Franklin (CV 13) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 109 text:

Footing becomes slippery on Bi Hen ' s listing flight deek jor men auailing their turn on fire hoses forty mm. quad forward, manned by a volunteer crew, and it could fire only under local control. A dozen twenty mm. machine guns on the forward port .side, commanded hy Lt. Jess Alhritton. Ens. Lightfoot, and boatswain ' s mate Fuller, completed the battery. Like Father O ' Callahan. who distinguished himself in the desperate actions on the Hight deck, where fire and ex- plosion reigned, Ll. Donald Gary, still trapped in the doomed messing compartment with those three hundred men, had a flash of inspiration. Nearly two hours they had been packed in, expecting every moment to be their last. A mem- ory flashed to him of a possible means of escape. Through the smoky murk, which the strongest light would not penetrate, stumbling over rockets and bombs, with an almost exhausted rescue breather, he began his search for the door to the air intake space leading up to the stack structure. He was accom])anied by machinists mate SnufTy Kram- er. Groping through intense heat, where the bulkheads burned through thick gloves, he soon located the entrance to the space surrounding one of the huge uptakes — smoke- stacks — leading up from the boilers, through which fresh air passed for the fires. By climbing painfully up five decks, then through a hole blasted in the uj)takes, the two men found light and air. By dropping down on the outside they could reach a gun platform and make their way forward to safety. But Lt. Donald Gary did not go forward to safety, or even to ask aid for the men trapped below. Knowing that momen- tarily the bonilis might explode and the men could not live much longer in the smoke, he descended alone into that hole, where a slip meant death, to bring his shipmates out. He refused to let Kramer, who was exhausted, accompany him. In his words: l broke my flashlight knocking on the com- partment door as a signal to the men inside. hen I ste|)i)ed through the door there was a look of hope and anxiety on each mans face that I shall never forget. All were oblivious to the sound of exploding ammunition, waiting for me to speak. I explained that I had found a way out and. although they would have to breathe some smoke, it wouldn ' t hurt them if they kept their heads and followed instructions. Slowly, painlullv. Lt. Garv guidetl the men to safety. Three tri|)s he made, each a little faster than the last, the knowledge of the bombs and rockets close to the flames. s|)urring his efTorts. Lt. Gary and Dr. Fuelling were the last to leave: the wo unded man had died. Today nearly three hundred men — almost half of those who brouaht Bis Ben

Page 108 text:

W ntinded are evacuatpd to Santa Fe alongside and held a course fifty feet away, all hoses pour- ing water on Franklin s flaming decks. A trolley was swiftly rigged and Comdr. Hale, with Major Elliot of the Marines. Father O ' Callaliaii, 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 O ' Callahan, a man of dauntless courage and supreme faith, gave extreme unction to the dying on the flaming flight deck, calmly unheeding the explosions and confusion. At 9:30. as steam ceased to flow from the boilers, the great screws were stilled and Big Ben lost steering control. 5(1 miles from Japan, the nearest any American surface warshij) had apjiroached 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 Pittsburgh, an incredibly difficult task amid the confusion on the crowded forecastle. ' When Big Ben lay on a steady heading, drifting with the current, Santa Fe came in again boldly, with magnificent seamanship. Captain Fitz slammed his cruiser into actual contact with the gallery deck of the Franklin, 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 was! The little group of warships was almost immobile, the cruiser Pittsburgh stop- ])ed, busy with her boats over the side passing a messenger line to the Franklin; the cruiser Santa Fe alongside the blaz- ing Franklin. However the five destroyers of Division 104, the Hunt, Hlckox, Marshal, Miller, and Tingey 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. Being within less than 100 miles of major Japanese air bases, it was considered but a matter of time until enemy bombers would return. The Franklin had one

Page 110 text:

+ 4 ' ' ' Hi i 1 £c 5e U est, a boy jroin Mississippi, was unc oj hundreds who had to swim in the iey water