Mount Vernon (AP 22) - Naval Cruise Book

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view. The planes could be heard overhead searching for the ship. They came over in waves, forty in all. The M.V. tied up to debark troops. A British oil tanker came along- side to fuel. The tanker ' s claim was that every ship she had fueled had been lost within three weeks. The M.V. ruined her record by staying afloat. Bartering for souvenirs began between both ships. The crew wanted Singapore mementos, the British wanted cigarettes. There was no liberty, as the city was under enemy siege but somehow all hands managed to get off the ship. Dog fights between Jap and British planes became commonplace. Thursday morning 15 January is the day still discussed. At 0945 an air raid alarm sent the ship to General Quarters. All morning, tense with excitement, the ship waited, the gun crews aware that our guns were not enough. It was still cloudy. All the city lay in complete silence. At 1230, Condition II was set. Half the battle stations crews went to chow. The chow line had just grown from the after mess hall out onto the fan tail, when a Jap plane dropped six bombs. Fortunately they landed in a field about a hundred yards from the ship. The ominous sight was their pattern: the exact length of the ship. The gunner ' s mates were to keep the guns ready for action for the next four years. This was the only