A Dawn Like Thunder

by Robert J. Mrazek

  The story of the October 12 combat mission of Torpedo Eight in which either Aaron Katz or Gene Hanson delivered a direct hit on a Japanese warship was drawn from the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, Mears’s Carrier Combat, Wolfert’s Torpedo 8, the After Action Report of the mission, and author interviews with Bert Earnest, Gene Hanson, Ski Kowalewski, and Frank Balsley.

  Swede Larsen’s decision to go back and attempt to sink the crippled Japanese warship was drawn from author interviews with Bert Earnest and Gene Hanson, the After Action Report filed by Larsen, and the account that appears in Wolfert’s Torpedo 8 (pp. 101–102).

  Divine Fire

  The horrific shelling by two Japanese battleships on October 13 was etched in the memory of every man who lived through that night at Henderson Field. The author was able to record the personal stories of a number of the men who were there, including Pete Peterkin, who wrote about it at length in his diary, and through author interviews with Bert Earnest, Judge Wendt, Frank Balsley, Bill Magee, Wiley Bartlett, Ski Kowalewski, and Gene Hanson. Further details of the attack were supplied in Fred Mears’s Carrier Combat, Vandegrift’s Once a Marine, and Frank’s Guadalcanal (pp. 313–319). For the devastating impact of the October 13 shelling attack, including the complete destruction of Torpedo Eight’s camp in the coconut grove, the author relied on interviews with the men who lived through it and who are named above.

  The subsequent evacuation of their camp, and their encounter later on October 14 with Major Michael Mahoney, was richly portrayed by Pete Peterkin in his diary. Details of these events appear in Carrier Combat, Wolfert’s Torpedo 8, and the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary. For the descriptions of Major Mahoney’s iconoclastic and fascinating personality, the author relied on the written observations of Peterkin and Fred Mears, as well as the valuable information about his military career provided by the U.S. Marine Corps History Division in Quantico, Virginia (official source).

  The announcement by Swede Larsen of his decision to remain on Guadalcanal after learning that all six of the squadron’s Avengers were apparently unsalvageable was recalled in author interviews with Bert Earnest and Gene Hanson.

  Out of the Ashes

  For the overall situation on Guadalcanal as of October 15, 1942, including the continued Japanese air attacks and the later discovery of the hidden cache of aviation fuel, the author is indebted to Frank’s Guadalcanal and Lundstrom’s The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign.

  The story of Torpedo Eight’s first days inside the Marine defense perimeter with Major Mahoney’s company, including the account of Swede Larsen ordering Chief Hammond to build him a serviceable combat plane from the six written-off Avengers, was drawn from Peterkin’s diary. The description of the sniper patrol undertaken by Judge Wendt and Bert Edmonds came from author interviews with Wendt.

  The details of Chief Hammond’s extraordinary undertaking to build his first “Frankenstein” Avenger by cannibalizing five other wrecked aircraft were provided in Peterkin’s diary. The account of the Japanese attack on the destroyer McFarland on October 16 was also drawn from Peterkin’s diary, as well as author interviews with Bill Magee and Ski Kowalewski, both of whom were aboard the McFarland during the attack. Further details came from The Saturday Evening Post article “The McFarland Comes Home,” Lundstrom’s The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign, and Miller’s The Cactus Air Force.

  The description of Swede’s first test flight in Chief Hammond’s aerial creation was drawn from Wolfert’s Torpedo 8 (pp. 113–114), the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, and author interviews with Gene Hanson. The sketch of the squadron’s enlisted men digging foxholes near Bloody Knoll was drawn from Pete Peterkin’s diary, the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, and author interviews with Wiley Bartlett.

  For the scenes depicting the preparations by Japanese general Masao Maruyama to launch the ground attack by his Sendai Division against the southern Marine defense perimeter, including the history of the Sendai Division and the details and execution of his plan, the author relied on Frank’s Guadalcanal, Toland’s The Rising Sun, and Samuel Griffith’s The Battle for Guadalcanal.

  The account of Swede Larsen’s first two bombing missions on the morning of October 23 came from the diary of Pete Peterkin, the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, the After Action Reports, and author interviews with Judge Wendt.

