The Last Stand of the Tin Can SailorsBy: James D. Hornfischer This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can. With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944, off the Philippine Island of Samar. On the horizon loomed the mightiest ships of the Japanese navy, a massive fleet that represented the last hope of a