Knight, Lendall Barton, LCDR

Hull number DD-555

Worst Moment
With the Pacific campaign then reaching its climax, Haggard sortied from Ulithi again Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher's 5th Fleet carriers for attacks on Japan. During strikes on Honshū on 18–19 March, Japanese suicide planes struck back at the task force. Haggard's gunners shot down several kamikazes, as carriers Franklin (CV-13) and Enterprise (CV-6) were damaged. After fueling at sea, the fast carrier group, moved toward Okinawa on 22 March, with Haggard acting as picket destroyer ahead of the formation. Shortly before midnight she detected a surfaced submarine with radar, and after the submarine dived attacked with depth charges. Ten minutes later the submarine surfaced on Haggard's port beam. Commander Soballe brought his ship into a hard left turn toward his adversary. With full throttle and guns blazing, Haggard rammed the submarine I-371 amidships, sinking I-371 in three minutes. Haggard’s crew then made emergency repairs to her damaged bow and took her back to Ulithi on 25 March.

Haggard sailed from Ulithi on 21 April 1945 with battleship Iowa (BB-61) to support the Okinawa operation. Again occupied with screening carriers in the area, Haggard and other fleet units were constantly threatened by suicide planes as the Japanese tried desperately to stop the invasion. While proceeding to picket station 29 April the ship was attacked by a kamikaze making a shallow dive to starboard. Though nearly blown apart by the fury of the destroyer's guns, the aircraft crashed close aboard and penetrated her hull near the waterline. Soon afterward, her bomb exploded in Haggard’s engine room. As water gushed through the gaping hole in the destroyer's side and she began to settle, another suicide plane attacked, but was splashed by anti-aircraft fire. Through fast and skillful damage control the flooding was stopped and Haggard was kept afloat. Wounded were taken by cruiser San Diego (CL-53) and destroyer Walker (DD-517) arrived to tow the stricken ship to Kerama Retto, near Okinawa. The ship arrived 1 May 1945.

Hampered by lack of materials and almost constant air alerts, Haggard’s crew succeeded in repairing her so that she could get underway. She departed Kerama Retto 18 June 1945 and arrived Pearl Harbor via Saipan and Guam 12 July. From there she steamed to San Diego and the Panama Canal Zone, arriving at Norfolk 5 August 1945.  Decommissioned 1 November 1945; LCDR Knight's last duty was Commanding Officer (in training).

Chain of Command

Other Memories
As executive officer of USS Haggard, my general quarters battle state on 29 April 1945 was in CIC (Combat Information Center), sometimes called "Plot," located on the main deck beneath the bridge.  Haggard was part of the screen of Task Group 58.4 operating off Okinawa.  At about 1600, the ship was ordered to a radar picket station about twelve miles distant.  Ship's speed was immediately increased.  En route to the station, radar contact was made with unidentified aircraft.  Haggard arrived on state some twenty minutes later and slowed to a very slow speed.  My voice recommendation to the bridge was to increase speed and commence maneuvering.  Suddenly a TBS report came in, "Haggard--he's diving on you!"  Then came the awful thud and explosion at the starboard amidships waterline, followed by the eerire darkness and silence throughout the ship.  I ran out on the deck and saw the bulged main deck plates and the bulging side plates of the hull.  The ship was settling rapidly with maybe a foot of freeboard.   I saw that the warhead of a torpedo had been jarred loose from the tubes located between the stacks and had fallen onto the main deck.   The captain, looking down from the bridge, ordered me to "roll her over the side!"  I guess out of sheer excitement, I conjured up the courage and strength to roll the thousand pound warhead overboard.  The fact that it didn't explode impressed me greatly!
I think that we still have a feeling of prayerful relief that our ship did not break apart during our tow to Kerama Retto, and that enemy planes did not "finish us off."