Down to the Sea
Page 36
“pandemonium on…huddle around…obeyed for…silly…ten feet…not to be…felt safer…did not…damage control…denied…made fools…swallow…going to…too much…reduce the…very salty”: DeRyckere interview.
“We’ll be”: Schultz interview.
“Sir!”: Drummond interview.
“in irons”: DeRyckere interview.
“every combination…ship’s head…turn away…blown bodily…the trough”: Action Report, Hull, Jan. 1, 1945. 184–
“let anything…ride the…incompetency…in a state…did not…He’s sinking…If I take…The bastard…Even if”: Schultz interview.
“functioning properly”: Wouk, Caine Mutiny, p. 329.
“could be…action was”: DeRyckere interview.
“two or three…basket for”: George Sharp testimony, Court of Inquiry.
“many tons”: DeRyckere interview.
“not throwing”: Schultz interview.
“tremendous noise”: Action Report, Hull, Jan. 1, 1945.
“Let’s go…did not…Within 20…400 pounds…hanging on…kidding and…put us…to settle…the ceiling…more than…done for…trembling…turned into…really whistling…breaking over…whole bunch…beat to death…We gotta…faster than”: Stealey interview.
Chapter Fourteen
“I am unable…heading of…caught in…given up”: Calhoun, Typhoon, pp. 75–76.
“manned by…”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, p. 59.
“Use more…Cannot get…had the”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, p. 88.
“Have tried”: Calhoun, Typhoon, p. 75.
“out of control”: ibid., p. 75.
“You are…racked and”: Baldwin, Sea Fights and Shipwrecks, p. 28.
“slammed…grave jeopardy”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, pp. 88–89.
“between 122,000…putting on…come back…not without…flying around…coming too…luckily it…rolling so…fire and…pump seawater…just plain…feel the…the storm broke…holding on…praying as…all communication…couldn’t find…volunteered without…deserved some”: Joseph McCrane, Narrative Statement of Senior Surviving Petty Officer, Court of Inquiry.
“say for…stopped quite…pick up”: Joseph McCrane testimony, Court of Inquiry.
“shudderingly…Thanks, Dear”: Baldwin, Sea Fights and Shipwrecks, p. 28.
“about forty…Please bring…seven or…difficult job…beating up…the fellows…no confusion…everyone trying…with absolutely…pulling everyone…about the…so nervous…Waves were…carrying fellows…lost all…a whirl-pool…knocking up…beat my…right on…took me…thrown out…strength wouldn’t…impossible to…almost zero…an eternity…and thanked”: McCrane narrative statement.
“very few”: McCrane interview.
“seventy feet”: Baldwin, Sea Fights and Shipwrecks, p. 25.
“beaten off by”: U.S. Navy press release, Feb. 11, 1945.
“water-gauge…everything on…waited to…tangled up…helluva time…big husky…spray was”: Fenn interview.
“began to rip…bridge ripped”: Doil Carpenter testimony, Court of Inquiry.
“never once”: Fenn interview.
“one or two”: McCrane testimony, Court of Inquiry.
“gagging on…relived an…regretted now…freshly-painted…bulwark of…screaming and…the chaos…to stay…shocked daze…suction of”: Krauchunas, “USS Spence: The Typhoon and the Senior Survivor.” 197–
“essential records…no thought…push the…gusts of”: Krauchunas narrative. 198–
“rumbling blast…out from…pretty conscious…full of water…two new…funny feeling”: Wohlleb interview.
“climbed the…just fell…just clung”: Greenfield (Mass.) Recorder, Oct. 1983.
“rolled over…bobbing like…very long…rolled the…blown way…the pressure”: Rosley interview.
“huge round…the most…sink slowly”: Krauchunas narrative.
“Mr. Krauchunas…You’ll have”: Wohlleb interview.
“about 70…increased to…laid the…held her…80 degrees”: James A. Marks Narrative Statement, Court of Inquiry. 200–
“to be in…broken and…Would you…didn’t come”: Schultz interview.
“pleading with”: Ernie Price, “The U.S.S. Hull DD 350,” Owin, Typhoon Cobra, p. 40.
“When we…Yes, sir…guns and…kept hitting…just sunk”: DeRyckere interview.
