US and Australian officials said Monday that they had discovered the remains of a US battleship that was sunk in a World War II combat that was termed one of the fiercest ever held by a US Navy vessel in the Pacific.
The destroyer USS Edsall, commanded by Lt. Joshua Nix, went down off the coast of Australia in 1942. It was nicknamed the “dancing mouse” because of its slick maneuvers during that last, deadly battle with the Imperial Japanese Navy.
When US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy announced the discovery of the Edsall’s wreck Monday, she stated, “Joshua Nix and his crew fought valiantly, evading 1,400 shells from Japanese battleships and cruisers before being attacked by 26 carrier dive bombers, taking only one fatal hit.”
