It was a kamikaze. If we had seen it in time, every AA gun on our ship and on ships near us would have been in action. Most of that ammunition exploded at once, along with the two bombs. These simultaneous explosions riddled bulkheads the length of the ship. Much of the rest exploded while the damage-control detail was trying to extinguish the inferno of burning aviation fuel.
Flames spread instantly from foremast to mainmast and leaped as high as the signal bridge.
Quickly, .50-caliber Japanese ammunition from the Zero joined the cacophony of ammunition explosions in the fire. Four were never found. When the explosion occurred, I ran aft to mount the ladder to the CIC, just forward of the quarterdeck, but met a wall of flame. I do not recall that this man screamed in agony. I think he must have, yet I remember only silence.