On October 25, 1944, through a series of naval movements, a small 13 ship destroyer task force found itself the only thing between a huge 23 ship Japanese battle fleet and the American landing force attempting to free the Japanese held Philippine Islands. When the choice came to run south, one destroyer commander named Ernest Evans,a Cherokee Indian who had joined to fight, charged the entire Japanese fleet alone, guns blazing and torpedoes firing, while the crew of largest battleship in the world, the Yamato, watched in stunned amazement. This incredibly brave action gave the rest of the small support force named Taffy 3 the incentive to attack, which they did, ultimately wreaking huge damage upon the surprised Japanese fleet, saving the Philippine invasion,and handing the Japanese navy a defeat from which they never recovered.



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