Battle History

The Pacific Campaign

From commissioning in November 1943 to the end of the war in August 1945, the USS Newcomb fought across the breadth of the Pacific — from the Marshall Islands to the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and finally Okinawa. She was never a spectator: as flagship of Destroyer Squadron 56, she led DesRon 56 into some of the most significant naval engagements of World War II.

The Newcomb's war can be measured in miles steamed, rounds fired, and lives saved — but it is best understood through the words of the men who served aboard her and experienced these battles firsthand.

Marshall Islands — Spring 1944

After shaking down in the West Indies, the Newcomb made passage to the Marshall Islands, arriving on April 4, 1944. For two months she patrolled on antisubmarine duty off the Japanese-held atolls of Mille, Wotje, and Jaluit, helping to maintain the blockade of these bypassed enemy garrisons.

This was the crew's first sustained experience of wartime patrols — the routine watches, the vigilance required at sea, and the quiet pressure of knowing that enemy submarines operated in these waters.

Saipan & Tinian — Summer 1944

As flagship for the screen, the Newcomb joined the assault on Saipan on May 29, 1944 and served there and at Tinian until August 5. These duties included fire support, antisubmarine patrol, and escort.

Palau Islands — September–October 1944

Operating in the Fire Support and Bombardment Group for the assault on the Palaus from September 6 to October 1, 1944, the Newcomb fired 23 separate shore bombardments and covered underwater demolition teams (UDTs) during their dangerous reconnaissance missions. The Newcomb also provided bombardment control spotting, directing fire precisely onto Japanese defensive positions.

Leyte Gulf — October–December 1944

As flagship of Destroyer Squadron 56, the Newcomb joined the Leyte landings — General MacArthur's return to the Philippines — from October 12 to December 4, 1944. The destroyer covered underwater demolition teams, fired pre-invasion bombardment, and carried out night-harassing and illumination fire missions throughout the campaign.

Battle of Surigao Strait — October 25, 1944

The Battle of Surigao Strait was the last battleship-versus-battleship engagement in naval history. The Japanese Southern Force, built around the old battleships Yamashiro and Fusō, attempted to fight through the Surigao Strait during the night of October 24–25, 1944 to attack the American beachhead at Leyte Gulf.

Standing in their way was an American line of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers — and in the vanguard of the American force, the destroyer squadrons including DesRon 56 with the Newcomb leading the way.

The Torpedo Attack

DesRon 56 made a daring night torpedo attack, closing to within torpedo range of the advancing Japanese column in near-total darkness. The Newcomb fired all five of her torpedoes at the battleship Yamashiro. According to post-action analysis, three of her five torpedoes found their mark. The Yamashiro was sunk.

"The Newcomb was closely straddled but not damaged during the torpedo run — Japanese shells raising enormous columns of water just yards from the ship. Her crew stood by their stations through it all."

To the Aid of USS Albert W. Grant

After the torpedo attack, the Newcomb went to the aid of USS Albert W. Grant (DD-649), which had been badly damaged — in fact accidentally struck by friendly fire from the American cruisers during the confusion of the night battle. The Newcomb provided medical aid and took the Grant under tow, pulling her clear of the battle area.

The Philippines Campaign — Late 1944

Following the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Newcomb continued important service in the Philippines:

Iwo Jima — February–March 1945

Departing Lingayen Gulf on January 24, the Newcomb prepared for duty as a fire support ship at Iwo Jima. She arrived on February 10 and for the next month covered minesweeping operations and delivered close fire support to the Marines fighting ashore.

The bombardments at Iwo Jima were described as "pinpoint accurate" and of "inestimable assistance to troops ashore." The fighting at Iwo Jima was some of the bloodiest of the Pacific War, and the Newcomb's supporting fire helped keep American casualties lower than they might otherwise have been.

On February 25, the Newcomb engaged a Japanese submarine with unknown results. She departed Iwo Jima on March 10 and headed for the next operation — Okinawa.

Okinawa — April 6, 1945

Written by Nate Cook, QM2/c — the most personal account in this record

We left Ulithi on March 21 in a task force of 9 battleships, 9 cruisers, and 22 destroyers, and arrived at Okinawa on the 26th for a week of shore bombardment before D-Day on April 1 — April Fool's Day, and also Easter Sunday. There were many Japanese airfields within a few hundred miles, so we were subject to numerous kamikaze attacks as we carried out the usual softening-up activities.

The Newcomb met her nemesis on the afternoon of April 6, while we were screening a group of minesweepers west of Ie Shima. Due to the large number of air attacks, we had been at General Quarters on and off since 3 a.m. By 4 p.m. there were many enemy planes in the area. At one time we counted 40 enemy aircraft in sight at once.

The First Hit — 1800 Hours

We were able to shoot down 2 to 4 planes that were diving on us, but at 6 p.m. one — although hit — got through and, coming in from the port bow, crashed amidships.

"I can still see that plane coming closer, closer, through all of our anti-aircraft fire. First the 5-inch guns start firing, then as it got closer the 40mm guns, and finally the 20mm guns open up at close range — a terrific din up on the flying bridge. I could see the machine guns in the plane's wings winking as they fired straight at us; then I saw the plane hit with a tremendous crash, just aft of the flying bridge, at the base of #1 stack. Gasoline was sprayed around, fires were started, and there was a bomb explosion."
— Nate Cook

Five Kamikazes in Ninety Minutes

For the next hour and a half, the Newcomb was under continuous attack. As best the crew could determine afterward, a total of five kamikaze planes crashed the Newcomb, each carrying approximately a 500-pound bomb plus gasoline. Two hit from port and two from starboard amidships, plus a fifth that hit near the fantail.

