The wreck of the US Navy destroyer USS Edsall (DD-219), better known as the “Dancing Mouse,” has been identified off the coast of Australia. The joint announcement was made by naval officials from the both the United States and Australia, providing closure to the hundreds of families who lost loved ones when the ship was sunk in 1942.
The World War II-era discovery was made by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in late 2023 and later confirmed with the help of American officials to be the USS Edsall. Little has been revealed as to how the destroyer was located, other than “advance robotic and autonomous systems,” used for hydrographic surveys, were involved.
The RAN also wouldn’t disclose what the ship involved in the discovery, the MV Stoker, was doing in the area when Edsall was found, citing “operational security sensitivities,” nor has information been released as to the wreck’s condition or preservation efforts that could be in the works.
The USS Edsall, named after Seaman Norman Eckley Edsall, entered service with the US Navy in 1920. In the aftermath of the Great War, she served as part of international efforts to fight the famine that had broken out in Eastern Europe, with her crew aiding in the evacuation of refugees.
After serving in the Chinese Civil War and the early part of the Sino-Japanese War, Edsall was deployed to the South Pacific with Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 57, alongside the USS Alden (DD-211), Whipple (DD-217) and John D. Edwards (DD-216). It wasn’t long before the US had entered the Second World War, resulting in the destroyer and her division mates serving as convoy escorts around the Philippines and Australia.
On February 28, 1942, Edsall and Whipple met up with the USS Pecos (AO-6) off the coast of Christmas Island. After offloading survivors from a prior engagement onto the oiler, the former was given orders to transit to Tjilatjap, on the Javan coast.
The next day, Edsall was attacked by the Japanese heavy cruiser Chikuma (1938) and the battleships Hiei and Kirishima. Over the course of the engagement, 1,335 shells were fired at Edsall, of which only one or two hit the destroyer. This led to a call for airstrikes against her, with Aichi D3As from the aircraft carriers Kaga, Hiyū and Sōryū taking off for the area. One of their 550-pound bombs struck Edsall, prompting the three nearby Japanese ships to restart their attack.
Before long, the ship had rolled onto her side and sunk beneath the water’s surface. Just a handful of survivors were saved, only to be interrogated upon being picked up by the Japanese.
A statement from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) reads, “Finding the Edsall further cements the strong alliance that has existed between the United States and Australia since World War II, the relationship between the Royal Australian Navy and the U.S. Navy, further reinforced by the current Australia, United Kingdom, United States (AUKUS) trilateral security partnership.
“A key component of AUKUS is the development of the most cutting-edge underwater technologies of the type that enabled the discovery of Edsall in the vastness of the Indian Ocean, something not possible just a few years ago,” it continued. “These advanced technologies, enabled by interoperability between long-standing Indo-Pacific Allies and partners, ensure our collective capability to preserve the peace, respond in crisis, and win decisively in war, if called.”
Caroline Kennedy, the US ambassador to Australia, added in a separate statement, “This is part of our continuing efforts to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice. 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. We will tell their stories, learn from their bravery, and be inspired by their sacrifice. We will always remember them.”
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The announcement of the USS Edsall‘s discovery coincided with Remembrance Day in Australia and Veterans Day in the US.