Other Escort Operations
Late in 1944, the destroyer escort added Manus in the Admiralty Islands to her regular patrol and escort circuit, stopping there for the first time in October and returning again in November. Brackett saw no action other than sinking an occasional floating mine. On 4 December, the escort arrived off the Marshall Islands to assume lifeguard duties during air strikes on the islands bypassed earlier: Wotje, Jaluit, Milli, and Maloelap. Brackett fired on an enemy gun emplacement on Taroa Island on 5 January 1945, destroying one battery before retiring. The destroyer escort was relieved of patrol duty and set course for Pearl Harbor on 7 February. After a four-week availability and rest period, Brackett got underway on 8 March for Ulithi, where preparations for the invasion of Okinawa were underway.
Ulithi was an advanced link in the supply chain reaching to the forward combat areas. Brackett provided convoy protection for the 40 fleet tankers shuttling fuel to the Ryukyus, the "reefer" ships carrying fresh and frozen provisions, and the ammunition ships replenishing the 5th and 3rd Fleets during the Okinawa campaign.
Read more about this topic: USS Brackett (DE-41)
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