“sweating it…one of the best…one of the men…terrific pounding…wet from…annoyed for…plunking drops…the ship…Panic ensued…60 or 80…ship descended…kicked and…chin barely…halyards…making an…steaming hot…the most…angry enough…panic-stricken…all got…hammered…like breaking…loose timber…about thirty…spinning like…shot up…inhale as…just as…had a little…chances to”: Franchak interview.
“not going…toughest guy…What are…sitting on…too much…very cold…assumed…goner…This is really”: Drummond interview.
“couldn’t see…worst thing…put the…the last…all kinds…quite upset…not doing…kept changing…stuck it…not been…incompetent ship handler…It hit…hitting the…came back…rushed in”: Rust interview.
“not known…probably saved…didn’t make…taking on…Where’s your…Couldn’t get…Hang on…weren’t doing…swim over”: Watkins interview.
“answering bells…17 knots…lurched to…possibly carried”: Sharp testimony, Court of Inquiry.
“hung up…a wave…almost drowned…it swallowed…so much…going to…resigned to”: Rust interview.
Chapter Fifteen
“latticework”: Fenn interview.
“let the…fish around…tired and…shaky condition…waves were…started to…who was…a large piece…a big hole…very cold…pray to…The stars…I can’t see…went to…hold for…spent very…just absorbed…very good…plenty scared…fruitless…as fast as…seemed to…on edge…if we brushed…difficult time…slapped him…all in vain…some of…too water…unscrewed the…still so…impossible to…no one…push it…pretty bad…Farther out most of…put salt…whistle and…Go ahead…Where are…Don’t worry…short swim…right back…calmer than…all in…keep up…more planes…prayed like…to let…catch ourselves…good drinking…right over…almost speechless…Thinking of…prayer of…the most wonderful…steaming at…dying day…never forget…the Mighty…brilliant role…fight for…trying to”: McCrane narrative, Court of Inquiry.
“force-feedings”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, p. 92.
“I don’t…just circling”: Fenn interview.
“I can’t see”: Navy Department press and radio release, Feb. 11, 1945.
“little fazed”: Fenn interview.
“nosing over…deafening roar…befitted the”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, p. 92.
Chapter Sixteen
“right into…lungs would…one big…deep funnel…started flapping…right on…sailing 30…stripped off…beat the…beaten to death…clear up…the big…circles of…swimming with…thirteen guys…one guy…pulled him…running on…a mess…nobody in…started to…dead, just…exposure, exertion…down the…They’re gonna…egged him…You know…When you…in torture…bare-assed…little fish…didn’t even…eaten by…as much…starting to…in the back…came back…monkey’s fist…no muscle…unbelievably good…I’d sure…Fix you”: Stealey interview.
“to the point…cussing the…headed into…at the mercy…pure panic…hanging on to…our only…in order…kicking my…never get…foolish thought…thrown out…tied to a…higher power…praying mother…swept up…pinned against…a great guy…high winds…Fight on…kept being…came together…heads popped…all alone…a lot of…deep enough…ears would…impossible to…chopped up…riding with…depth was…if any…When will…keep me…never lost…beautiful wife…to be a widow…never to…thinking of…finding an…little light…Who’s there…Pat Douhan…Get over…some company”: Douhan interview.
“sel
f-assured”: Edwin Brooks Jr. interview.
“started to settle…pulled under…it was all over…compartment filling…killed by…their heads…pulled me…more than”: Richmond (Va.) News Leader, March 30, 1945.
“not in very”: Douhan interview.
“picking fruit…get the machine…wasn’t qualified…right over…What do…Don’t give…wasn’t anything…sucked down…ears were bursting…sucked back…a whole bunch…floating by…protection from…kill Marks…keep away”: John Valverde interview.
“looking for…our legs…made a big…no one really…started calling…some kind…sharks still…go down…Model T”: Douhan interview.
“did not know…didn’t set…had to be”: Edward J. Price interview.
“pounced on…strange delusions…how deep…I guess”: Time, “Perils of the Sea,” Dec. 29, 1944.
“Task force…a little…rubbed the…sure enough…little on…all our waving…make us cry…lighting off…our rescue…knowing they…”: Douhan interview.
Chapter Seventeen
“poor little Tabby…The gang is pretty”: Henry L. Plage letter, Oct. 27, 1944.
