The U.S.S. Edsall, an American destroyer that played an important role early in the Pacific theater during World War II and was sunk by Japanese forces, killing more than 200 American servicemen, has been found at the bottom of the Indian Ocean near Australia, the U.S. government announced on Monday.
During a battle off the coast of Australia in March 1942, the Edsall dodged more than 1,000 Japanese shells before it was struck by 26 carrier dive bombers and sank to the ocean floor, according to the announcement from the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Australia. The ship’s remains, along with those of the 185 U.S. Navy personnel and 31 U.S. Army Air Force personnel on the ship who died, had been missing for more than 80 years, the Navy said.
“This is part of our continuing efforts to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Australia, said in a statement. “We will now be able to preserve this important memorial and hope that the families of the heroes who died there will know their loved ones rest in peace.”
The Royal Australian Navy, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy, found the shipwreck using advanced robotic and autonomous systems, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, the chief of the Royal Australian Navy, said in the statement. Australian naval vessels in the area used the technology, which is normally used for hydrographic survey capabilities, he said.
The Australian navy found the wreck while conducting an unrelated and unspecified mission in the area, NBC News reported.
At just 314 feet in length, the Edsall, a slight ship with a blue-gray metal exterior, moved at a “very respectable” 35 knots, which allowed it to evade enemy attacks, the historical website Naval History and Heritage Command said. But in early March 1942, about two decades after it was built, the Edsall was surprised by two Japanese battleships near Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, just south of the Indonesian island of Java, the Navy historical site said.
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