Kamikaze attack seen from deck of USS Kitkun Bay, WW II

Beckett Gladney

I rediscovered this photo taken from the deck of the ship my dad served on. It's from the archives of the Smithsonian. Dad served during the Battle of Leyte Gulf during WWII. Only years after I was an adult would he talk about his experiences at all. He saw his best friend killed in front of him during a Kamikaze attack.