USS REMEY DD-688

A Tin Can Sailors Destroyer History

USS REMEY DD-688

The Tin Can Sailor, October 1995

By Marvin J. Merrick

During a period of twenty months, dating from January 1944, the 2100-ton USS REMEY (DD-688) participated in a series of major leapfrog advances along the insular invasion route to Japan proper.

These included the Marshalls, Marianas, and Palau campaigns; the Philippine liberation campaign; the capture of Iwo Jima; the Okinawa offensive; the fast carrier raids off Japan; and the last bombardment of the Kurile Islands.

In addition, it had a key role in the Battle of Surigao Strait, October 24-25, 1944, and was with Task Force 58 on its Tokyo operation in February 1945.

The REMEY at present is Flagship of Captain W.H. Price, U.S. Navy, Commander Destroyer Squadron Fifty-Four.

Launched in July, 1943, by the Bath Iron Works Corporation, Bath, Maine, the REMEY was commissioned at Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, September 30, 1943, with Lieutenant-Commander Reid P. Fiala, U.S. Navy, Commanding.

Its first mission was with Task Force 53 in the general operation against the Marshall Islands. Squadron Commander aboard at that time was Captain J. G. Coward, U.S. Navy.

It was in the Marianas, however, not the Marshalls, where the REMEY received its introduction to give and take fighting.

The ship departed from Kwajelein, June 10, 1944 in company with the bombardment group, and arrived off Saipan on D-Day minus one. As a member of Fire Support Unit One, it drew almost immediate attention from Japanese batteries on Saipan; three salvos straddled the REMEY as it closed the beach, but the destroyer’s counter-fire proved the more effective and two enemy batteries were counted as knocked out in the exchange.

The following day, June 15th, guns on Tinian took the battleship TENNESSEE and the REMEY, its screen, under fire. The REMEY commenced rapid-fire on the shore installation in three minutes and had silenced three guns; and for this received a “well done” from the TENNESSEE which had been hit at the outset.

For more than a month the REMEY remained at Saipan, firing at shore targets, patrolling as anti-aircraft screen in the transport area, seldom having a quiet day.

The plan was to send the destroyers McDERMUT and MONSSEN down the western side of the Strait; the REMEY was to head the eastern unit, with the destroyers McGOWAN and MELVIN astern. Both units were to utilize the cover of land and to fire torpedoes only.

PT-boats advised of the continued approach of the enemy force into Surigao Strait, and at 2100 the crew of the REMEY was notified of the pending attack.

General Quarters was sounded at 0205, October 25, 1944.

At 0227 the REMEY, McGOWAN, and MELVIN went into attack disposition. Their course was due south. First contact with the enemy was at 0235. The range was 20 miles.

Enemy searchlights caught the destroyer briefly at 0258 when the range had been reduced to 7 miles, and the REMEY began to make smoke.

Despite the obvious reasons for extreme high tension throughout the attacking force, the run reached its climax without a faltering move. At 0300.45 the first torpedo was fired from 11,900 yards at the number two target, later learned to be the battleship FUSO.

Flashes on the third and fourth torpedoes drew an immediate response from the Japanese force. The REMEY again was illuminated by searchlights. The first enemy salvos sought out the attackers but fell short.

The torpedoes were away and the destroyer turned hard left. The engine room was called upon for all speed. Flank.

At 0305, topside personnel looked for shadows in which to crouch; star shells lit up the area and a salvo of 6-inch projectiles straddled the REMEY. To increase the danger, the wind was blowing the protective smoke screen to starboard, exposing the port side of the ship.

Surprisingly, subsequent salvos from the Japanese units decreased in accuracy after the first straddle, and as the REMEY weaved its way towards safety, both firing and illumination of the enemy deteriorated. None of the destroyers were hit.

Three explosions were observed in the enemy formation at 0308, the time that the REMEY’s torpedoes were calculated to have crossed formation track. 0309 enemy salvos and starshells were falling short.

At 0311 the McDERMUT and MONSSEN fired torpedoes from 9,100 yards, abeam of the formation.

The REMEY’s target, at 0311, was observed to be slowing and falling-astern of formation. The initial speed of 18 knots had dropped to 6 ½ knots by 0320, when another large explosion was observed.

By 0334 the withdrawal was completed. From between Hibuson and Dinagat Islands, the REMEY watched the rainbow of fire from Seventh Fleet battleships and cruisers as they riddled the confused but still approaching enemy.

