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Page 18 text:
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n iflivmnriam A i ,Q When the USS BLOCK ISLAND was torpedoed six men aboard were lost. The demise of these shipmates depressed everyone al- though each man was thankful that the casualties in so great a - disaster were so few. 3 tv JAMES O'NEIL FRANKS, COX, USNR JAMES PETER KIBASH, MM3c, USNR .E PETER TYCH, Slc, USN-I HENRY ALFRED MEYER, EM2c, USNR JAMES BYROL OWEN, AMM1c, USNR JOHN J. SCHLINKER, Slc, USNR Six fighting planes were in the air at the time their carrier was destroyed. Having nowhere to land, they flew to the nearest islands. Only two of the planes made successful landings although when setting their planes down on Portugal possessions, they knew the reception would not be cordial. They were rescued as soon as pos- sible by planes from Casablanca. To the four aviators of the FIGHTING BLOCK ISLAND who were lost, we make a final salute. 15 l LIEUTENANT ROBERT P. BUELL, USNR P LIEUTENANT JG JULIAN L. PITTS, USNR -y LIEUTENANT JG ROBERT W. WYATT, USN R . I ENSIGN ROBERT E. INNIS, USNR I 757573t1F2'ff f1'f7?if '?W ,XVI e1r7W '7Wsr'f:'r-'A - r'-N--we f-f--V Exp? 10 -.ftifgsffw f Wx f - fi K- 'ij' 1 5 , ' if .mzfv fa ff, 1415! gs , +1 . ff - .1 - g z A zo s ,jg f- K E 1 I WN, f f 'f N fifi fi ' ' if X A 7 v f 1 27 3' Fifteen other men were injured and taken to the U S N covered and most of them e U I I u , .r. aval Base Hospital nt CZISIIIDIHIHYQI. where they re- if r , I 1,1,, , gamer tlelr full strength, rf,m,.ning lo amiws dmv in HH, Nam, Q.. ' -1 . ' if Auf.. 6 Y V 3,314
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Page 17 text:
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The rudder jtlllllllt'll to port 201 and lllc vessel was out ol' control. Escort destroyers welll to llank spccd. ri-va-rscul their courses and In-auli-il toward the carrier. XII power was lost and connnunicalions willi scrccn- ing destroyers failed. Xl 202i a pcriscopc was sighlcd from the Bllllilx ISLAND bridge. Because of power failure. gulls could not bc brought to bear on the target in time. although efforts lo train manually wcrc made. Witll the BLOCK ISLAND dead in the water and sinking fast. orders were given to prcluzrc to abandon ship. The executive ollicer ordered all men in the hangar deck crews to go topside and this undoubtedly is responsible for the small number of casualties. At 2023 the carrier was hit again by another torpedo which blew a thirty foot hole in the aft end of the hangar deck. There was an opening of about 18 inches completely across the Hight deck and down the side to the hangar deck. All salvage steps that could be taken were of no avail. Not only was there danger of the ship breaking in two but there was an ever present threat of another torpedo hit. The ship was abandoned at 2038. It had settled about 20 feet by the stern. Oflicers and crew left the ship on the starboard side. which was the windward side. Captain Hughes and the last of the personnel abandoned ship at 2145 after a man. pinned in the wreckage, had died while being extricated. A heavy explosion. probably of the remaining depth charges. occurred at 2208 and brought to an end the CVE 21. In this disaster, six men were lost, only a few injured. Wlithin an hour the crew, which had left their ship in an orderly manner. were kept close together on rafts. The stronger swimmers aided the injured and placed them with the weaker men in rafts. There was no disorder or confusion among these well trained naval men and many of them displayed high heroism the full story of which will never be known. That not one man was lost in this evolution although some were in the water over two hours until well after darkness had set in and during underwater explo- sions. demonstrates the discipline and character of all hands. Most of the personnel were picked up by the USS AHERXQS and USS PAINE. The USS ELMORE took the USS BARR in tow after it had been damaged bv the submarine which was fighting like a trapped animal. The AHERNS and the PAINE, after all men were rescued. stood clear of the area for the night while the ELMORE and the BARR stood by. In the morning the ships made a rendezvous and searched the area for any possible additional survivors. It is believed that 29 May at 2127 the submarine which had made the attack was exploded and sunk by hedgehogs from the USS ELMORE. After probably causing the demise of eleven submarines, the crew of the USS BLOCK ISLAND came into Casablanca 1 ,Iune at 1230. Although they had lost their ship, the crew was not without high honor. L u 34 Z 1-find, H 411911 401 FBI SURYIVORS AT CASABLANCA U.S.S. AHERNS ARRIVES AT CASABLANCA CAPTAIN HUGHES AND HIS OFFICERS WITH SURVIVOPS AT CASABLANCA
