European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 13, 1945, Darmstadt, Hesse                                79 5i m m m t h a Lazy afternoon on a Carrier broke up in a hurry when four Jap bettys Tore in out of nowhere to launch an by James Goble yank staff correspondent aboard an Esse class Carrier off Formosa men had been at general but now All of them had left their Battle All of that except the gun and they were taking things no Jap planes had been reported anywhere near the car Rier for the men around the four barrelled 40mm to fors at the Edge of the hangar decks starboard Quarter smoked and Roy Lyons com of in charge of the gun bummed a match from another of the men looked at an old thumbs eared a re haired loader glanced at his the time was then it far off to starboard the guns of two warships accompanying the Carrier began firing at four tiny barely above the they were Jap torpedo carrying they had escaped from both the Carrier and its patrol of fighter by coming in they Tore on in despite the fire from the two Lyons waited until the Jap planes came within then commence All the carriers gun Crews had been told to fire at any plane that appeared without waiting for orders from the gunnery in the gun director a few feet from the James Alexander fc3c of swung his sight toward the the four barrels swung in the same Alexander pressed the mounts trigger and flame spouted from All he continued firing As fast As loaders shoved four Shell clips into the the carriers other starboard guns began firing As a Bugle started playing the Call to general quarters Over the the noise of a clanging Gong mingled with the Call a general alarm was being sounded at the same men dashed up and Down narrow running for Battle mess Cooks left their galleys to become ammunition and yeomen left typewriters to become members of damage con tool hatches and watertight doors were secured behind it was hotter than hell in fire room Way Down on the seventh deep in the hold of the sweat ran Down the fire gangs Down their backs and the heat from the rooms two boilers had raised the temperature to almost 130 whats that whats that Dodo Pappalardo f2c of new York City yelled into the Mouth piece of a Telephone which Hung around his he then raised his head and yelled sex four bettys coming in to two of the men went to the port Side As if they had business the escape Hatch was on that another gazed upward at the thickly Insu lated pipes leading from the in Many of the pipes was its temperature 800 degrees and its pressure 600 pounds per Square the men not Only were faced with the possibility of a torpedo tearing into the fire room there was the Chance one of the steam pipes might let even the torpedo hit far we shutdown any yet Pappalardo yelled into the whats going on up on the carriers Island stood Clermont Allen b2c of so High he could look Down into the Allen was the eyes and ears of the gang in fire room for the men in the other fire in the Engineer ing compartments and deep in the nor Allen was merely supposed to watch the if any smoke came from he would notify the proper fire room in order to have it a trailing Cloud of smoke lets an enemy Over the horizon know the ships but Allen want bothering about smoke he watched tracers Streak toward the four Jap none of them More than 75 feet above the the tracers converged on the it burst into flames and fell into the there goes one of the Allen shouted into his he then dam i almost swallowed my he spat backward onto the the spittle hissed and immediately the stack was always hot around 300 three others still coming to yelled then he quickly there com ing at us from All one of the Jap planes had veered toward the carriers another came at the the third was bearing Down fast on the starboard Allen twisted about on his Small trying to keep track of the he saw the plane heading for the Stern Jerk upward slightly As if it had dropped a heavy one of them dropped a he his Chin a Carrier throws flak against attacking Jap bobbed up and Down As he worked on his Roscoe Justus b3c of fort was one of the men listening in to Allens he sat on a peacoat locker at a Hydraulic control Sta Tion on the third near the escape Hatch exit from fire room Justus was there to operate the valves of his station if the need should they were connected with the boilers Down in the fire Justus could easily Cut off the boilers fuel Oil or the steam that came from he also could re lease a Cloud of smothering fire extinguisher in Case enemy action caused flames to sweep the he would Aid As Many men As possible to escape through the in the fire room were controls similar to those in the Hydraulic control but there was no guar Anty the men would have time to use on the smoke Allen spread his feet for better balance As the Stern of the Carrier the with its rudder and makes the Best Allen but there was no lifting the torpedo had missed the it didst miss a nearby somethings happened to a ship Over shouted pointing As if his listeners could see a White puff is coming out of and Shes slowing the plane that had dropped the fish spouted flame and plunged into the it had been caught in a crossfire from the Carrier and other almost immediately the plane that had started for the carriers Bow also flamed and dropped into the the bastards Are dropping All yelled one of them fell into our and the other the ships loudspeakers Cut in with the announcement for All hands to stay Clear of the the Carrier was being strafed by the remaining Jap coming in to the fourth Betty had come within easy Point Blank torpedo Range without dropping a Lyons and the gun crewmen could see their projectiles explode As they hit the the Star Board motor flamed and dropped but the plane came then 500 and Sud Denly it veered off on a parallel course with the so close that Lyons could see the Pilot slumped every gun on the carriers Star Board must have hit the Khaki Green plane As it went it hit the sea and exploded near the Lyons gun Crew stopped two of his men wiped hot Oil from their it had been spewed at them by the exploding the red haired loader looked at his watch the time was almost