This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Tim Addington, GM3
to remember
Addington, Norman Eston, Jr., FC3c.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Grand Rapids, MI
Last Address Grand Rapids, MI
Casualty Date Oct 25, 1944
Cause KIA-Body Not Recovered
Reason Lost At Sea-Unrecovered
Location Pacific Ocean
Conflict World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Leyte Campaign (1944)/Battle of Samar
Location of Interment Manila American Cemetery - Taguig City, Philippines
Norman was on this USS Hole from the time of Commissioning in July 1943 till the sinking and his death in Oct 25, 1944. Ancestry.com collection of US Navy Muster Reports reflects his arrival and advancement on the ship for almost every month between these dates.
Oct 25, 1944 The USS Hole DD-533
When the Japanese Navy counter-attacked to produce the decisive Battle of Leyte Gulf, she was operating north of Leyte. A powerful enemy surface force encountered her task group east of Samar on the morning of 25 October, and Hoel and other destroyers valiantly attacked them with guns and torpedoes in order to cover the escort carriers' retreat. Though Hoel was sunk in this Battle off Samar, with the loss of nearly three-quarters of her crew, one which was Norman Eddington, Jr, her sacrifice helped to save all but one of the escort carriers and to deflect the Japanese from their mission of attacking the Leyte invasion force.
Comments/Citation:
Promted from Seaman 1st Class Firecontrolman (S1c fc) to Fire Controlman Ranger Finder 3rd class petty officer (FCR3c) on 1 June 1944.
Memorial Monuments At:
Fort William McKinley / Fort Bonifacio Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
Manila, Philippines
Leyte Campaign (1944)/Battle of Leyte Gulf
From Month/Year
October / 1944
To Month/Year
October / 1944
Description The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the Battles for Leyte Gulf, and formerly known as the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea, is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.
It was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar and Luzon from 23–26 October 1944, between combined US and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy. On 20 October, United States troops invaded the island of Leyte as part of a strategy aimed at isolating Japan from the countries it had occupied in Southeast Asia, and in particular depriving its forces and industry of vital oil supplies. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) mobilized nearly all of its remaining major naval vessels in an attempt to defeat the Allied invasion, but was repulsed by the US Navy's 3rd and 7th Fleets. The IJN failed to achieve its objective, suffered very heavy losses, and never afterwards sailed to battle in comparable force. The majority of its surviving heavy ships, deprived of fuel, remained in their bases for the rest of the Pacific War.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf consisted of four separate engagements between the opposing forces: the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engaño and the Battle off Samar, as well as other actions.
It was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks. By the time of the battle, Japan had fewer aircraft than the Allied forces had sea vessels, demonstrating the difference in power of the two sides at this point of the war.