Action south of Java
While attempting to proceed to Australia and hampered by chronic engine problems, Asheville was steaming toward a designated rendezvous point 500 miles SW of Tjilatjap to join up with other units of Asiatic Fleet. Unbeknownst to Asheville rendezvous point had been compromised and Japanese destroyer and cruiser were lying in wait for the arrival of US forces. Japanese poured gunfire into Asheville for 30 minutes rendering grave damage. ... The ship sank from gunfire damage sustained from Japanese attack and 160 members of the crew went down with the ship. There was one survivor who was rescued by Japanese destroyer and interred in a POW camp in the Celebes. He died in March 1945 while a prisoner of the Japanese.
