The USS Laffey is best remembered today as the "ship that would not die" - this moniker given after the 2,200 ton destroyer survived five kamikaze and four bomb strikes that caused 103 casualties, from a crew of 336, all while the ship was on picket duty off Okinawa in the spring of 1945. However, what also must be remembered is that the USS Laffey, launched in 1943, is also the sole surviving World War era US Navy destroyer to have participated in the epic Battle for the Atlantic fought between the Allies and Nazi Germany.
With the December 30, 2011 death of Mike Colalillo, aged 86, there are only 84 surviving holders of the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a member of the United States Armed Forces. Colalillo received his Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman on December 18, 1945 for the extroadinary valor and bravery shown by Colalillo in combat on April 7, 1945 near Untergriesheim, Germany.
The first Medal of Honor was awarded on March 25, 1863, the most recent on September 15, 2011. All told there have been 3,458 recipients of the nation's highest honor.
