Randolph (CV 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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morning. Some of us sTayed awake a while Thai' nighT Thinking abouT whaT would happen on This, our Tirsl' assignmenT, as we Tried To smash The Jap on his home grounds. Who could say how we would sTand up in combaT7 The nexT morning we were aT our baT'Tle sTaTions before dawn, in gloves, eye-shields and helmeTs. Some of us had smeared The blue anTi-flash cream on The exposed parTs of our Taces. Roaring planes Took oTiT The deck in The cloudy, weT sky, heading Tor enemy airTields in The Tokyo area. Below decks we waiTed nervously. All day we sfayed aT General QuarTers, aT any momenT expecT- ing an aH'ack Trom enemy planes. We were less Than a hundred miles from Tokyo! The aTTack never came. We had caughf The Japs by surprise, and whaT planes They did manage To send up were knocked down by piloTs of The force, including our own. NexT day, February I7, our piloTs made a daring sTrike againsT The Tachikawa Engine PlanT wesT oT Tokyo. This aTTack was brillianTly led by Commander Charles L. Crommelin, USN, Air Group commander, who was laTer killed over Ckinawa. AT The ship we sTill waiTed nervously Tor The Japs To aTTack us. On February I8 a sTrike was launched againsT Chichi Jima and The nexT day we Took aboard gasoline and repIacemenT aircraTT. During The nexT Three days missions were flown in supporT oT The occupaTion oT Iwo Jima. Our planes rockeTed caves on MounT Suribachi, aiding The ground Troops To secure ThaT bloody lsland. ln These operaTions Two sweeps againsT Haha Jima were also Tlown. V X i glliili i sys!-WSH .Ai 1, f. A , V' ' i 349- I sa X...

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