A US Navy destroyer sunk in the largest sea battle of the Second World War has become the deepest wreck yet discovered, explorers say.
The USS Samuel B Roberts, which was part of a flotilla that engaged a superior Japanese force off the Philippines in October 1944, was identified on Wednesday, broken into two pieces lying at a depth of 6,985 metres.
The vessel, referred to as the Sammy B, sits 426 metres deeper than the destroyer USS Johnston, the previous deepest wreck discovered last year in the Philippine Sea. The Johnston and the Roberts sank in the same week.
Both wrecks were found by US explorer Victor Vescovo, founder of Dallas-based Caladan Oceanic Expeditions, who announced his latest find together with UK-based EYOS Expeditions.
“It was an extraordinary honour to locate this incredibly famous ship, and by doing so have the chance to retell her story of heroism and duty to those who may not know of the ship and her crew’s sacrifice,” said Mr Vescovo, a former navy commander.
The Sammy B took part in the Battle off Samar, the late phase of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, when the Imperial Japanese Navy suffered its biggest loss of ships and failed to dislodge the US forces from Leyte, which they invaded as part of the liberation of the Philippines.
According to some records, the destroyer escort disabled a Japanese heavy cruiser with a torpedo and significantly damaged another while battling the group led by the command battleship, Yamato.
After having expended nearly all its ammunition, it was critically damaged by the battleship Kongo and sank. Of a 224-man crew, 89 died and 120 were saved, including the captain, Lt Cmdr Robert W Copeland.
According to Samuel J Cox, a retired admiral and naval historian, Copeland, who died in 1973, said there was “no higher honour” than to have led the men who displayed such courage in battle against overwhelming odds, from which survival could not be expected.
“This site is a hallowed war grave and serves to remind all Americans of the great cost borne by previous generations for the freedom we take for granted today,” Mr Cox said.
The explorers said that up until the discovery, the historical records of where the wreck lay were not very accurate. The search involved the use of the deepest side-scan sonar yet installed and operated on a submersible, well beyond the standard commercial limitations of 6,000 metres, EYOS said.
Ernest Shackleton's lost ship found off the coast of Antarctica
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
