Repairing a kamikaze-damaged Liberty ship in the Philippines

Without a working radio, the Augustus Thomas crew does not know that the Mindoro landings are under way until a burned Liberty ship is brought alongside. SS William Sharon has been struck by a kamikaze during a campaign intended to secure airfields closer to Luzon and Manila. The wreck carries dead crewmen and aircraft remains, while explosives and spoiled refrigerated beef make cleanup dangerous and physically appalling. Graves Registration soldiers remove bodies as Filipino workers clear the cargo and an Army tug washes the ship down. The account shows that merchant mariners shared the Pacific campaign's air-attack risk, casualties, and salvage burden even when their ships were not combatants.