Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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put out some dye marker from the small pack- ages attached to their Mae Wcsts. But none saw the signal and as time went on the airmen became discouraged and cursed their fellow fliers at the tops of their lungs. Melton began to develop cramps in his legs. The water was cold and the leg muscles, tired by the strenuous exertions of the past few minutes, began to knot. Also, Meltonas life jacket only partially inflated and was not suf- ficiently buoyant to support his full weight. Lt. Cron gave Melton his life jacket, and thus supported, he was able to take much of the strain off his legs. At this point it was about 1015 hours C1o:1 5 AMD. Friendly planes were frequently sighted, but none saw the marooned men. Finally came the break for which they had been wait- ing. An artillery observation plane, flying low and slow, came close and the pilot saw the bright yellow Mae Wests and the frantically gesticulating fliers. He swooped low over their heads, circled several times and waved. Then he tossed overboard an inflated rubber raft, which, unfortunately hit the water between the stranded men and the shore, too close to the beach to permit its recovery without bringing the retriever within range of the Jap riHes. Making another low pass, the pilot of the plane cut his engine completely, shouted something -.Q --ff ..v-. 1. T. .1 unintelligible to the men below, then gunned his engine and sped away. 'fHe'll send helpf' the airmen agreed. Sure enough, in about ten minutes a carrier-based torpedo bomber approached and began circling their position. Fifteen minutes later, two fighter planes relieved the Avenger and main- tained a close vigil. No longer were the men in the water afraid of being pursued by laps from the beach, for the fighter planes could easily hold off any such threat with their power- ful wing guns. At 1300 hours C1 :oo PMD two seaplanes approached, made perfect landings on the calm sea and taxied up to the wet, tired men. Lt. Cron clambered aboard one, and Melton the other. Then the planes took off and a few minutes later the survivors were taken aboard a seaplane tender. One week later, on 1 5 April, the two airmen were returned to their carrier and were wel- comed aboard by the Commanding Ofiicer, Captain G. A. T. Washburn, U. S. Navy, of Seattle, Washington. C'We're glad to have you two back aboard, said Captain Washburn. f'We,re glad to be back, Sirf, replied Lt. C Cron. And he wasnjt kidding. Touch football on flight deck.

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this time American artillery shells began falling nearby. For days now the army had been shelling N ip gun positions which were dug into the sides of many hills and cleverly camou- flaged. As the shells began to burst closer and closer, the three airmen frequently tlopped on their stomachs to avoid the blasts. Soon the barrage receded behind them and their prog- ress ceased to be thus impeded. Continuing north, Lt. t Cron and his crewmen saw a camouflaged jap tank standing at the side of a narrow road. They ducked bc- hind some brush and watched it for a few moments. No crew was in evidence, but not wishing to take a chance the trio turned east again. Some distance ahead they could make out the beach, but between them and it were several houses with thatched roofs. Finding a cleared area between two small villages, the three half walked, half ran through this field and came to a stone and concrete sea wall which skirted the beach. They scrambled over the wall, then headed north-east following the curve of Yonabaru VVan. American ar- tillery shells began falling closer now, the gun- ner's point of aim being the small villages the airmen had just avoided. They could hear the whine of the big shells passing close above them, then the earth shaking Ucarr--um eefesee fephn as the shells burst. Hearing the whine, the airmen would flatten themselves against the sea Wall, then scramble ahead until the next close one came over. Soon the firing ceased and the trio continued north-east at a fast walk. Suddenly the turret gunner, who had been looking behind every few moments, gave a warning cry. Glancing backward, the other two saw a terrifying sight. Two Jap soldiers, about loo yards behind, were running toward them. Their rifles with naked bayonets gleamed in the sunlight. The three Americans broke into a run, their .38 caliber revolvers be- ing no match for the Jap rifles. As they started to run the japs gave a yell and com- menced firing at the fleeing aviators. Bullets whined close but luckily none found its mark. Sighting a break in the sea wall ahead, Lt. Cjgj Cron made for it and scrambled through to the land side, followed by the other two. For a few seconds, at least, the .Iaps could not fire on them until they, too, crossed the wall. If the Americans thought they could find better cover on the other side, however, they were knew that it would be only a matter of tm lore a ,lap bullet. or several bullets, fo marks. ll' they could only get into the Ma swim out far enough to be out of range of ,lap rifles, they might be safe, temporarily wt least. 'lt looked like their only chance, so Lg, tjgl tiron motioned his companions to go over the wall again. Once on the other side, Lt, tjgl Ciron dashed to the watt-r's edge and into the shallow water. Glancing around he saw that only the radiornan, Melton, was with him. The turret gunner apparently winged by a Nip bullet, had failed to get over the wall. Either that, or he had elected to turn landward in the hope of finding cover and escaping his relent- less pursuers. But there was no opportunity for the other two to go back to look for the gun- ner. The japs were standing on the sea wall and firing. Bullets pinked the water on all sides of the two exhausted fliers, sending up little bursts of spray. The water was just above their knees, and the two survivors plunged into the gentle surf, rolled over on their backs and pushed themselves along with their feet. Miraculously, they were not hit by the japs' tire, and now with only their heads showing they made progressivly poor targets as they slowly inched their way out of range. The .laps made no effort to pursue them into the water but stood on the sea wall watching, like vultures waiting for their prey to fall before swooping in for the kill. Now Qoo yards offshore and just out of range of the jap's rifles, the pair found a coral ledge which allowed them to stand and rest, the water up to their arm pits. Regaining their breath and some semblance of strength, they made their way slowly along the ledge in a northerly direction. But it is tiring business trying to walk in water of that depth and Lt. Cjgj Cron decided to move landward toward shallower water where they could make better time. The japs, meanwhile, had been follow- ing their course from the beach, as the pair moved in closer, the soldiers let out a whoop and began Hring again. The fugitives were forced to swim to deeper water as the bullets began splashing close. Again they found a coral ledge where they could stand. Farther out, the waves were breaking over a coral reef wgich jutted above the surface of the sea atslow t1 e. . disappointed. Soon the japs came in sight again and again began Hring. Lt. Cjgj Cron During these breathless minutes, the flioiis had seen friendly carrier planes winging head and when one would come in close,

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