"The 852 was a rescue ship which served in the South Pacific during WWII rescuing guys from ships that had been hit by kamikazes as well as taking wounded off of the beaches and out of the water. We went to the rescue of over 1300 men. We had a crew of 110 of which 9 were corpsmen and one doctor. We were basically a floating mash unit. When most ships were trying to get away from the attack zone we were going in. The ship had no red cross on it and was armed similar to a DE. We shot planes out of the sky while treating casualties below. The doctor and corpsmen actually jumped the chasm between the 852 and a destroyer while underway at sea to treat the wounded and dying of a kamikaze attack while the Japs were still trying to finish the ship off. Due to the on going attack there was no other way to reach the destroyer. I was one of those corpsmen.
"Our ceremony at the Navy Memorial was to pay our respects to the families that loaned the war effort their loved ones, to preserve the freedom we still enjoy, and also to honor those men who paid the ultimate sacrifice by dying to protect that freedom."
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