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USS Samuel B. Roberts KIA Purple Heart Battle off Samar


Trevor Arendall
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Trevor Arendall

Hello all, 

 

I am a new member on the US Military Forum and would like to introduce myself with one of my favorite medals in my collection. This is a Purple Heart to Machinist Mate Second Class Justin Conrad Haag of the USS Samuel B. Roberts. He was one of 90 men to be lost on the USS Samuel B. Roberts during the Battle off Samar on October 25, 1944. When this was purchased it included the Purple Heart, purple award case, medallion, and Navy Presidential Unit Citation. The Purple Heart is engraved in the "Type 1E Engraving" style as stated in Dave Schwind's amazing book Sacrifice Remembered. I am not completely sure what the medallion is for but I have been told by a few people that it is a presentation piece for being top of class in Machinist Mate School. 

 

I have always been extremely interested in the Battle off Samar ever since I was a kid and watched the Dogfights episode Death of the Japanese Navy. The amount of courage that the sailors showed at the battle is unbelievable. Charging the world's biggest battleship with nothing larger than a 5in gun, dueling with a heavy cruiser eight times their size and making repeated attack runs without any ammunition.  

 

"A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can" - Captain Robert W. Copeland (commander of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts). The USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) will forever be known as the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship.

 

Please feel free to comment with any remarks, questions or additional information!

 

Fair Winds and Following Seas to this American Hero

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USS Samuel B. Roberts.jpg

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tdogchristy90

Welcome aboard Trevor. I actually almost bought this group a few months back but was offered a “favorite battle” piece of my own, Peleliu. Nice find sir. 

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Trevor Arendall
42 minutes ago, Old Crow 1986 said:

Terrific piece of history you have there.  Thanks for being MM2C Haag's caretaker.

Thank you! I will be his caretaker until my death.

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Trevor Arendall
41 minutes ago, tdogchristy90 said:

Welcome aboard Trevor. I actually almost bought this group a few months back but was offered a “favorite battle” piece of my own, Peleliu. Nice find sir. 

Thank you for the welcome! This was an extremely nice find, I am very lucky to have this in my collection! If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you have related to Peleliu? 

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Welcome to the Forum! 

 

What a great medal to be the caretaker of. Nice presentation of it.

 

That is an amazing story. I had to look up the battle. She really did fight like a battlship.

 

/Kristoffer

 

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Trevor Arendall
7 hours ago, kristoffer said:

Welcome to the Forum! 

 

What a great medal to be the caretaker of. Nice presentation of it.

 

That is an amazing story. I had to look up the battle. She really did fight like a battlship.

 

/Kristoffer

 

Thank you for the welcome! I am lucky to be its caretaker. This battle was truly an amazing one, the Heermann, Johnston, Hoel, and Roberts all fought gallantly. 

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tdogchristy90
17 hours ago, Trevor Arendall said:

Thank you for the welcome! This was an extremely nice find, I am very lucky to have this in my collection! If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you have related to Peleliu? 


Trevor, I posted it in Latest Finds for you. Thanks. 

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Very nice historic medal. There is a lot of good info out there on the Samuel B Roberts. 
Im sure you have seen the history channel series WWII in HD, but there are portions of some episodes about the Samuel B.

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Trevor Arendall
15 minutes ago, mkite93 said:

Very nice historic medal. There is a lot of good info out there on the Samuel B Roberts. 
Im sure you have seen the history channel series WWII in HD, but there are portions of some episodes about the Samuel B.

Thank you! I have seen that and read a lot and watched many documentaries about Samar. If you ever get the chance the Dogfights episode the Death of the Japanese Navy and Battle 360 Leyte Gulf are both great watches about the Battle off Samar. Also, the book The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors is an excellent read as well. 

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Trevor Arendall
3 hours ago, KASTAUFFER said:

Thanks for sharing ! Taffy 3 groups are some of my favorites.

 

Kurt

Thanks for the comment! The story of Taffy 3 is a great one. I have always had a great interest for the Battle off Samar and am super excited to finally have something connected to the battle.  

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