Starboard Bow	Superstructure	Port Bow	Port Bow

The destroyer USS Laffey (Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer) was built to Bureau of Ships specifications at the Bath Iron Works, Maine, in 1943-1944. The ship served with the United States Navy in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets in World War II and saw later service in the Korean War. The Laffey is the only surviving Sumner-class destroyer. The ship performed convoy escort duty in the Atlantic during May 1944 and afterward assisted with the screening of the Normandy invasion forces and bombardment of Utah beach and the German-held port of Cherbourg. The Laffey moved to the Pacific to join the Fast Carrier Task Force in November 1944. The Laffey supported the amphibious landings at Ormoc Bay and Mindoro and the invasion forces at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines. During the World War II invasion of Okinawa Island in April 1945, the Laffey was attacked by Japanese kamikazes and suffered five kamikaze hits, three bomb hits and two near misses. The crew, despite heavy casualties and extensive damage, repulsed the attackers and saved the ship. In comparison, the Laffey outperformed any other destroyer or carrier in this most important campaign and for her efforts received a Presidential Unit Citation. Listed in the National Register April 12, 1983; Designated a National Historic Landmark January 14, 1986.

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