Trevor Arendall Posted December 15, 2020 Share #1 Posted December 15, 2020 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Crow 1986 Posted December 15, 2020 Share #2 Posted December 15, 2020 Terrific piece of history you have there. Thanks for being MM2C Haag's caretaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdogchristy90 Posted December 15, 2020 Share #3 Posted December 15, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Arendall Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share #4 Posted December 15, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Arendall Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share #5 Posted December 15, 2020 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristoffer Posted December 15, 2020 Share #6 Posted December 15, 2020 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Arendall Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share #7 Posted December 15, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottplen Posted December 15, 2020 Share #8 Posted December 15, 2020 Very nice heart . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Arendall Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share #9 Posted December 15, 2020 2 hours ago, scottplen said: Very nice heart . Thank you, it is the first navy heart I have ever had Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdogchristy90 Posted December 15, 2020 Share #10 Posted December 15, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkite93 Posted December 15, 2020 Share #11 Posted December 15, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Arendall Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share #12 Posted December 15, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 18, 2020 Share #13 Posted December 18, 2020 Thanks for sharing ! Taffy 3 groups are some of my favorites. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Arendall Posted December 18, 2020 Author Share #14 Posted December 18, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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