History Man Posted October 26, 2014 Share #1 Posted October 26, 2014 I haven't been very active on here lately but there has been a slight pause, so I thought I would share this group with you. I picked this up a few months back from a friend of mine, it originally came from the family. Aviation Machinist Mate 2nd Class Jack Leroy Shepler USNR #6286527 From: Kansas KIA: 25 October 1944 VC-65 Battle of Leyte Gulf..."Taffy 3" AMM2c Shepler was born in Kansas and after the war broke out, he enlisted in the Navy. He became an Aviation Machinist Mate and was then attached to Composite Squadron VC-65, he continued to serve with them after they transferred to the USS St. Lo (CVE-63). Shepler was then attached to a TBM Avenger and was in one of the aircraft launched from the St. Lo during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. This was when she launched all available aircraft to attack/pester the Japanese force and then proceed to Tacloban Airstrip to rearm and refuel. The TBM Shepler was attached to was shot down during the battle....he was listed as MIA and then his status was changed to KIA. At the moment, not much is known about the circumstances of the crash. This was the famous battle in which "Taffy 3" faced the Japanese attack force. The group consists of his posthumous Purple Heart, Air Medals, and Good Conduct Medal. This is again another case of 2 Air Medals being awarded to an airman. Interestingly, the 2nd Air Medal is an Army contract with a numbered wrapped-brooch. "St. Lo departed Seeadler Harbor on 12 October to participate in the liberation of Leyte. Ordered to provide air coverage and close air support during the bombardment and amphibious landings, she arrived off Leyte on 18 October. She launched air strikes in support of invasion operations at Tacloban on the northeast coast of Leyte. Operating with Rear Admiral Clifton Sprauges escort carrier unit, "Taffy 3" (TU 77.4.3), which consisted of six escort carriers and a screen of three destroyers and four destroyer escorts, St. Lo steamed off the east coasts of Leyte and Samar as her planes sortied from 18–24 October, destroying enemy installations and airfields on Leyte and Samar islands. Steaming about 60 mi(52 nmi; 97 km) east of Samar before dawn of 25 October, St. Lo launched a four-plane anti-submarine patrol while the remaining carriers of Taffy 3 prepared for the day's initial air strikes against the landing beaches. The Battle of Samar began at 06:47, when Ensign Bill Brooks—piloting one of the TBM Avengers from St. Lo—reported sighting a large Japanese force comprising four battleships, six heavy and light cruisers, and 10-12 destroyers approaching from the west-northwest, only 17 mi (15 nmi; 27 km) away. At the same time, lookouts on St. Lo spotted the characteristic pagoda-like superstructures of Japanese battleships on the horizon. Rear Admiral Sprague ordered Taffy 3 to turn south at flank speed. Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's force steadily closed and by about 06:58 opened fire on the slow, outnumbered, and outgunned ships of Taffy 3. St. Lo and the other five CVEs dodged in and out of rain squalls and managed to launch all available fighter and torpedo planes with whatever armament they had handy (general purpose bombs and even depth charges). Pilots were ordered "to attack the Japanese task force and proceed to Tacloban airstrip, Leyte, to rearm and refuel". The carriers dodged salvos from enemy cruisers and battleships. As salvos fell "with disconcerting rapidity" increasingly nearer St. Lo, her planes, striking the enemy force with bombs, rockets, and gunfire, continued to harass the closing ships. By 07:38, the enemy cruisers, approaching from St. Lo′s port quarter, had closed to within 14,000 yd (13,000 m). St. Lo responded with rapid fire from her single 5-inch gun, claiming three hits on a Tone-class cruiser. For the next 90 minutes, Admiral Kurita's ships closed in on Taffy 3, with his nearest destroyers and cruisers firing from as close as 10,000 yd (9,100 m) on the port and starboard quarters of St. Lo. Many salvos straddled the ship, landed close aboard, or passed directly overhead. Throughout the running gun battle, the carriers and their escorts were laying a particularly effective smoke screen that Admiral Sprague credited with greatly degrading Japanese gunfire accuracy. Even more effective were the courageous attacks by the destroyers and destroyer escorts at point-blank range against the Japanese destroyers and cruisers. All the while, Kurita's force was under incessant attack by Taffy 3 aircraft and planes from the two other U.S. carrier units to the south. Under heavy attack from the air and harassed by incessant fire from American destroyers and destroyer escorts, the enemy cruisers broke off action and turned north at 09:20. At 09:15, the enemy destroyers—which had been kept at bay by the daring and almost singlehanded exploits of Johnston—launched a premature torpedo attack from 10,500 yd (9,600 m). The torpedoes had nearly run out of fuel when they finally approached the escort carriers, broaching the surface. A St. Lo Avenger, piloted by Lieutenant, junior grade Tex Waldrop, strafed and exploded two torpedoes in the wake of Kanlin Bay. During the surface engagement, Taffy 3 lost Gambier Bay, Johnston, Hoel, and Samuel B. Roberts to enemy gunfire." RIP AMM2c Shepler Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share #2 Posted October 26, 2014 Air Medals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted October 26, 2014 Purple Heart and Good Conduct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted October 26, 2014 Photos of Jack He is on the right in the first photo, and he is standing on the far left of the 2nd photo (which shows a portion of VC-65) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted October 26, 2014 A 1/48 TBM Avenger I made a few months ago painted in the scheme of a VC-65 aircraft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted October 26, 2014 Share #6 Posted October 26, 2014 Very nice set Philip. Thanks for sharing! JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DakotaDave Posted October 26, 2014 Share #7 Posted October 26, 2014 An incredible set of medals to an individual KIA in what has been described as the most heroic event in naval history since John Paul Jones. DakotaDave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted October 26, 2014 Share #8 Posted October 26, 2014 Very nice group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted October 26, 2014 Share #9 Posted October 26, 2014 Outstanding. i'm glad I wasn't the only one to recognize the battle yesterday. I made a post with my two Taffy 3 uniforms in that forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted October 26, 2014 Share #10 Posted October 26, 2014 Great grouping. Philip. Thanks for sharing. Bobgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted October 26, 2014 Share #11 Posted October 26, 2014 It's a nice tribute to create a model representing the plane he flew. Nice group Philip! Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share #12 Posted May 31, 2016 Bump in honor of Memorial Day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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