After receiving heavy damage by five kamikaze planes, the USS Emmons was sunk by gunfire from the high-speed minesweeper USS Ellyson (DMS-19) to avoid it from drifting into enemy hands.  The Emmons, which lost 60 crew members that day, now sits peacefully on the bottom of the seafloor, the resting place for U.S. sailors and Japanese alike.  Kurt Reese and Chuck DeCesari, along with American and Japanese divers, conduct a memorial dive every year, trying to do it as close to the date of the sinking as possible.

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A U.S. flag and wreath are placed near the builder’s plaque and the Emmons’ memorial plaque, which lists those killed or missing in action.  The divers commemorate the ship to honor the memory of the men lost that day. Through their actions, they hope to insure that the sacrifices made to defeat the tyranny during the days of WWII will not be forgotten.