Franklin (CV 13) - Naval Cruise Book

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riosion rffizned. l,t. Donald Gary. still trapped in 4' an flooring beconzes .slippery on. Big H011-S Il'SfI.lIg' flight fleelf for nwn uzmitizzg their turn on fire hoses iortv min. quad lorward. manned hy a volunteer Crew. and it fould fire only under local control. A dozen twenty mm. maeliine :uns on the forward port side. commanded hy l.t. les- Xlltritton. Hns. ldghtlioot. and hoatswainis mate lfuller. fornpleted the ltattery. Like Father Uiflallahan. who distinguished himself in the tlf'alJf'i'dl4' aetions on the flight deek. where hre and ex- -loonn-fl mf--sing' f-ompartrnent with those three hundred men. had 1 flash of inspiration. Nearly two hours they had ht-en if4'lv-fl in. f'Xl Q'fll l1 UTY moment to he their last. :X ineni- ozt flash'-fl to him ol a possililr' means of est-ape. ilihrowuli the srnokj. rnurk. whivh ilu- strongest light would not pffritftmte. sluinloing over rovkt-ls and ltoinlls. with an Ninos? ffwliaiz-tw-tl rr-sf-ue lrl'l'2JllIl'l'. he ln-gan ln- Hf'LlTf'll lor the 'lr'-T tl. ttwuri' intal-ge -parte leading upto ilu-star-k strueture. ile '1 f:lVtIr,1lllf'fl lm lfl2if'lllIllel.e niate 5iuull'y Kram- ' fir-,png through lIllf'Ilef' hr-al. wht-re ilu- hulkheads ff-' ti if 'fl rl iflf 'floxes lit, soon lorrziletl llI1'1'llll'2lIIf'Q'lu i ,,i,1r., . . t ff -uisfmiulioif one- ul Ihr- lungs- uplzllxes smoke- ' of 1 ii, from :lui l,4,il1'l-A through whivh lrw-sh 1 Mr fin lgrf lix flllllllltlllf pziinlully up live' dr-1-ks-. ' .4 lol lllff ml ni. llo' uplnl-,l'-, llu- Iwo Illt'lI the found light and LllI'. lly dropping down on the outside they eould reach a gun platform and make their way forward to safely. llut l.t. Donald Cary did not go forward to safely. or even to ask aid for the men trapped helow. Knowing that momen- tarily the homhs might explode and the men could not live niuvh longer in the smoke. he descended alone into that hole. where a slip meant death. to luring his shipmates out. He refused lo let Kramer. who was exhausted. aeeompany him. ln his words: l hroke my llashlight knocking on the Com- partment door as a signal to the men inside. When I stepped through tht- door there was a look of hope and anxiety on eaeh man's fare that l shall never forget. All were ohlivious to the sound of exploding ammunition. waiting for me to speak. I explained that l had found a way out and. although they would have lo hreathe some smoke. it wouldnit hurt them il' they kept their heads and followed instructions. Slowly. painfully. lit. Gary guided the nien to safety. 'lilll'l'4' trips he made. eaeh a little faster than the last. the knowledge ol' the lvoinlvs and rot-kels rlose lu the llanies. spurring his l'llltll'lS. l.t. Cary and llr. l ut-lling were the last In lt-uve: :Inf wounded lnzin had dit-tl. Today nearly three liunnlit-nl nn-n illllltlel lutll ol those who lvroupht liig lien 1 U ff: if IL. up va i 1 1 I -.fil

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gan' Wonndea' are evacuated to Santa Fe alongside and held a course hfty feet away, all hoses pour- ing water on Frankl1'n's flaming decks. A trolley was swiftly rigged and Comdr. Hale, with Major Elliot of the Marines, Father O'Callahan, men of the hospital corps, and volun- teers, commenced the difficult task of moving the wounded to the cruiser. Lower and lower Franklin listed into the water. Father 0lCallahan, a man of dauntless courage and supreme faith, gave extreme unction to the dying on the flaming Hight deck, calmly unheeding the explosions and confusion. At 9:30, as steam ceased to How from the boilers, the great screws were stilted and Big Ben lost steering control. 50 miles from Japan, the nearest any American surface warship had approached the islands thus far during the war. the Franklin lay dead in the water. The Santa Fe, unable to hold her position, backed away rapidly, snapping the lines that held her. Already Comdr. Taylor was hurrying forward to assemble the equipment and lay out the lines for a tow by the cruiser Pzttsbztrgh, an incredibly dilhcult task amid the confusion on the crowded forecastle. Wlieri Big Ben lay on a steady heading, drifting with the current, Santa Fc came in again boldly, with magnificent seamanship. Captain Fitz slammed his cruiser into actual contact with the gallery deck of the Fralzklin, now close to the water, as the stricken carrier listed heavily. He held the Santa Fe there by the force of her engines, using the for- ward gun turrets as fenders against the overhanging decks. Comdr. Hale had orders from the captain to evacuate the wounded, the men of the Air Group, and highly trained personnel from any department who would not be needed to save the ship. Destroyers plodded through the icy water. picking up men on rafts, or swimming. The chill March air made exposure an ordeal. Men on the ship were soaked to the skin from tending fire hoses, and shivered under blankets while they rested. What a precarious situation this wasl The little group ot warships was almost immobile, the cruiser Pznsburgfz stop- ped, busy with her boats over the side passing a messenger line to the Ffflvllfflliflg the cruiser Santa. Fc alongside the blaz- ing Franklin. However the five destroyers of Division 101-. the Hunt, Hickoaf, Marslzal. illiller, and Tirzgey steamed slow - ly in a circle around the heavy ships, picking up survivors as they went, ready to defend the group. Enemy planes were again approaching the formation and there were alarms. but as yet no attacks. Ut-ing within less than 100 miles of major Japanese air bases, it was considered but a matter of time until enemy bombers would return. The Ffllllkllill- had one

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