Gallant destroyer HOEL was sunk during the Battle Off Samar by the Imperial Japanese Navy Centre Force, the first ship of Taffy III to be lost. She was credited with torpedoing the heavy cruiser HIJMS HAGURO, all the while being shot at by battleships and several heavy cruisers. Two-hundred fifty-two men were killed during the action, fifteen more perished after spending two days on rafts awaiting their rescue.
