USS Silverstein (DE-534) - Rescue Operations

Rescue Operations

On her way to rendezvous with task group TG 50.8, Silverstein encountered a small fishing vessel on 16 February. A boarding party found six emaciated Japanese soldiers, some enemy army manuals and various other papers. She then sank the vessel by gunfire and depth charges. On the next day, Patuxent suffered an internal explosion, and Silverstein screened her against submarine attack while two other escorts helped fight the fires. Once the fires were out, Silverstein shepherded the crippled oiler to the relative safety of Saipan. By 21 February, the destroyer escort was back with the replenishment group off Iwo Jima. She remained in the screen of TG 50.8 until early March when she cleared the area for Ulithi. She arrived there on 7 March and began preparations for the Okinawa invasion to come in April.