Sunken US WWII warship which went down with more than 200 servicemen found after 81 years

An American World War II warship sunk by Japanese forces in a fierce battle after the attack on Pearl Harbor has been discovered at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

More than 200 American servicemen perished when the USS Edsall was brought down by Japanese forces on March 1, 1942. The Royal Australian Navy discovered the vessel last year some 200 miles east of Christmas Island, south of Java, but the announcement of the discovery was withheld to coincide with Veterans Day.

“Captain Joshua Nix and his crew fought valiantly, evading 1,400 shells from Japanese battleships and cruisers, before being attacked by 26 carrier-dive bombers, taking only one fatal hit,” Caroline Kennedy, US ambassador to Australia, said in a video statement alongside Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, head of the Royal Australian Navy.

“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,” Kennedy said.

The ship’s deftness in avoiding so many shells from Japanese warships — which included pulling off some difficult maneuvers and deploying smokescreens — led to the vessel being nicknamed a “Dancing Mouse” by a Japanese combatant.

The discovery of the 314-foot destroyer came as a surprise to the Australian navy, which used “advanced robotic and autonomous systems normally used for hydrographic survey capabilities to locate the USS Edsall on the seabed” while conducting an unrelated, unspecified mission.

Hammond said the Edsall earned its place in both US and Australian naval history.

“The USS Edsall served valiantly during WWII, most notably in the early Pacific campaign. She operated alongside Australian warships protecting our shores, and played a role in the sinking of the Japanese submarine I124 off Darwin,” he said.

“The wreck of this ship is a hallowed site, serving as a marker for the 185 US Navy personnel and 31 US Army Air Force pilots aboard at the time, almost all of whom were lost when Edsall succumbed to her battle damage,” Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti said in a statement.

“This find gives us the opportunity for today’s generation of Sailors and Navy civilians to be inspired by their valor and sacrifice.”

A famous photograph showing the Edsall sustaining heavy damage captured from a Japanese ship was later repurposed as propaganda by the Axis powers nation.