  The account of Gene Hanson’s first mission on October 23 was drawn from the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, the After Action Report, and author interviews with Hanson. The description of Hanson’s second mission, during which Major Mahoney was killed when their plane was shot down in Sealark Channel, was also provided by Hanson. Additional details were found in Wolfert’s Torpedo 8 (pp. 114–115), Mears’s Carrier Combat (p. 147), Pete Peterkin’s diary, the After Action Report, and the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary. The source for the final anecdote of that night, in which Fred Mears and Aaron Katz pointed their pistols at one another while attempting to defend themselves against a Japanese sniper, was Carrier Combat.

  The major source for the portrayal of Torpedo Squadron Eight’s preparations for defending their section of the Marine defense perimeter on October 24 was Pete Peterkin’s diary, with additional details provided in author interviews with Wiley Bartlett, Frank Balsley, Bert Earnest, and Gene Hanson.

  The account of the October 24 night battle in which Torpedo Eight fought from their foxholes along the southern perimeter was drawn from the Torpedo Eight War Diary, Pete Peterkin’s diary, Burke Davis’s Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller, Mears’s Carrier Combat, Vandegrift’s Once a Marine, and the author’s interviews with Hanson, Bartlett, Balsley, and Earnest.

  The actions of the men of Torpedo Eight on October 25, including the killing by R. T. Williams of a Japanese sniper, the continued work of Chief Hammond’s crew to construct a second “Frankenstein” Avenger, Fred Mears and Peterkin’s witnessing of the aerial battle over Henderson Field, and the resumption of their foxhole positions in the defense line for that night’s continued assaults by the Sendai Division, were pooled from Pete Peterkin’s diary, the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, Carrier Combat, and author interviews with Balsley, Earnest, Bartlett, and Hanson.

  The deterioration in the mental and physical condition of the men of Torpedo Squadron Eight after nearly six weeks of combat on Guadalcanal was highlighted by Mears in Carrier Combat (p. 149), the recollections of Earnest and Hanson in author interviews, and Peterkin in his diary.

  For the portrayal of the Battle of Santa Cruz between Japanese and American carrier forces on October 26, the author relied on the excellent accounts in Toland’s The Rising Sun, Lundstrom’s The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign and Black Shoe Carrier Admiral, Miller’s The Cactus Air Force, and Hammel’s Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles.

  The reactions of the men of Torpedo Eight to the sinking of the Hornet were drawn from author interviews with Bert Earnest and Gene Hanson, who were on Guadalcanal at the time, and with Smiley Morgan, Bill Tunstall, Jack Stark, and Bill Magee, who were at Espiritu Santo. The decision of Fred Mears, Bert Earnest, Gene Hanson, and Aaron Katz to return to Espiritu Santo was recalled in an author interview with Gene Hanson, and chronicled in the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary and Mears’s Carrier Combat.

  Swede’s Refrain

  The “lull” in activities of the squadron members who remained on Guadalcanal while Chief Hammond attempted to resurrect another flyable Avenger was emphasized in both Pete Peterkin’s diary and the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary.

  The description of Swede’s successful flight in Chief Hammond’s second creation and of the move of the squadron’s camp to a new location was drawn from Peterkin’s diary. The results of the six routine solo missions Larsen flew in the new plane November 1–3, 1942, were collected from the After Action Reports filed by Larsen and the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary. The source for the account of Larsen intercepting the letter sent by Earnest to Peterkin was an author interview with Earnest.
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  The improving condition of the men of the squadron at Espiritu Santo was drawn from author interviews with Jack Stark, Del Delchamps, and Smiley Morgan, along with Mears’s Carrier Combat.

  For the overall assessment of the strategic situation from the Japanese point of view on November 6, 1942, the author drew on Toland’s The Rising Sun, Frank’s Guadalcanal, and Lundstrom’s The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign.

  The account of the November 7 mission led by Swede Larsen against the eleven-ship enemy task force was drawn from his After Action Report, the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, Wolfert’s Torpedo 8, Lundstrom’s The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign, and the award citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross that Larsen later received for leading the attack.

  The refusal of Swede Larsen to leave Guadalcanal until he was “properly relieved” was recorded by Fred Mears in Carrier Combat (p. 151). The concern about whether the squadron had pushed its luck too far was expressed by Peterkin in his diary. Details of letters of the squadron’s enlisted men on Guadalcanal to squadron mates on Espiritu Santo about their desire to be relieved were provided to the author by Jack Stark.

  The account of the arrival on November 12 of the first six Avengers from the Marine air group relieving Torpedo Eight, including the fact that two of them were damaged by American naval gunfire, was chronicled in Peterkin’s diary.

