During the Lingayen Gulf landings Kamikaze attacks were common. As the net was closing on the Japanese Empire desperate, fanatical men by the dozen used themselves as the auto-pilot and made every attempt to crash a U.S. ship. One can imaging that the dedicated Kamikaze would want to take out a carrier or battleship, but smaller ships were just as big a target and on January 10, 1945 one of the targets was USS LeRay Wilson DE-414.

The ship was conducting an anti-submarine patrol at the entrance to the gulf in company with three other ships when at 0710 hours an enemy aircraft was detected by radar. The Mitsubishi GM3 "Nell" twin engine bomber was coming in on the deck and aimed straight toward the bridge. The port side gunners took the aircraft under fire and just before impact the port engine and wing became engulfed in flames and the aircraft began to loose control. The burning aircraft missed the ship, but the wing clipped the ship destroying several guns and their crews and spewing flaming fuel all about the ship. There was considerable damage done to the ship, but there was no danger of sinking.

The fires were brought under control through the gallant efforts of the crew and the ship continued it's patrol by 1000 hours. Six men perished, three were missing and four were seriously injured, two of them later died from their wounds. The commanding officer, Lt. Commander Matthew V. Carson, Jr., USN, recommended two men for the Navy Cross, S1c Koapke (on #6 gun) and S1c Humbert (on #8 gun). He further recommended SK1c Haney for the Silver Star. He also recommended several others for commendations. The Navy awarded Haney, Humbert and Koapke the Silver Star (Posthumously). This was but one attack that day, and only one of hundreds of such attacks during the war.