In the later appraisal of Japanese losses, it was determined that one destroyer, in addition to the FUSO, was destroyed as a result of torpedo action by the five attacking ships of Destroyer Squadron Fifty-Four.

The REMEY saw its first suicide plane, and shot down its first in December 1944, while operating off Mindoro with the fire support group. Main air attacks occurred December 15th, at 0820, two planes made suicide dives on USS MARCUS ISLAND; both crashing close aboard; at 0913, an enemy plane made a run on the REMEY, the after guns hitting and exploding it; and at 0940 another Jap dropped a bomb 100 yards astern, flew through broadside anti-aircraft fire and finally exploded ahead of the ship.

In the Luzon operation, the REMEY was assigned to screening duty with the reinforcement group for the initial landing at Lingayen Gulf, remaining until January 15, 1945.

In February, 1945, the Squadron Leader joined Task Group 58.5 whose first mission was the raid on Tokyo and surrounding area with Task Force 58; March lst it was operating east of Iwo Jima, acting as screen for a night carrier unit providing cover for troops on Iwo Jima; and March 15th the destroyer departed from Ulithi to strike Kyushu Island as prelude to the invasion of Okinawa.

Sea-air fighting was particularly heavy March 18-23, 1945, and the REMEY knocked down or shared in the destruction of at least three enemy planes, including a twin-engine bomber.

March 28th the task force proceeded towards Kyushu to carry out an attack on a Japanese surface force south of that island.

During April and until May 14th, the REMEY continued to screen for carrier element of Task Force 58 off Okinawa. When it arrived at Ulithi Atoll May 14th, it had been at sea continuously since February 10, 1945, except for a two-day period in March.

May 28th the REMEY again arrived at the operating area off Okinawa Shima, acting as anti-submarine and anti-aircraft screen for the heavy ships of Task Group 38. Okino Daito Shima was heavily shelled, the morning of June 9th by the REMEY in company with the USS GUAM, the USS ALASKA, and Destroyer Division 107.

Operating with the fast carrier groups of Task Force 38 from July 1st through August 10th, the REMEY participated in air and surface strikes against the Japanese homes islands. These included air strikes in the Tokyo, Kobe, and Nagoya areas and northern Honshu and Hokkaido; the bombardment of Muroran, Hokkaido Island on July 15th; and the bombardment of the Hitachi Engine Works, Honshu, on July 17th.

Detached from Task Group 38 on August 10th, the REMEY with Destroyer Squadron 54, less the WADLEIGH and the NORMAN SCOTT, proceeded to rendezvous with Task Force 92 for an anti-shipping sweep and bombardment of the northern Kuriles.

About four miles south of Kurabu Zaki, Paramushiru To on August 11^th, the group of which the REMEY was a part, discovered four enemy type “G” supply boats and one lugger. Before darkness made further action impossible, one enemy boat was sunk, one left burning and sinking, and one damaged. The force then continued enroute to Adak, Alaska, arriving the morning of August 14, 1945.

On August 31st the REMEY sortied with Task Force 92 and set course for Northern Honshu to take part in the occupation of that territory. At dawn September 7 1945, with the REMEY in the van lead the United States Ninth Fleet entered Mutsu Bay, Northern Honshu; the end of the line.

On September 15, 1945, the ship departed Mutsu Bay and turned eastward for Pearl Harbor and the West Coast. After having operated in every fleet in the Pacific; the First, the Third in the South Pacific, the Fifth in the Central Pacific, the Seventh in the Southwest Pacific, the Ninth in the North Pacific, and the Fourth in the Occupation of Japan; after having steamed one hundred and seventy-five thousand miles from Panama to Honshu, from Guadalcanal to the Aleutians, the REMEY turned eastward for home.

USS REMEY DD-688 Ship History

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, April 2016

Remey (DD-688) was laid down 22 March 1943 by the Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; launched 25 July 1943; sponsored by Miss Angelica G. Remey, daughter of Rear Admiral Remey; and commissioned 30 September 1943, Lt. Comdr. Reid P. Fiala in command.

