreen,
22:35and every minute of resistance forced decisions upon a Japanese commander
22:39whose overwhelming superiority had failed to produce the swift victory he expected.
22:45By the time the fighting ended,
22:47the vulnerable escort carriers of Taffy III had gained the time they desperately needed.
22:52The little destroyer escort had not survived,
22:55but the force she had helped protect largely had.
22:58By the afternoon of October 25, 1944,
23:02one of the most extraordinary naval battles in history was coming to an end.
23:07From the moment Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's center force
23:10had emerged from the San Bernardino Strait,
23:12the outcome had seemed almost predetermined.
23:15His force possessed four battleships, including the giant Yamato,
23:19along with heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and, uh, destroyers.
23:23Against them stood six slow escort carriers
23:26and a handful of destroyers and destroyer escorts
23:30whose primary mission had never been to fight a surface fleet.
23:34On paper, there should have been little doubt about the result.
23:37Instead, the battle became a remarkable demonstration
23:41of what determination, initiative, and aggressive leadership
23:45could accomplish against overwhelming odds.
23:48Throughout the morning,
23:49the ships and aircraft of Taffy III fought as though they belonged to a much larger fleet.
23:55Escort carriers launched every aircraft they could,
23:59often sending pilots into battle with bombs intended for ground targets,
24:03depth charges meant for submarines,
24:05or sometimes with little more than their machine guns.
24:08Destroyers and destroyer escorts repeatedly charged enemy warships many times their own size.
24:14Smokescreens obscured the carriers,
24:16torpedo attacks forced Japanese ships to maneuver,
24:19and constant air attacks created confusion across the battlefield.
24:23None of these actions alone decided the battle.
24:26Together, they transformed what should have been a straightforward pursuit
24:30into a chaotic and costly engagement.
24:33USS Samuel B. Roberts played an important part in that transformation.
24:37She was never expected to sink battleships or defeat an entire fleet.
24:42Her mission was far more practical and, in many ways, far more difficult.
24:47She had to force the enemy to react.
24:50Every torpedo launched, every shell fired,
24:53and every minute she remained in action
24:55forced Japanese commanders to divide their attention between multiple threats
24:59instead of concentrating entirely on the vulnerable escort carriers behind her.
25:04Time became the most valuable weapon available to Taffy III.
25:09Minute by minute, aircraft escaped from the carriers.
25:12Minute by minute, smoke concealed the American formation.
25:16Minute by minute, the Japanese advance became less organized than it had been at sunrise.
25:22Eventually, Vice Admiral Kurita made one of the most debated decisions of the Pacific War.
25:28He ordered his fleet to withdraw.
25:30Historians have discussed that decision ever since.
25:33There was almost certainly no single reason.
25:37Kurita had already lost ships during earlier phases of the Lady Gulf campaign.
25:41His formation had become increasingly scattered during the fighting off Samar.
25:46American destroyers, destroyer escorts, carrier aircraft, and repeated torpedo attacks
25:52had created uncertainty about the true strength of the force opposing him.
25:57Reports suggested the possible presence of larger American naval units.
26:01Ammunition had been expended, communication had become more difficult,
26:05and the situation no longer resembled the swift victory he had anticipated only hours before.
26:13Different historians assign different weight to each of these factors.
26:17But they agree on one essential point.
26:19The fierce resistance of Taffy III fundamentally altered the battle.
26:23Had the American escorts fled without fighting, the escort carriers would almost certainly have faced a far greater danger.
26:31Instead, every aggressive attack imposed new decisions upon Kurita and steadily disrupted the momentum of his advance.
26:39Samuel B. Roberts was one part of that larger effort, but she became one of its defining symbols.
26:45Her crew demonstrated what naval service has always demanded at its very best, professionalism under extreme pressure.
26:52They understood their ships' limitations.
26:54They understood the overwhelming strength of the enemy.
26:57They understood that survival had become increasingly unlikely.
27:01Yet they continued carrying out their mission, because other ships depended upon them.
27:07That distinction matters.
27:09The legacy of Samuel B. Roberts was never built upon exaggerated claims or impossible victories.
27:16She did not destroy the Japanese fleet.
27:19She did not fight alone.
27:21She did not change the course of the Pacific War by herself.
27:24What she did was fulfill her duty completely, despite circumstances that would have justified almost any other decision.
27:32For that, USS Samuel B. Roberts received the Presidential Unit Citation, one of the highest collective honors awarded to American
27:41military units.
27:42Commander Robert W. Copeland received the Navy Cross for his leadership during the battle,
27:47while the courage displayed by officers and enlisted men alike earned lasting respect throughout the United States Navy.
27:55Decades later, naval officers still study the Battle of Samar, not because it was a perfect battle,
28:01but because it demonstrated how initiative, leadership, and determination can influence events even when every measurable advantage belongs to the
28:10enemy.
28:11The story of Samuel B. Roberts has also endured for another reason.
28:15It reminds us that history is not always shaped by the largest ships or the most powerful weapons.
28:21Sometimes it is shaped by ordinary people who refuse to abandon the responsibility placed upon them.
28:27The sailors aboard Samuel B. Roberts were not searching for glory that morning.
28:32They were protecting the ships behind them.
28:34Everything they did flowed from that single purpose.
28:37When the battle finally ended, their destroyer escort rested on the floor of the Philippine Sea.
28:43Many of her crew never returned home.
28:45Yet the carriers they had defended survived.
28:48The invasion of Lady continued.
28:50And one of Japan's last opportunities to strike a decisive blow against the American landings had slipped away.
28:57That is why USS Samuel B. Roberts remains one of the most respected names in American naval history.
29:04Not because she was the largest ship in the battle.
29:07Not because she possessed the most powerful guns.
29:09But because, when confronted with an impossible choice, her officers and crew measured success not by the odds of survival,
29:17but by the lives depending on their actions.
29:20In the end, that is what transformed a small destroyer escort into a lasting symbol of courage, duty, and sacrifice.
29:28And long after the guns fell silent off Samar, those qualities remain every bit as worthy of remembrance as the
29:36battle itself.
29:36And with the meaning of the passage of the�� dog, those two 53-35-34-34-351-34-34-34
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