June 5, 1944, seventy years ago today the USN, marines and army set in motion the long Marianas campaign. The first ships of the giant armada slip out of Pearl Harbor with 5th Fleet commander Spruance. One day later the main portion of the fleet sallied out from Majuro in the Marshall Islands. The USS Iowa is in the second group. This powerful 5th Fleet heading for the Marianas is the largest assemblage of capital ships the world has ever seen. The U.S. armada included these capital ships, 7 Fleet carriers 8 light fleet carriers 7 battleships 8 heavy cruisers 13 light cruisers 58 destroyers 28 submarines 956 carrier aircraft Grier Sims of the USS Iowa recalls the event. Ah, i remember it well! We weighed anchor on 06/06/44 and were informed later that day of the landings and invasion of Europe. We were underway for 63 days in that campaign as I recall. Following is a picture of some of the Majuro force including the USS Iowa and USS New Jersey. They can be identified by their long bows and pencil like silhouettes.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 14:37:38 +0000
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