News & Stories
Foundation updates, preservation milestones, crew remembrances, and the stories that keep her legacy alive.
On April 16, 1945, USS Laffey (DD-724) was assigned to Radar Picket Station No. 1 off Okinawa as part of Kikusui No. 2 — the second mass kamikaze offensive of the campaign. Over approximately 80 minutes, she was attacked by 22 Japanese aircraft, struck by six kamikazes and hit by four bombs, yet remained afloat. Thirty-two of her crew were killed and more than 70 wounded. No other ship in the U.S. Navy survived such an assault. On the 80th anniversary of that battle, we honor the men who held the line.
Read the Full StoryOn June 6, 1944, USS Laffey (DD-724) was among the destroyers providing naval gunfire support during the Allied landings at Normandy. Operating in the waters off Utah Beach, she delivered fire support to troops going ashore on the most consequential day of the Second World War. On the 80th anniversary of D-Day, we remember her crew's role in the liberation of Western Europe.
April 16, 1945 marks the 80th anniversary of the most intense kamikaze attack ever survived by a single American vessel. USS Laffey was struck by six kamikazes and four bombs in 80 minutes on radar picket station off Okinawa. Thirty-two of her crew were killed and more than 70 wounded. She did not sink. Today she rests at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina — a National Historic Landmark and a living memorial to all who served.
Commissioned on February 8, 1944, USS Laffey served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of World War II. She participated in the Normandy invasion in June 1944, then transferred to the Pacific, where she supported operations at Iwo Jima and Okinawa before her fateful encounter with Japanese air power on April 16, 1945. Her wartime service represents the full sweep of American naval sacrifice in the Second World War.
By the spring of 1945, radar picket duty off Okinawa had become the most lethal assignment in the U.S. Navy. Destroyers like Laffey were stationed far from the main fleet to provide early warning of incoming Japanese aircraft — making them the first and most exposed targets. Between March and June 1945, picket ships suffered catastrophic losses. Laffey's survival on April 16 was, by any measure, extraordinary.
USS Laffey (DD-724) has been open to the public at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina since 1981. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 in recognition of her extraordinary service during World War II. Today she is one of the best-preserved destroyers of the WWII era and receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
USS Laffey (DD-724) was a Gearing-class destroyer — an evolution of the Allen M. Sumner class — built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. She was 390 feet long, displaced 2,616 tons at full load, and was armed with six 5-inch/38 caliber guns, ten 40mm anti-aircraft guns, and torpedo tubes. She was among the most capable destroyers in the U.S. Navy at the time of her commissioning in February 1944.
Did a family member serve aboard USS Laffey? Do you have photographs, letters, or memories to share? We want to hear from you. Every story adds to the living history of this remarkable ship.
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