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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.
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.
