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As nightfall plunged the tumultuous waters of the Pacific into darkness, American battleship USS Washington raced toward Guadalcanal. With bated breath, her hardy crew readied themselves for battle, anticipating the violent clash that lay before them. A Japanese bombardment group was rapidly moving in on the war-torn tropical island, hell-bent on destroying Allied positions there to clear the way for a full-blown invasion.
Navigating the infamous stretch of sea known as “Ironbottom Sound” alongside her fellow battleship USS South Dakota and four destroyers, an ominous blip on Washington’s search radar let Rear Admiral Willis “Ching” Lee know they had located the enemy fleet. Under his command, Task Force 64 began the attack; Washington let rip a devastating assault with the nine thunderous Mark 6 guns that made up her main battery, while her secondary guns launched star shells to illuminate the Japanese positions. A ferocious firefight ensued; South Dakota took heavy fire, and in this chaos, a sudden barrage of torpedoes sliced through the water, heading straight for the USS Washington…