--- title: "This WWII vet fought kamikazes in history’s largest naval battle" date: "2020-02-05" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/this-wwii-vet-fought-kamikazes-in-historys-largest-naval-battle/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # This WWII vet fought kamikazes in history’s largest naval battle ![]() Philip Hollywood grew up in a Navy family, so when World War II started he enlisted in the Navy -- at the ripe young age of 17. After his combat training, he was assigned to the USS *Melvin*, a destroyer homeported in the Philippines. --- ![]() The *Melvin* fought in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, which turned out to be the largest naval battle of World War II and possibly the largest in history. Leyte Gulf was also the first time the Japanese used coordinated *kamikaze* attacks. ![]() "The Kamikazes... that was scary to me. Anyone who says they weren't scared, I don't think they're telling the truth," says Hollywood. "It was a new experience trying to kill an opponent who only wanted to kill you and not survive." ![]() The battle was much more than fighting kamikaze attacks. Two days into the fight for Leyte, a Japanese task force of two battleships, a heavy cruiser, and four destroyers tried to steam through the narrow Surigao Strait to support the main force in the Gulf. The Japanese ran into six American battleships (five of which were sunk at Pearl Harbor, but were repaired and brought back to service), four heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, 28 destroyers, and 39 torpedo boats in Surigao's narrows. ![]() In a video produced by AARP, Hollywood recalls his memories of the battle, the kamikaze, and how it felt to sink the Japanese battleship *Fuso*. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCNqabTtkvA Hollywood died shortly after this video was produced. "Phil Hollywood was the last of a dying breed," says TJ Cooney, one of the video producers. "I am so thankful for the time that I had with Phil to make this story, he was an amazing man and truly an American hero and treasure. He is going to be sorely missed and never forgotten." ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()