  The author’s re-creation of the opening round of the naval battle of Guadalcanal on the night of November 12–13, 1942, was drawn from Lundstrom’s The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign, Eric Hammel’s Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea, Miller’s The Cactus Air Force, and Toland’s The Rising Sun.

  For the description of the aerial assault on the crippled Japanese battleship Kiei on November 13, the author relied on Miller’s The Cactus Air Force and Hammel’s Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea. For Swede Larsen’s participation in the attack, including his attempt to indoctrinate the new Marine replacement pilots of Marine Group 131, the author drew on the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, Peterkin’s private diary, and Wolfert’s Torpedo 8 (p. 124). The background material on Captain George Dooley came from Miller’s The Cactus Air Force and an author interview with John Lundstrom.

  The sources for the account of the ceremony in which Swede officially accepted relief by Marine Air Group 131 on November 14, followed by the turning over to the Marine group of all of Torpedo Eight’s remaining planes and equipment by Chief Hammond, included the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary and Peterkin’s diary.

  The description of the destruction of six of the eleven Japanese troop barges as they headed toward Guadalcanal on November 14 was drawn from Lundstrom’s The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign, Frank’s Guadalcanal, Miller’s The Cactus Air Force, and Hammel’s Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea. Similarly, the account of the naval battle on the night of November 14–15, which culminated in the sinking of the Japanese battleship Kirishima, was derived from the same sources.

  The account of the last air attack of Torpedo Squadron Eight at Guadalcanal on November 15, flown by Swede Larsen and Larry Engel, was drawn from Mears’s Carrier Combat (pp. 152–53), Miller’s The Cactus Air Force (p. 206), the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, the After Action Report for this mission, Wolfert’s Torpedo 8 (pp. 125–127), and Peterkin’s diary.

  For the sketches of Torpedo Eight’s last morning on Guadalcanal on November 16, their flight to Espiritu Santo, the brief reunion of the squadron members prior to their departure back to the States, and the discussion of how each one of the pilots was going to make his way back home, the author relied on Peterkin’s diary, Mears’s Carrier Combat, and author interviews with Bert Earnest, Gene Hanson, and Smiley Morgan.

  The departures of Peterkin and Morgan by air from Espiritu Santo on November 17 were re-created from Peterkin’s diary and an author interview with Morgan.

  The portrayal of the unofficial ceremony on November 17 in which Swede Larsen gathered the men of the squadron together and began to make “on the spot” assessments of each man’s performance came from author interviews with Jack Stark, Harry Ferrier, Bill Tunstall, and Wiley Bartlett. In particular, Stark and Ferrier vividly remembered the moment when Delchamps cocked the forty-five pistol and threatened to kill Larsen. Delchamps was particularly helpful in describing the incident to the author from his perspective and in recounting his November 18 conversation with Lieutenant Harwood.

  The scenes of the squadron’s trip home aboard the Kitty Hawk, including the copy of the letter Swede wrote to Chastian Taurman and the completion of the Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, were drawn from author interviews and letters supplied by Jack Stark.

  Morgan’s experiences returning home, including the detour to Pearl Harbor where he received the Navy Cross from Admiral Nimitz, were provided to the author by Morgan. The author also referred to excerpts of Morgan’s award citation.

  Squadron Members’ Private Diaries/Personal Letters (Unpublished)

  This material provided the most important written sources of information about the personal stories of the men who served in Torpedo Eight from its formation in 1941 until its decommissioning in 1942.

  William R. Evans Jr. Collected writings, including sketches of life aboard the Hornet, his joy of flying, journal entries, letters to family and friends, his final poems (36 pages).

  George Gay Jr. Private diary, written from February to June 1942, describing his months of training in Norfolk, his candid views of squadron mates, the Doolittle Raid, events and important developments aboard the Hornet from May 29 to the night before the Battle of Midway (95 pages).

  Gene Hanson. Detailed accounts of missions from the Saratoga and from Guadalcanal, June to October, 1942, along with letters to wife, Joy, and other notes and letters recording his impressions of squadron activities and the men who served with him (31 pages).

  Aaron Katz. Letters to family, including commentaries on squadron life aboard the Saratoga and at Guadalcanal, poetry, mission notes (19 pages).

