"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above
and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Harder
during her 5th War Patrol in Japanese-controlled waters. Floodlit by a
bright moon and disclosed to an enemy destroyer escort which bore down
with intent to attack, Comdr. Dealey quickly dived to periscope depth
and waited for the pursuer to close range, then opened fire, sending the
target and all aboard down in flames with his third torpedo. Plunging
deep to avoid fierce depth charges, he again surfaced and, within 9
minutes after sighting another destroyer, had sent the enemy down tail
first with a hit directly amidships. Evading detection, he penetrated the
confined waters off Tawi Tawi with the Japanese Fleet base 6 miles away
and scored death blows on 2 patrolling destroyers in quick succession.
With his ship heeled over by concussion from the first exploding target
and the second vessel nose-diving in a blinding detonation, he cleared
the area at high speed. Sighted by a large hostile fleet force on the
following day, he swung his bow toward the lead destroyer for another
"down-the-throat" shot, fired 3 bow tubes and promptly crash-dived to be
terrifically rocked seconds later by the exploding ship as the Harder
passed beneath. This remarkable record of 5 vital Japanese destroyers
sunk in 5 short-range torpedo attacks attests the valiant fighting
spirit of Comdr. Dealey and his indomitable command."
No comments:
Post a Comment