The results were catastrophic: all power was lost, the engine spaces became flooded rubble, the ship was aflame from the bridge aft to #4 gun, and the smoke rose so high that men on the bridge could not tell whether the ship's stern still existed.

"There was a huge, overwhelming explosion — possibly due to the detonation of some or all of our torpedoes. When that explosion occurred, I had been standing at the after end of the flying bridge, and the next I knew I was lying on my back at the front of the flying bridge, perhaps 15 feet from where I had been. As I looked up I could see large pieces of steel plate slowly falling back down like leaves falling in the autumn. I remember covering my face with my arms and hoping for the best."
— Nate Cook

"It's Your Ship"

I heard Captain McMillian ask Commodore Smoot if he should order "abandon ship." Smoot's response was: "It's your ship — but I wouldn't if she were mine."

Two other destroyers, the USS Leutze (DD-481) and USS Beale (DD-471), came to the Newcomb's aid to help fight the fires. While the Leutze was helping, the fifth kamikaze slid across the Newcomb's stern onto the Leutze — killing 7 and wounding 34 of her men.

Counting Heads

When they counted, about half the crew was still aboard. They had no idea how many of the others had been saved and how many had died. The following casualty record is transcribed directly from the official USS Newcomb deck log, page 300, April 6, 1945:

Killed in Action — Official Record

From USS Newcomb Deck Log, Page 300, Friday April 6, 1945. Listing shows name, service number, rating, and branch.

One of the Fallen — Seaman 1st Class Reuben Donovan

Among the fifteen men killed in action that afternoon was Seaman 1st Class Reuben Donovan, age 29, of Milton, Delaware. He had joined the Newcomb in May 1944 as a Seaman 2nd Class and was promoted to Seaman 1st Class that August — the same summer the ship was fighting at Saipan and Tinian.

Before the war, Reuben had worked as a laborer on highway maintenance crews in Delaware. He and his wife Phoebe had a toddler daughter and infant twins when he was drafted in 1943. He also served as stepfather to Phoebe's youngest child from her first marriage. The family made ends meet as best they could while he was away: Phoebe did piecework for a basket manufacturer.

Reuben Donovan's remains were returned to Milton in April 1949 — four years after the battle — and he was laid to rest with full honors by American Legion Post #20 and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars. He left behind his wife, a daughter, and the twins, who grew up without their father.

Source: Blogger on the Broadkill — Honor Roll: Seaman 1st Class Reuben Donovan

The Captain's Scotch

"As we were being towed in, there were only 4 or 5 of us left on the bridge when the Captain came out of his cabin with a bottle of scotch whiskey — the neck partially broken. He suggested that we each find a coffee mug and he would share the bottle. We did, and he did — aboard a U.S. Navy ship yet! It did help a bit. Even my father would have approved."
— Nate Cook

The Flag

One of the Quartermaster's duties was to ensure that the proper flags were flown at all times. The after stack — where the U.S. flag was flown at sea — had been blown away. So at about midnight, Nate Cook went down to the flag locker, broke out a new U.S. flag, climbed as far up the mast as he could, and tied it on.

"Not very important — but it was on my own initiative and it made me feel better."
— Nate Cook

Kerama Retto — Ten Weeks of Waiting

The Newcomb was towed by the Navy tug USS Tekesta (ATF-93) to Kerama Retto harbor, arriving on April 7. Pumping of her flooded engine spaces continued for the next 49 days to keep her afloat. At one point Nate counted 65 damaged warships in the harbor — mostly destroyers — all waiting for repair facilities that were stretched to the limit.

Priority was correctly given to ships that could be repaired quickly and sent back into the fight. The Newcomb had the lowest priority; she would not fight again for at least a year. And so they waited.

"The nights were really scary. My night watches were up on the bridge, all alone. The ship would roll slightly back and forth, and being damaged, would creak and groan. How do you tell a harmless creak from one caused by a suicide swimmer sneaking up onto the bridge? I was scared. All of us were scared. One day Gene Sharpe and I agreed to sleep up on the bridge during the other's watch, so we would not be alone. What a difference that made! We became good friends and still keep in close touch."
— Nate Cook

Repairs and Homeward Bound

The Newcomb went into a floating dry dock to have her bottom patched. Large I-beams were welded to her sides to strengthen the hull. The gutted amidships section was cleaned out and a new deck of steel plates welded in place — the crew called it the "flight deck" because it resembled an aircraft carrier's deck more than a destroyer's.

On June 14, 1945, the Newcomb left Kerama Retto under tow, bound for Saipan, Pearl Harbor, and San Francisco. She arrived at San Francisco on August 8 — just as the atomic bombs were ending the war in the Pacific.

Navy Unit Commendation

End of Service

The end of World War II ended further repairs at San Francisco. The USS Newcomb was decommissioned on November 20, 1945 — just two years and nine days after she was commissioned. She was stricken from the Navy List on March 28, 1946 and scrapped at Mare Island Navy Yard in October 1947.

The ship is gone, but the men who served aboard her — and the memories they made — live on in this record.