Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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Wright commissioned and skippered the carrier Sicily, and to all the ship's officers, the airmen and the crew, a warm salute from their oldest shipmate. I shall never cease to appreciate and Wonder at the courage of Vice Admiral A. W. Radford and of Artemus Gates, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air, for taking me into the Navy. We will soon be celebrating the second anniversary of V-I Day, and almost four years have passed since the happenings recorded in this log. I can assume that the Nation's Flag was flying proudly in the breeze when the wounded Lex was leaving the battle area . . . yet I do not remember having noticed it at the time or having heard anyone else mention it. I do remember the Stars and Stripes draped over the bodies of our dead . . . remember how the flags flattened, fluttered, and flapped as the canvas bundles slid away and hurtled down into the water. I remember the smile and nod of the head from a pilot up in the cockpit of his plane about to take off . . . remember the long talk I had with him and hisheartwarming dreams and visions of the future just before he took off . . . and never came back. The memories of the infernal noise of gunfire, of tracer shell patterns in the sky, of flaming planes plunging into the sea in dramatic explosions-these seem remote and unreal, but the memory of bulldozers nosing the volcanic ash over the long rows of canvas-wrapped bodies of Marines on Iwo lima remains a starkly clear and stifling reality. There are some voices that are now talking glibly of the next war . . . here in our garden humming birds dive and zoom over long rows of blue and purple and white delphinium . . . Ridgejfeld, Conrzcfczficut, 4 Iuly 1947 V11

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CAPTAIN FELIX B. STUMP, USN 9 fv This is on the U.S.S. Lexington at Fearl Harbor. Hawaii. Captain Felix Stump, USN Cclass of IQI7, in command. On her previous strike she was the Flagship for Rear Admiral A. W. Radford. The Admiral and his staff are now transferring from the Lei, to the U .S.S. Enlevfprise. I find out that the great armada of Warships We saw in the harhor as we flew in this morning from San Francisco will put to sea tomorrow. Admiral Radford tells me he has spoken to Captain Stump about us and that Comairpac fthe Commander Air Force, Pacific F leetj will assign Iins. Victor lorgensen and myself to duty on the Lexington. Through the open hatch of the Admiralls ofhce comes a deep-voiced good-hurnored growl: 'cWhen you call on an Admiral, I guess you put on a tief, A tall rangy inan steps into the rooni giving his black tie a sharp tug into place, and I am introduced to Captain Stump. The war' he came into the room, his remark about the tie, the simple directness of his manner and his friendly grin, assure me that Admiral Radford has found the right spot for ine. Put a colonial wig on the head of Felix Stump and you have a ringer for Gilhert Stuart's portrait of George XYashington. I M M - - f- ,wg AM,-1 W