“Mission Beyond Darkness” by Robert Taylor.
“In the foreground the SB2C Helldiver of Lieutenant Ralph Yaussi, its tanks dry, has ditched near the carrier USS
Lexington. As Yaussi and his gunner James Curry clamber out of the sinking aircraft, the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Anthony, her 24-inch searchlight ablaze, is moving in to make the pick-up. The chaos and confusion of that infamous night during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, springs back to life in this stunning painting.”
For the record, Anthony served until 1946 then was decommissioned and transferred to the West German Navy as Zerstörer 1 (D170) in 1958 where continued on until 1976, one of the last Fletchers in service. She was sunk by U-29 as a torpedo target in the Mediterranean on 16 May 1979, certainly one of the last occasions of a German U-boat sinking an American destroyer.
As for Yaussi, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as Pilot of a plane in Air Group Two, embarked in USS Hornet (CV-12), in the First Battle of the Philippine Sea, on 20 June 1944, as reflected in the above painting. He passed away at age 89 and is buried in Los Angeles.
Lady Lex, and Yaussi’s old ship the Hornet, endure as museum ships.
