USS Laffey DD-724

Name: Smithsonian Combat Ships — USS Laffey DD-724: The Ship That Would Not Die
Uploaded: 2026-03-21
Duration: 13 min 4 s
Description: Smithsonian Combat Ships video on USS Laffey DD-724 — at Normandy Beach on D-Day and at Okinawa, where she was hit by six kamikazes and four deck bombs. Thirty-two men died; seventy-one were wounded.

Smithsonian Combat Ships Video

This video was part of the Smithsonian Combat Ships series and tells the story of USS Laffey DD-724. She was at Normandy Beach for D-Day and fought in the famous battle off Okinawa where she was hit by six kamikazes and four deck bombs — it was there she became known as “The Ship That Would Not Die.” Thirty-two men died that day and seventy-one were wounded.

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Smithsonian Combat Ships — USS Laffey DD-724: The Ship That Would Not Die (13:04)

For more of this series, please watch or subscribe to the Smithsonian Channel.