The Royal Australian Navy announced this week it has discovered the wreckage of the World War II destroyer USS Edsall in the Indian Ocean.

Australian navy officials informed the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command that they found the wreck of the USS Edsall on May 13. The announcement was delayed to Monday to coincide with Veteran’s Day in the U.S. and Remembrance Day in Australia.

“The USS Edsall served valiantly during World War II, most notably in the early Pacific campaigns. She operated alongside Australian war ships protecting our shores, and played a role in sinking the Japanese submarine I124 off Darwin. … the defense of allied territories in the Pacific forged bonds between U.S. and Australian sailors that continue to this day,” Australian Chief of Navy Vice Adm. Mark David Hammond said in a video.

The Australian navy worked with the U.S. Navy in using autonomous and robotic systems, typically used for hydrographic surveys, to find the wreck of the USS Edsall.

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Royal Australian Navy for locating the final resting place of the destroyer USS Edsall (DD 219) … The wreck of this ship is a hallowed site, serving as a marker for the 185 U.S. Navy personnel and 31 U.S. Army Air Force pilots aboard at the time, almost all of whom were lost when Edsall succumbed to her battle damage,” U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said Monday in a release.

The Edsall, then a 22-year-old destroyer, was intercepted March 1, 1942, by the Imperial Japanese Navy as it was returning to Australia from the Indian Ocean’s Christmas Island.

Commanding officer Lt. Joshua Nix ordered fire from the ship’s 4-inch guns and torpedoes. The Japanese ships fired a salvo of 1,300 14-inch, 8-inch and 5-inch shells before calling in 26 planes from nearby aircraft carriers that sank the Edsall, according to the U.S. Navy’s Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.