Remey, flagship of DesRon 54, departed Boston 5 December 1943 and headed for the Pacific. Escorting heavier ships en route, she transited the Panama Canal at mid-month and arrived at San Diego to report for duty in the 5th Amphibious Force on the 20th. Training with the 4th Marines followed; and, on 13 January 1944, she sailed west, screening TF 53, the Northern Attack Force for the invasion of the Marshalls. From 29 January, when Wotje was bombarded, until 5 February, when Remey struck an uncharted reef, she screened the transports and CarDiv 22 and provided gunfire support for the troops fighting for Kwajalein. On the 6th, she got underway for Majuro, thence proceeded to Pearl Harbor for repairs.

Following repairs, Remey completed an escort run to San Francisco and back, then screened Bataan (CVL-29) to Majuro. There, from 9 to 29 April, she escorted submarines in and out of the area. Returning to Pearl Harbor 4 May, she escorted carriers on exercises in Hawaiian waters and on the 31st got underway for the Marianas. Stopping en route at Kwajalein, she arrived off Saipan on 14 June and with Fire Support Unit I commenced firing on the island. Closing to 4,000 yards, Remey was straddled by shore battery fire, but her return fire destroyed two of the offending batteries. The next morning, while screening Tennessee (BB-43) off Tinian, she destroyed three more guns. In the afternoon she shelled Saipan and throughout that day and the next continued counterbattery fire. On the 17th she provided gunfire support for the troops on Saipan, then on the 18th returned to the battleships and remained with them through the aerial attacks of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. On the 22d, she resumed shore bombardment duties and shelled enemy troop concentrations and supply dumps. Through June and July she remained in the area – continuing her support for operations on Saipan and extending it to ground forces fighting on Tinian after 24 July.

On 8 August the destroyer got underway for the Marshalls, thence steamed to the Solomons where TF 32 rehearsed for the assult [sic; assault] on the Palaus. A month later she sailed for those islands. Arriving on the 15th, she bombarded Babelthuap, then on the 16th and 17th showered her shells on Anguar [sic; Angaur]. On the 23d she sailed south and on the 27th anchored in Seeadler Harbor to prepare for the invasion of the Philippines.

Departing for Leyte 11 October, Remey passed the northern tip of Dinagat Island on the night of 19-20 October. In the morning, she screened her charges, landing craft, to the assault area, then took up station in lower Surigao Strait. Through the 24th, she continued her anti-small boat and antiaircraft patrols, then prepared to meet an enemy surface force reported standing toward the southern entrance to Surigao Strait.

Rear Admiral Oldendorf deployed his force (cruisers, battleships, and destroyers) for what was to be the last engagement of a battleline. Captain Coward, ComDesRon 54, divided his squadron into eastern and western groups to launch torpedo attacks against the Japanese as they steamed through the Strait toward defeat under the guns of the battleline.

Reports from the PTs shadowing the Japanese were slow in coming, but at 0211 on the 25th, Remey, leading the eastern attack unit, moved south. McGowan (DD-678) and Melvin (DD-680) followed in attack disposition. At about 0235 radar contact was established. The attackers, despite navigational difficulties, began to close on their targets. Just before 0300, Remey was illuminated briefly by an enemy searchlight. At 0300 the three destroyers of the eastern group fired their torpedoes, launching 27 “fish” in less than 2 minutes. Powder flashes on two of her torpedoes showed Remey’s position and again she was spotlighted. Straddled by 6″ shells she commenced making more smoke and weaving through it to make her way back up the Dinagat coast to the post-attack rendezvous point off Hibuson Island, whence the force witnessed the battleline’s barrage.

The next day Remey retired from Leyte Gulf. On the 30th she anchored in Humboldt Bay. During November she escorted reinforcements to Leyte and in December she joined CarDiv 22 for operations in the Sulu Sea in support of the landings on Mindoro. Back in the New Guinea-Admiralties area at the end of the month, she departed Manus 2 January 1945 and on the 11th arrived off Luzon with reinforcements for the assault forces landed on the Lingayen beaches 2 days earlier. She departed on the 15th and 8 days later arrived at Ulithi where she joined the fast carriers of TF 58.

