“The ship that would not die”

Robert Johnson has become a famous son of Toledo. He served on the USS Laffey, which took a horrible beating from the Japanese near Okinawa in April 1945. Recently his granddaughter released a film called ” Laffey Men”. You can visit the site here:http://laffeymen.com/

A wonderful man who had a wonderful story to tell… and was very passionate about our country. Unfortunately two weeks after Rick interviewed him, he passed away on May 15th 2009. It was truly an honor to know him. We hope this interview does him him justice, as he looks down from above. We hope his lasting memory will help educate others for many generations……

Here is a link to the book mentioned by Robert Johnson, and also the title. “The ship that would not die” by F. Julian Becton http://wgordon.web.wesleyan.edu/kamikaze/books/ships/becton/index.htm

USS Laffey (DD-724)
Career (US)
Namesake:	Bartlett Laffey
Builder:	Bath Iron Works
Laid down:	28 June 1943
Launched:	21 November 1943
Commissioned:	8 February 1944
Decommissioned:	29 March 1975
Struck:	1 March 1975
Fate:	Preserved as memorial and berthed at Patriot’s Point, Charleston, South Carolina
General characteristics
Class and type:	Allen M. Sumner class destroyer
Displacement:	2,200 tons
Length:	376 ft 6 in (114.8 m)
Beam:	40 ft (12.2 m)
Draft:	15 ft 8 in (4.8 m)
Propulsion:	60,000 shp (45 MW); 2 propellers
Speed:	34 knots (63 km/h)
Range:	6500 nmi. (12,000 km) @ 15 kt
Complement:	336
Armament:	6 × 5 in./38 guns (12.7 cm), 12 × 40mm AA guns, 11 × 20mm AA guns, 10 × 21 in. torpedo tubes, 6 × depth charge projectors, 2 × depth charge tracks