Airman Scholar Sp05-1.indd - United States Air Force Academy

from Midway since their forces never found the USS Hornet
or Enterprise (Whited). This led them to plan an attack on
the islands where their navy met with considerable resistance,
although the American forces were not always the greater in
number or in arms. The Americans were simply blessed with
capable leaders. These commanders knew the value and worth
of their men would be tested in battle. They knew too that
the mission comes first no matter the sacrifices or odds.
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Admiral Clifton A. F. Sprague defended Leyte Gulf
and the Philippine islands from Japanese invasion. His victory
is one of the most impressive battles against the Japanese
in World War II. Outnumbered and outgunned by Japanese
Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, Sprague did everything he could
to outmaneuver and outwit his enemy. Taffy 3, a 13 ship task
force, relied on its courageous crews and the sacrifices they
made in order to maintain their objective: keep the Japanese
out of the Philippines and protect
American ground forces ( Wukovits, 141).
Sprague was assigned the command of Carrier Division
25, which included the flagship Fanshaw Bay, an escort
carrier and four destroyer escorts. He was later assigned the
command of Taffy 3 with six escort carriers, three destroyers,
and four destroyer escorts. Due to a previous negativeminded
commander, Sprague’s flagship crew’s morale was
extremely low (Wukovits, 111-112). His first task was to
start building up the ship’s and unit’s morale. The Admiral
knew men and therefore knew that low morale contributes
to bad performance, whereas high morale achieves desired
performance. Bad performance leads to unneeded deaths and
loss of lives which was to be avoided when possible. Although
his crew was still undermanned and overworked, because of
the personal and sincere attention the crew received from
their commander, their morale improved drastically. The
crew also developed a loyalty and trust in Sprague which
became fundamental for Sprague’s tactics in the later battle for
Leyte Gulf (Wukovits, 113).
The Japanese planned a massive attack centering
on the Philippine islands consisting of multiple elements.
Kurita, who didn’t have much faith in the Japanese plan,
moved his fleet down the San Bernardino Strait right into
Sprague’s miniscule force (Wukovits, 132). Vice Admiral William
F. Halsey was to assist Sprague with an impressive fleet
dubbed Task Force 34. However, Halsey fell for a Japanese
diversion and ended up chasing Japanese carriers, bringing
vital American forces away from aiding Sprague ( Wukovits,
133-135).
A time had come to face death or failure. Sprague
realized this when he first viewed the Japanese fleet set against
him. Sprague valued his men’s lives and well-being but he
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also knew where his true loyalty at the time of the battle lay.
He gave his men and ships 15 minutes against what he was
sure would be a Japanese onslaught (Wukovits, 145). However,
instead of retreating and saving the lives of his men and
himself, Sprague chose to hold out and defend Leyte Gulf as
ordered against almost impossible odds. This focus on priorities
and the task at hand was an advantage that Sprague had
over Kurita and it played a vital role in the two-and-a-halfhour,
not 15 minute as
Sprague originally expected, battle that ensued.
Kurita didn’t believe in his commander’s complicated
strategy. The Japanese forces were composed of three main
parts. One would be “bait”, luring Admiral Halsey and the
destructive, speedy American ships away. The other two
would rendezvous at the Philippines simultaneously and take
on whatever American forces were there. Kurita, arriving earlier
than his counterpart commander, was sure that his forces
would be demolished going against the Americans as planned
(Wukovits, 116-117). He had no faith in his mission, which
clouded his judgments. Even when he faced 13 small ships
he should have destroyed easily, Kurita was expecting a large
force and was surprised. As Sprague strategically maneuvered
towards a rain squall away from Kurita’s ships, the enemy
was confused. Kurita could stick to the mission and charge
on to Leyte Gulf and the Philippines, or he could follow and
destroy Sprague, fully expecting Sprague’s forces were superior
compared to his (Wukovits, 146). He sacrificed his mission
and advantage by fighting on Sprague’s terms.
American forces commanded by Sprague put up a
steady, yet somewhat desperate defense. Sprague called for
aerial support to come to his aid, but was still out gunned.
His ships and planes eventually ran out of ammo. Still,
Sprague commanded them to continue harassing Kurita’s
ships, even if simply a diversion. Lt Commander R.S. Rogers’s
account of Sprague’s orders clearly illustrates the emphasis
on defending Leyte Gulf at all costs, even at the high price of
losing all men. As Squadron commander of Fanshaw Bay aircraft,
he radioed in stating that his planes were out of ammo
after three runs on the Japanese. Sprague replied, “Well, look.
You just make dummy runs on the ships because every time
you do, you draw fire away from my ships” (Wukovits, 155).
Considering the alternative, American forces would
lose many more men if one ship was sunk as opposed to aircraft.
And because of the care and attention Sprague devoted
to gaining his men’s trust and promoting courageous actions,
they all knew that following his orders, at their own peril, was
necessary. Strategically, Sprague’s reasoning was correct. Sentimentally,
Sprague seems callous, but he reduced casualties
overall and became victorious. Rogers also knew that men
had to be sacrificed: