Franklin (CV 13) - Naval Cruise Book

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[)atient, struggled through wreckage to a nearl)y rejiair h)cker. doiuicd a rescue breather, and witli an emergency cutting outfit was j)reparing to hum an escape hole in the starboard side of the shijj when a blast more terrific than the others took his life. Three days later, when search parties made their way down and pumjx ' d the water from the blackened, flooded passageways, tlic nnilc evidence of the gallant, futile fight met their sad eyes. Dr. George Fox. and his cor]ismcn. calm in deatii, lay beside the men they had served. Men with rescue breathers: Dr. Smith, Lt. Bill J. lute, Electrician Philipps, Machinist ' s Mates Gugliemo. Lapore, McAllister, Wellnian, Greitner and others, were stumbling lliruugii the heavy smoke on the third deck, hauling un- conscious men from the engineering spaces. They worked for hours and routed at least thirty men safely forward. tlirougii a iialili near llic deck-edge elevator which had jjeen cleared by Maciiinist Ede. Lt. Donald A. Gary, who had been violently shaken by the first explosions, seized a rescue breather and started forward from his Repair Party battle station toward the source of the smoke. He found, alter mak- ing his way through two shattered compartments, that a solid wall of fire sealed off his path. Smoke growing worse by the minute, he made his way back to the mess hall amidships on the third deck, passing hundreds of rockets and bombs al- ready assembled for use that day and needing only a single explosion to set them all off in a monumental blast. At- tracted by his light dozens of men commenced to gather in the mess hall, . s the comiiartment filled, the doors were dogged down to keep out smoke and opened as others ar- rived. Five minutes later there was not room to sit down. When the doors were closed for the last time nearly oOO men were trajjpcd in that small compartment. Unexploded bombs, with the fire sw( ' c])ing nearer, were forward; aft, a wall of fire blocked ofl all esca|)e. As mighty exjilosions shook the shi|) men realized their mortal ])eril and |)anic shook them. Dr. Fuelling, who was working over a seriously wounded man. calmly addressed them. He told them to rest quietly and conserve the limited supjily of air and to pray; he led them in prayer. In the dim light of bailie lanterns which wuuld not pene- trate the heavy gray smoke, trapped by fire in a compart- ment beside hundreds of live boml)s, men prayed — many for the first time in their lives — while others read aloud from prayer books. Buried in a com])artment near the keel of the ship was the Gentral Damage Control Station, . fter the explosions be- gan, the lights flashed red — showing all main magazines to be on fire, erroneously, due to damaged wiring. All commu- nications were out except with the forward repair party, as Lt. Billingion. who was on the scene a few moments after the hit. soon discovered. Veteran Chief Electrician Hoffner stood by the boards, clearing damaged circuits by switching them open, while the damage control man fought to contact the repair parties. When the ship began to list badly and smoke poured in. with all communications out. Central Dam- 1 ' ' .. n The jii ht c,ocs on: fire [xirlirs work into jhutirs; nirii IiiiiuUc line to Sanlii Fc