“rugged character”: Henry L. Plage and Robert M. Surdam radio and press conference, Jan. 16, 1944.
“smart-aleck…his weight and”: McClain interview.
“Waitin’ on Purvis…Purvis eats…I run this…But this is…Purvis is out…My God, what…Don’t worry…Look what Cookie…Stay away…good buddies…”: Phillips interview.
“pretty rough…rode it okay…saved money on…weren’t very hungry…the bridge would call…damn phone rang…the cool water…rest of the coat…in all my glory…maintain discipline…everyone is laughing…Vienna sausage”: Henry L. Plage letter, Nov. 14, 1944.
“everybody who eats…evenhanded fairness”: William A. McClain interview.
“finally got some…meats, oranges…back up”: Henry L. Plage letter, Dec. 5, 1944.
“really have taken…different person teaching…I am very…It means a lot…of course with no…we have some…choir or glee…nine or ten fellows…usually drift off…joins in…there is a dead…singing some song…happy hour…kids who…just plain longing”: Henry L. Plage letter, Nov. 14, 1944.
“first return”: Howard Korth diary, Nov. 17, 1944.
“fine ship…first-class guy…someone you could”: Korth interview.
“18,582 gallons…79,256 gallons”: Log of Tabberer, Dec. 15 and 17, 1944.
“force 12…above 75…seaman’s description…calm…light”: Bowditch, American Practical Navigator, p. 52.
“close proximity…get clear of…put the vessel…ahead full on…riding quite well…rolling up to…over 100 knots…greatest ferocity…rapidly with no…this type of vessel…withstand rolls…broken loose…created a delicate situation…in the trough…swaying about eight…operated without serious”: Commanding Officer, USS Tabberer, Report of Storm Damage, Dec. 24, 1944.
“high morale…those big waves…ripples compared to…handling the ship…nervous or taking…the captain jokingly…more than when…persistent pounding…would give out…whole ship would…crack the seams…watery hell of”: Frank Burbage letter, Jan. 13, 1944.
“finding my sea…stopped throwing up…walking the bulkheads…wash off the…in full control…didn’t try to…let the typhoon…would have been”: George Pacanovsky interview.
“almost a certainty…just looking at…encourage exaggeration…they looked like…93 feet above…nine seconds for…blew away at…life nets all…quick 60-degree…such precious devices…no one could…all in the laps…without even denting…freed of the irons”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoon, pp. 118–20.
“close-knit crew…loved the skipper”: Bellino interview.
“As deaf as…highly populated…courses to steer…pitched and pounded…weird sounds…left the scene”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoon, p. 122.
“terrific rolling…until two days”: Boston Globe, Jan. 24, 1945.
“Man overboard”: Tabberer Report of Storm Damage.
“terrifying word…All hands”: Tabberer anonymous officer’s diary, Jan. 14, 1945.
“not one of…another ship”: Plage and Surdam radio and press conference.
“rose and sank…waving man…large seas and…calculated and highly…in their grip…huge hunk of”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, p. 123.
“demonstrated outstanding ability”: Henry L. Plage letter to the Chief of Naval Personnel, Sept. 28, 1944.
“flashed through…green water…”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, pp. 123–24.
“There are probably…We’ll look for…only 150 to…hunting submarines…start at the…get the most”: Plage and Surdam radio and press conference. 240 “2215”: Log of Tabberer, Dec. 18, 1944.
“the loom…must be Tabberer…might have found…headed over to…Dewey could be…more directly…pitch and pound…had come to…understand the reason…draped over the…turn back to…some risk that…advice and abandoned”: Calhoun, Typhoon, pp. 67–68, 99, 111.
“exhaustion from overexposure”: F. W. Cleary, Report of Casualties and Rescue of Survivors from Sunken Vessels, Dec. 22, 1944.
“some 25 square…so many minutes”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, pp. 125–26.
“about 15 or 16…tremendous suction…banged against it…lost him…pumped out”: Korth interview.
“Dammit, I bet…painful and often”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, pp. 128–29.
“popping out of…butt first…You don’t look…Don’t believe…flying off…black with chrome…very bright light…as hard as…There he is”: Drummond interview.
“rode bucking horses…swim like hell…trapped below…dogged themselves…never was broken…none got out…like a big earthquake”: Carl Webb interview.