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Page 19 text:
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. FWZ 4, . 3 I Wm.. A 3 .wa 4.s':lsaa'-asf..-. ..,, '- J E DEDICATED TO THOSE WHO DIED AND TO THOSE WHO RISKED THEIR LIVES ON CVE-21 THE COMMISSIONING CAKE Captain Hughes was determined to keep his valiant crew together and find another ship for the FIGHTING BLOCK ISLAND tradition. A new 23,000 ton carrier, a larger and newer type of CVE, the second in the COMMENCEMENT BAY class, was being finished at the TODD-PACIFIC SHIP- YARDS, Tacoma, Washington. It had been launched 10 June 19414 and christened by Mrs. E. S. Hallenback, Okanogan, Washington. She is the mother of Major Gregory HPappy Boyington, a 30-year old Marine ace who was missing after shooting down 25 Jap planes. Later, after CVE 106 was com- missioned, he was found to be still alive. The launching is one of the most critical moments in the life of a ship. Imagine the problem involved in moving a fifty story skyscraper, lying on its side, tl1e distance of a city block and you can get some idea of the task of launching a ship like the USS BLOCK ISLAND. There are two sets of launching ways. They are called ground ways and sliding ways. The ground ways are stationary and run the length of the ship extending well out into the water. The sliding ways are placed on top of the ground ways and sandwiched in between is a good half an inch of wax and grease. The ship is transferred to the sliding ways and is ready for launching. The sliding ways go with the ship on the greasy trip and are picked up in the water to be used again. Transferring the weight of the ship from keel blocks and crihbing to the slid- ing ways is accomplished by driving several hundred feather tipped oak wedges between the sliding ways and the hull. The launching rites have a background of 4000 years of colorful history. Human sacrifice, the spilling of blood, in- cantations by high priests-these little extras marked the ceremonies of the early launchings. A little known but ancient custom took place aboard the BLOCK ISLAND dur- ing her trial and speed tests shortly before her commissioning. In early days a newly launched ship sailed out to sea on her trial run manned by a skeleton crew from the shipworkers who built her. The rest of the workers remained ashore perched along the ways, on high buildings, and in trees. If the trials were successful, a galley broom was run up the masthead, bristles up, a signal to the anxious workers that the ship they had built was accepted by those for whom she had been constructed. The first to sight the broom high on the masthead let out a great shout and spontaneous rejoicing and merry-making followed which lasted far into the night. A ship returning without a broom was known to be full of bugs and require more work to be acceptable. Wvhen the BLOCK ISLAND returned from her trial runs, proudly adorning her masthead was the witch's broom, attesting to the fact that the workmen had made a clean sweep. After thirty days leave the FBI crew re-assembled in Tacoma, Washington. In spite of the inevitable transfers, the ship's company at the time of the commissioning contained 660 men and 52 oflicers who had been aboard CVE 21, out of its complement of 857 men and 63 oflicers. 30 December 1944 approximately 1000 high ranking naval officers, city officials and guests gathered with the shipis crew in the hangar deck to witness the simple ceremonies, shorn of their trimmings, to fit the tempo of war. Captain J. L. McGuigan, USN, superintendent of shipbuilding in the Tacoma area, presided. At 1521, the colors were piped aloft and the ship's first watch set. A bronze memorial plaque having on it a replica of the ship, designed by Edward J. Garrison, together with a fund for the Ship's Welfare, was presented in behalf of tl1e men and women employees of Todd shipyards who had worked on the carrier by Mrs. Jewell Greening, a fellow-employee, who made the presentation in honor of her son, Lt. Col. Charles Ross Greening, a participant in General Doolittle's first bombing of Tokyo, and at this time a prisoner of war in Germany. The plaque, appearing on the frontispiece of this book, is mounted on the Quarterdeck bulkhead. In an impressive ceremony which followed, many men re- ceived awards for their unusual wisdom and gallantry at the time CVE 21 was torpedoed. - -- Q- .Wim .L-6 ig .2-', ', .,1,,v ,M ,
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