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deck comparlments. Into the spreading fire moved the men, continuous explosions of every type of ammunition in the catalogue reverbrating around them. Seven big 500-pound bombs and two smaller ones were rolling about on the flight deck, so hot they were painful to the touch. Lt. Comdr. Stone, with iielpers like Chief Bull Orndorft ' . Bill Fowler. Robert Boyd and Jacobs, rolled them over the side. Comdr. Hale stopped one young seaman, who was playing a hose on a big bomb. Just in time — the stream of water was spinning the arming vane and explosion was im- minent. Pilots from Air Group Five fought alongside ship ' s officers, seamen, and colored mess attendants. At 7:25. hardly twenty minutes after disaster had struck. Admiral Davison conferred with Captain Gehres on the bridge. The Admiral advised the Captain to pass the word to prepare to abandon ship. Flames a hundred feet high were shooting up past the island; the roar of exploding shells was deafening. A col- umn of smoke rose a mile above the clouds. Perhaps up there the spirits of the brave Lexington, that died in the Coral Sea, and the Yorhtown, that perished at Midway, were waiting for the captains words, bidding him speak. Captain Gehres. a determined commander, told Admiral Davison that if he would provide air and surface support Franklin would he saved. The Miller was signaled to come forward from her position on the starboard quarter. An Admirals responsibility comes first to his task group; he must transfer his flag and get on with the war. For an hour the Miller lay under the huge, listing island, her hoses play- ing on the hangar deck fires as the Admiral ' s staff was transferred. Order was coming out of confusion; men forward on the flight and hangar decks had halted the flames. As they fought aft on the hangar deck they by-passed white-hot fires where magesium bombs glowed on the armor plate in the ashes of the planes that had borne them. Men below on the second and third decks, or trapped on the hangar deck aft, were making their way to safer zones. Dozens had been blown over the side; others, hopelessly trapped, were forced to leap over, many without life jackets. For hours little groups struggled to the fantail. where they fought the fires with ev- ery means at their command, leaping into the water only when their position became unbearable. In the ship ' s hospital ward, beside the smashed chief ' s quarters, were Dr. Fox and eighteen men, eleven of them patients. The doctor and his seven pharmacists mates fought a lirave little battle to save their shipmates and themselves. The ward was intensely hot, from the raging fires above; thick smoke was pouring over the port quarter where the sickbay was located. Air was foul, the door tightly closed to keej) out the suffocating smoke and the flames. Two small holes in the ship ' s side, overboard discharge connections leading through the side of the ship, were opened. Hospital Corpsman John Epting and his comrades placed wet towels across the faces of the patients; the oxygen tent was used until the flasks were emjity. Chief Shipfitter Durrance. a I lir iijler jne inch In in nunuil gave Snnfii Fe lin.sc.s i hii jnh

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age Control was abandoned. HofTner located an escape trunk which led up to the third deck and helped the men through it, to join the fire-fighting parties forward. Electrician s mate Zeller went up through the hatches, carefully closing each of them behind him — an invaluable service, because it kept fire from the main magazines, located below. Groups of men like Shipfitter First Class Hurd fought fife amidships until their rescue l)reathers were exhausted, then made their way to the side of the hangar deck and dropped into the water. Burd had been in the after mess hall when the bombs hit. He broke out a fire hose and wet three hun- dred rockets, rendering them harmless. Then, with rescue breather, he collected and led at least sixty men back to the fantail. ' hen he went back to look for others he found himself trapped by new ex]jlosions aft, forcing him to locate an- other escape route. This time he was forced to the hangar deck, where he leaped over the side. For five hours he floated in the cold water on a raft with Chief Tony Hungaro, sea- man Dennis Koiek, and shipfitter Kirkman. before being ]iicked up by the carrier Hornet of another task group. Many a man like Burd did his valiant deed before he was overwhelmed in the elemental forces of the catastrophe, or was forced over the side. The number of heroes will never be known. Vi ith a group on the fantail, Gentry, chief boatswain ' s mate, kept all hands lighting fire until a series of violent ex- plosions occurred. They put life jackets on the wounded and lowered them in the water before dropping in themselves. Seaman Ked Skelton. a gunner, and his buddy were standing side by side. An explosion blew his buddy to bits and catapulted Skelton into the water. Homer Cecil, stand- ing in his unlaced shoes, was blown completely out of them and into the sea. Lt. Fitzgerald, assistant engineering officer, and dozens of men in separate groups, made their way to the safety of the fantail, only to be forced off. Chief petty officers Austin, Sheppard, Gregg, Batticke; seaman Russo. private Kane, barber Antanasoff . . . their number will never be known. Yeoman Brown and Cavello leaped into the wa- ter together. Cavello, who could not swim, had no life jacket. His comrade. Brown, gave him his. Brown was not rescued. And Gunnery sergeant Truax, who, with a handful of Ma- rines, had manned the guns on the fantail to the last, handed his life jacket to a young seaman who could not swim. The sergeant was missing in action. . ow. at o:. ' 0. amid destruction and confusion. Number . seriously Hounded man is lowered to destroyer Hickox from fantail . . . Every man on this station lias joreed off ship hy flames and explosions