On 10 February, she sortied with TG 58.5 and, steaming north, screened that group as its planes flew night fighter cover for the task force and conducted night harassment strikes against the enemy in the Tokyo area and then over Iwo Jima. Remey supported operations in the Volcano and Bonin Islands until 9 March, then got underway for Ulithi and a 2-day rest. On the 14th she screened the sortie of TG 58.4, then sailed with that group as it struck enemy installations, shipping and troop concentrations on and around Kyushu and the Ryukyus. On the 1st of April, the group covered the assault on Okinawa’s Hagushi beaches, then remained in the area until 11 May as ground forces pushed across Japan’s last bastion protecting her home islands. Replenished at Ulithi, the ships, now designated TG 38.4, were back off Okinawa before the end of the month. On 8 June, Remey joined TG 30.4 for the bombardment of Okino Daito, returned to TG 38.4 the next day, and retired to Leyte on the 11th.

By 1 July the carriers were again ready to strike at the Japanese home islands. On the 10th sorties were flown against Tokyo and, on the 13th and 14th, against northern Honshu and Hokkaido. On the night of the 14th-15th, Remey participated in the bombardment of Muroran. On the 16th, she screened the carriers as further strikes were launched against Honshu, then returned to the bombardment group as it shelled Hitachi. On the 18th, she rejoined TG 38.4, then shifted to TG 38.3 for screening duties as planes were sent against Shikoku and Kyushu, concentrating on Kobe, 20th-22d. Further strikes against the southern islands followed; but, by the 30th, the Tokyo and Nagoya areas were again the targets. Weather conditions, including a typhoon, delayed further offensive action until 9 August when Honshu was again hit.

Detached the following day, Remey, with others of her squadron, proceeded to the Kuriles where she joined TF 92 in an anti-shipping sweep in the Sea of Okhotsk on the 11th, then headed for Adak en route to a shipyard overhaul on the west coast. At Adak on the 14th, she received word of the Japanese surrender and orders to rejoin TF 92 for occupation duty in the Ominato area. Departing the Aleutians at the end of August, she remained in Japanese waters until 15 September when she got underway for San Francisco and inactivation.

Arriving 1 October, she shifted to San Diego in December. In commission, in reserve from January, Remey decommissioned 10 December 1946 and was berthed at San Diego until ordered activated with the outbreak of hostilities in Korea.

Recommissioned 14 November 1951, Remey departed the west coast 15 February 1952 and on the 28th reported for duty with the Atlantic Fleet. Homeported at Newport, she added strength to the 2d Fleet as that fleet sent destroyers to the Far East to support U.N. Forces in Korea. For the next year and a half, Remey operated in the western Atlantic and in the Caribbean. Then, in the fall (September-November) of 1953, deployed briefly to European waters for joint operations with the Royal Navy followed by 6th Fleet exercises in the Mediterranean. Six months after her return to Newport, she sailed for the western Pacific and summer operations with the 7th Fleet. Between June and September, she ranged from Korea and Japan to the Philippines and departed the latter for Suez 24 September, completing her round-the-world cruise 28 November.

Remey remained in the western Atlantic through 1955 and, in the spring of 1956, as tension in the eastern Mediterranean from Cyprus to Suez, again heightened, rejoined the 6th Fleet. Between 31 March and 12 May, as British troops prepared to withdraw from Suez, she cruised the Red Sea-Persian Gulf areas. Then, at the end of the month, the destroyer returned to Newport for 5 months of type training and ASW evaluation exercises. In July, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. By the end of the month, financial retaliations had been imposed by western Europe. Despite various peace plans proposed in August and September, war broke out in late October. To the north, civil unrest continued in Cyprus, flared in Poland, and flamed through Hungary. On 6 November Remey steamed back to the Mediterranean to assume patrol duties which continued until after Israeli forces withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula in late January 1957.

Through the spring of 1958, Remey remained on the east coast. During the summer, she conducted exercises in the North Atlantic and the North Sea. Returning in August, she participated in further ASW evaluation tests, then, in October, assumed duties as schoolship for the Destroyer Force’s Afloat Engineering School.

Detached at the end of the year, Remey shifted her homeport to New York City and commenced duty as flagship of Reserve Escort Squadron 2 (later, Reserve Destroyer Squadron 2). A unit of the Selected Reserve antisubmarine program, her crew was recalled to active duty and she rejoined the active fleet, assigned to DesDiv 201, after the closing of the East and West Berlin border in mid-August 1961. During December of that year and January of 1962, she cruised in the North Sea, returning to Newport in February and resuming reserve training duties at New York in August. In September 1963, she steamed to Philadelphia where she decommissioned 30 December 1963 and was berthed as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She remains a unit of that fleet, at Philadelphia, into 1974.

Remey earned 10 battle stars during World War II.