While we are commemorating dates; Oct. 23rd, 1944. The remaining part of the Japanese fleet attacks the US invasion forces in Leyete Gulf. The only defending ships are five tin cans. The 16 jeep carriers have no defensive armament. The Japanese have the super battleship Yamato plus three other battlships, four heavy cruisers, and a dozen other ships. As the jeeps tried to get up steam and raise anchors (their best speed was still less than the slowest Japanese ship) the tin cans made smoke and
attacked and overwhelmingly superior force with torpedoes and five inch guns. Taking hit after hit the tin cans pressed the attacked to the point of launching torpedoes. Two ships were sank quickly by gunfire. The USS Johnston withdrew having a 15 degree list and missing one stack. After suppressing the shipboard fires the Johnston once again engaged with nothing but guns coming close enough to a battleship that the enemy guns could not suppress to fire on them. Still enemy cruisers sank the Johnston as they emptied their magazines. Only the USS Hermann survived the attack. Meanwhile the jeep carriers were launching every aircraft, armed or not, at the Japanese fleet. Not have any armor piercing bombs that best that could be hoped for to damage a cruiser or battleship, maybe sink a destroyer.
This suicidal agressive attack by the United States Navy convinced the Japanese commander that a larger task force must be just over the horizon. He retired leaving the 100,000 soldiers untouched on the beach.
This was the highest quality of bravery in the face of a superior enemy.