On January 4th 1945, while South of Mindoro, a Japanese kamikaze crashes on the U.S. freighter Lewis L. Dyche (carrying bombs and fuses). She desintegrates, killing all hands, including the 28-man
Armed Guard. So heavy was the explosion that debris from the exploding freighter damaged nearby oiler Pecos (AO-65) and minelayer Monadnock (CM-9), 12°19´N, 121°04´E

The kamikaze plane leveled off to about 20 feet above the surface of the water 1500 feet away from the Dyche, and continued in a straight line of attack, striking the ship amidships. Witnesses on the nearby U.S.S. Monadnock later wrote that the explosion "completely disintegrated the Dyche" and showered their own vessel with debris.