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Casualty Info
Home Town New Albany, IN
Last Address 36 W 9th St New Albany, IN
Casualty Date Oct 24, 1944
Cause Non Hostile- Died Other Causes
Reason Multiple Fragmentation Wounds
Location Pacific Ocean
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Fairview Cemetery - New Albany, Indiana
Wall/Plot Coordinates (memorial marker)
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
On October 24, 1944, the USS Birmingham (CL-62) was rendering firefighting assistance to the aircraft carrier Princeton during the Battle of Leyte Gulf when flames touched off the after magazines of the carrier. The subsequent explosions showered the Birmingham with debris and shrapnel, killing 233 men, and wounding 426. S2c Babbs was among the men killed. He was buried at sea.
Comments/Citation:
Service number: 6348196
The information contained in this profile was compiled from various internet sources.
Asiatic-Pacific Specified Raids (1944)/Formosa Air Battle
From Month/Year
October / 1944
To Month/Year
October / 1944
Description The Formosa Air Battle took place between October 10 and 20, 1944, off the eastern coasts of the Ryukyu Islands, Formosa, and Luzon. It was fought by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and the approaching Task Force 38 of the United States Third Fleet and was one of a series of air raids on Japan during the Pacific War. The attacks served to prevent Japanese aircraft from participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf later that month.
The battle was one-sided, as the U.S. practically dominated the air war due to the superior training and weaponry that it possessed at that point. Japanese air power in the region was battle exhausted, giving the Americans air superiority and weakening Japan's ability to defend the Okinawa Islands in the upcoming Okinawa Campaign. However, in an effort to boost morale and to cover up th