“bleeding like a…bloodied dungaree…shivers went up…quite a wallop…jerk my head…this was it…the shoelaces wore…any more trouble…No, have you…Never mind…pleaded and begged…these guys hanging…absolutely hopeless…a tough time”: Franchak interview. 245 “0605 Recovered”: Log of Tabberer, Dec. 19, 1944.
“tried for mutiny”: Schultz interview.
“Appreciate it…Five after six…SOS. Send help…We are departing…They’re leaving”: DeRyckere interview.
“eyes as black…salt spray driving…didn’t taste very”: Plage and Surdam radio and press conference. 246 “0852 Rescued”: Log of Tabberer, Dec. 19, 1944.
“in slow motion…not a good idea…sucked down…bashed against…pretty good…bunch of guys…the hell with…just slide”: Arthur L. Fabrick interview.
“flattening out…visual check point”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, p. 132.
“proceed to rendezvous…believed other men…as long as…resumed for rendezvous…our tommy guns…Right full…all around…again taken toward…hangdog look…hated to give…to continue…stay in the”: Commanding Officer, USS Tabberer, Rescue of Survivors, Dec. 24, 1944.
“they were Japs…this was the…instrumental in saving…scientist by training…”: Watkins interview.
“attacked by the…dove in the…pretty tuckered…” Plage and the Surdam radio and press conference.
“heavy burden…like a bunch…couldn’t do the…hang with that…a little shaky”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, p. 133.
“hunting for these”: Plage and Surdam radio and press conference.
“held underwater”: Schultz interview.
“could hardly walk…hiding Marks”: Phillips interview.
“wasn’t much…the opposite”: McClain interview.
Chapter Eighteen
“the most exhaustive…a man in”: Halsey, Admiral Halsey’s Story, p. 240.
“hallucinated and…crawled out on…nothing but skivvies…turned keel up”: Zasadil interview.
“underwater like a…couple of steep…made a 75…screaming like babies…climbed out over…swung off into…caught in the…reach in the…
in a sea…boilers blew…broke in half…throwing a handful…guys disappeared”: Floyd Balliett interview.
“storm-tossed and”: James Forrestal, secretary of the Navy, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon awarded to Tabberer.
“three days and…looked worse”: Plage and Surdam radio and press conference.
“we didn’t really…But we…the good Lord”: Phillips interview.
“the wonderful way…What would have”: Burbage letter, Jan. 13, 1944.
“four-striper Captains”: Henry L. Plage letter, Dec. 29, 1944.
“Well done”: Henry Plage memorandum to all hands, Dec. 20, 1944.
“while ships around…expected to learn…How could any”: Halsey, Admiral Halsey’s Story, pp. 240–41.
“Captain Plage, officers”: William F. Halsey speech to officers and men of USS Tabberer, Dec. 29, 1944.
“blush from hairline…salute or shake”: Adamson and Kosco, Halsey’s Typhoons, pp. 143–44.
“flabbergasted”: Henry L. Plage letter, Dec. 29, 1944.
“Chief, pack your…in charge of…hated to lose…good for him”: Phillips interview.
“What type…that hurt…our type fighting…Destroyer escort…sedan with a…looking very stern…Plage, did…Yes, sir…put his head…one up…My battleship buddy”: Henry Plage, second reunion, USS Tabberer, Aug. 30, 1986.
“outstanding leadership…”: Walden L. Ainsworth biography, Naval Historical Center.
“best ship in…in correct position…the alertness of…a part of”: Henry L. Plage letter, Jan. 13, 1944.
“outstanding when compared…For extremely meritorious”: Navy Unit Commendation, Naval Historical Center.
Chapter Nineteen
“received a direct…lay unexploded”: Log of New Jersey, Dec. 24, 1944.
“very concerned”: “The Reminiscences of Vice Admiral Truman J. Hedding,” Naval Historical Center.
“had expected”: Reynolds, The Fast Carriers, p. 283; New York Times, Dec. 16, 1944.
“typhoon-delayed”: Thomas, Sea of Thunder, p. 345.
“the dangerous semicircle…seamanship…practically tore”: “The Reminiscences of Vice Admiral Truman J. Hedding.”
“to know the”: Thomas B. Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 492.