Laffey's aft section remained burning, forcing the captain to reduce speed in an effort to prevent the fanning of the flames and encourage its spreading. A Val seized the opportunity and began a bomb run, dropping a 500lb high-explosive (HE) bomb that hit squarely on the aft section and jammed the rudders 27 degrees to port. Out of the blue, four FM 2 Grumman Wildcats from VC94 squadron, assigned to the carrier USS Shamrock Bay, were vectored in to help save the Laffey. The 40 Japanese aircraft remaining were still attacking the destroyer while the Wildcats engaged at will. Two Japanese aircraft got by the Wildcat defense and both hit the Laffey. The Wildcats shot down six Kamikazes and, when low on fuel, had to break off and return to their carrier. By this time, five Kamikazes had hit the Laffey along with three hits from dropped bombs - however, like a seemingly beaten prize fighter finding a renewed fighting spirit from within, she still lay afloat and firing on the enemy.
Soon, twelve F4U Corsair fighters of a combat air patrol appeared overhead and attacked the remaining 30 Japanese planes. One of the F4's followed an "Oscar" in on his suicide run and saw the Japanese plane hit the yard arm, knocking the plane into the water. The Corsair was close behind and hit the ship's radar antenna, damaging the plane and forcing the pilot to bail out in the water. An F4U shot down the 22nd, and final, attacking Japanese plane. After 80 minutes of combat, Laffey had been struck by no fewer than six kamikazes and four bombs, losing 32 of her crew with another 71 wounded. Many on board felt the ship should have been abandoned but amazingly she was saved with the captain defiantly stating "I'll never abandon ship as long as a gun can fire."
The Laffey crew put out the fires and buried her dead. She was then taken under tow to Okinawa for temporary repairs. Upon completion of these repairs, the destroyer sailed for the west coast of the United States via Saipan, Eniwetok and finally Hawaii, eventually arriving at Tacoma, Washington on May 24th, 1945. There, she entered dry-dock at the Todd Shipyard Corporation. Repairs were completed in September to which she then set sail for San Diego but, while en route, collided with PC-815 in a thick fog. After further repairs, she officially sailed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Laffey then operated in Hawaiian waters until May 21st, 1946 (the war had completed in September of 1945). She was assigned to participate in "Operation Crossroads", the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll, to collect scientific data of the resulting explosion. For her participation in the blast, Laffey was required to undergo radioactive decontamination by sandblasting and painting of all underwater surfaces and partial replacement of salt-water piping and evaporators. Upon decontamination, she sailed for the American west coast via Pearl Harbor, arriving San Diego in late August 1946. On June 30, 1947 she was decommissioned and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Laffey was re-commissioned in late January of 1951 and, in mid-January of 1952, she sailed for the Korean Peninsula to partake in actions of the Korean War. She arrived in the theater in March. The ship operated with TF 77, screening the American aircraft carriers USS Antietam and USS Valley Forge. Laffey also was used to shell Communist shore strong points on many occasions. With her commitment in Korea over, she sailed for the American east coast and operated in the Caribbean as part of a hunter-killer group until February 1954. She toured Korea again in June of that year and returned to Norfolk in August of 1954. In October of 1956, Laffey then left Norfolk for Mediterranean waters during the Suez Crisis (October 29th - November 7th) involving Israel, the United Kingdom and France against Egypt, Palestinian forces and support through the Soviet Union. Once there, she joined with the 6th Fleet on patrol near the Israeli-Egyptian border.
Upon returning to Norfolk in February of 1957, the vessel patrolled along the Atlantic Coast. On September 3rd of 1958, she was then called to conduct NATO operations off the coast of Scotland. From there, she rejoined the 6th Fleet in Mediterranean waters until coming back home to Norfolk in December of that year. The following June, she cruised the Caribbean and was deployed, once again, to the Mediterranean in August of 1959. In December, she made port calls to Massana, Eritrea, and Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia. The destroyer operated in the Persian Gulf until late January 1960 only then returning stateside to Norfolk in February. Laffey then operated out of Norfolk and, in October, visited Antwerp, Belgium. She returned to Norfolk in October and then was called back to the Mediterranean in January of 1961.
From October of 1963 to June of 1964, Laffey operated along the eastern seaboard as an ASW ship. In June of 1964, with the Cold War against the Soviet Union in full swing, she was deployed to the Mediterranean region on a surveillance mission, observing Soviet naval forces training in Mediterranean waters. Laffey continued to make yearly Mediterranean cruises with the 6th Fleet and sailed in many operational and training exercises across the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. On March 29th, 1975 USS Laffey was decommissioned yet again.
USS Laffey DD-724 received five battle stars for her service in World War 2 as well as a US Presidential Unit Citation. For her Korean War actions, Laffey received a further two battle stars plus the Korean Presidential Unit Citation as well as the Meritorious Unit Commendation.
Unlike many historic American World War 2 vessels that were unceremoniously sold for scrap, the Laffey was preserved as a memorial warship to be berthed at Patriots Point in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1986, DD-724 was formally listed as a National Historic Landmark to provide the vessel the due protection. As a result of a leaking hull, Laffey was towed into dry dock for repair at a cost of $9.2 million. In April of 2010, Clemson University reached a lease agreement with the Patriots Point organization to moor the USS Laffey adjacent to Clemson's property at the former US Navy base in North Charleston Harbor. Currently she cannot be toured and the long term plans are to move her back to Patriots Point sometime in the future.
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