March 4, 20242 yr #1 I got this uniform names to Eugene Yates recently and after pulling his records I discovered he was awarded the commendation medal for his actions at the Battle of Samar Island on 25 Oct. 44! Talk about a killer uniform!!
March 5, 20242 yr Author #2 New information! I was able to find out he was assigned to a plane piloted by a T. B. Coughtrie, in the war diary it describes the details that led to Yates being awarded the Navy Commendation Medal during the Battle of Samar Island on 25 Oct. 44. While in flight they attacked a Japanese Mogami class Cruiser and a Terutsuki class destroyer. On the return flight they would be attacked by Japanese Zeke planes (also known as a zero) but thankfully Eugene Yates and the other gunner were able to hold them off and the Pilot was able to lose the zeros in the clouds and successfully land their damaged plane back onboard the USS Kadashan Bay.
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