  Henry Russell “Rusty” Kenyon Jr. Letters to wife and family from his training in Florida through assignment to VT-8 in Norfolk, at sea aboard the Hornet, including his final letters to Verna Kenyon. Also a biography describing his early years, college life, his marriage to Verna, his time with Torpedo Eight, and the anticipated birth of his daughter, Russellyn (86 pages).

  Corwin F. Morgan. Private diary excerpts, descriptions of Ford Island, life aboard the Hornet, the Saratoga, and at Guadalcanal, letters to and from family and friends, letters to Walter Lord, and numerous mission accounts (76 pages).

  Ulvert Matthew “Whitey” Moore. Letters to family from his time at West Virginia University through his service with VT-8, his views of other squadron members, the Douglas Devastator, and his last letters from the Hornet. Also more than a dozen letters from his fiancée, Betty Watkins, discussing their relationship and that of her friend Diana with Grant Teats (96 pages).

  DeWitt Peterkin. Private diary/family memoir, entitled Carrier Squadron Torpedo 8: Aboard Hornet-Saratoga and Henderson Field, Guadalcanal 1942, describing his arrival at Pearl Harbor with Swede Larsen’s detachment, his close friendship with Langdon Fieberling, the torpedoing of the Saratoga, life at Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal, the October 13 shelling by Japanese battleships, the construction of Chief Hammond’s “Frankenstein” planes, fighting alongside the Marines during the October 23–24 ground battles, and the death of Major Michael Mahoney (82 pages).

  Grant Teats. Letters to family from March 1941 to June 1942, including his impressions of squadron members, his chafing at senior officers and Navy regulations, his problems with gaining weight, his life aboard the Hornet until June 4, 1942. Also letters from his fiancée, Diana, vowing her love and dealing with the frustration of his being away from her (122 pages).

  Author Interviews

  Frank Balsley (VT-8 survivor): Two interviews in 2006 (11/29, 11/30).

  Wiley Bartlett (VT-8 survivor): Three interviews in 2007 (7/19, 10/26,
10/27).

  Lois Fieberling Castor: Two interviews in 2006 (3/16, 3/18).

  Lodwrick Cook: One interview in 2006 (9/6).

  Mary and Catherine Corrigan. One interview in 2006 (3/17).

  Robert J. Cressman: One interview and five e-mail correspondences between September 2006 and October 2007 (Interview 9/24/06).

  Sherry Moore Cullaty: Three interviews in 2007 (7/23, 8/10, 8/11).

  Newton Delchamps (VT-8 survivor): Five interviews in 2007 (7/8, 7/9, 7/19, 8/16, 9/18).

  Jane Eagle: Three e-mails between April and August, 2007.

  Albert K. Earnest (VT-8 survivor): Twenty-eight interviews between February 2006 and August 2007 (2006: 2/9, 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/20, 3/13, 3/18, 3/26, 4/1, 4/2, 4/4, 4/23, 6/11, 7/10, 7/31, 8/25, 11/17, 11/18, 12/30. 2007: 1/25, 1/29, 2/8, 2/27, 4/16, 5/27, 6/10, 6/17, 8/20).

  Russellyn “Rusty” Kenyon Edwards: One interview in August 2006 (8/22).

  Thomas E. Evans: Seven interviews in 2006 (4/26, 5/1, 5/3, 5/8, 5/31, 9/19, 11/13).

  Eric Fieberling: Four interviews in 2006 (3/20, 3/27, 4/3, 5/9).

  Harry Ferrier (VT-8 survivor): Five interviews in 2006 (3/27, 4/10, 4/11, 4/27, 4/29).

  Roy Gee (Hornet Dauntless pilot): Seven interviews in 2006 (5/1, 5/30, 8/18, 8/22, 8/23, 8/26, 10/26).

  Charles Gillispie: Two interviews and seven e-mails in 2006 (Interviews: 4/30, 10/18).

  Gail Gaynier Grimm: Four interviews in 2007 (1/1, 1/3, 1/7, 1/10).

  Frank Guidone: One interview in 2007 (9/16).

  Nellie Haenny: One interview in 2006 (4/12).

  Howard Hale: One interview in 2006 (3/18).

  Catherine Dunn Hall: Two interviews in 2006 (4/3, 4/4).

  Gene Hanson (VT-8 survivor): Eleven interviews in 2006 and 2007 (2006: 7/18, 7/31, 8/1, 8/7, 8/9, 8/30, 12/20. 2007: 4/25, 6/19, 8/23, 10/11).

  Mark Horan: Two interviews in 2006 (9/27, 9/28).