Evening star., 1942-10-09
Storm Endongers
Crew as Sea Pours
Into FruiICruft

w ~S oSS
Into FroiI Croft
This epic of aDar in the South
Pacific ,Das told to Robert Trun,-
bull by Harold F. DiTon, bomber
pilot and aviation chief me-
cIanic's mate, U. S. ~, in the
current best seller, "The RAFT"
phich is no1U being brought to
you IN serial form, OF 1Dhicb
this is a chapter. Dlron-,0ith
Gene Aldrich, aUiation radionldn
and gunner, and Tony Pastula,
aviation ordnance nlan-1Das
forced to land q scout bomber IN
the ocean 1Dhen its gas gaze out
on the eDening OF January Is,
1912. The craft sank almost i'm
n1edidtely, but they n,adnged to
escape on an 8r4-toOt rubber raft.
They Were 1Dttslout prOUtS,onS
and Dith scant equipment. Yet
this heroic United States NaUy
trio managed to SurUiDe, battling
an Inferno OF seas and 1DeGther
for 81 days oDer course that
coUered about a thousand miles
until they finally reached salty
on an obscure dtoll. The nerDe-
tingling details OF this ertraordi-
nary experience are being related
here as told to Robert Trun1bull.
CHAPTER XIII.
On the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth
days we had almost continual
squalls. At last we filled our water
bottle, which held enough to keep
our throats wet sparingly for day
or two. After this mean ration was
safely stored, we found that the
blessing of rain could turn into a
curse. We had no means of saving
more water than the little rubber
bag would hold. The rest that fell
was worse than wasted, for we had
to bail it out of the boat. Worst of
all were the tricky waves that
squalls brought. These bounding
hillocks of sea water kept dumping
heavily into the raft. Thus the
weather we had prayed for now be-
came threat to our lives.
We had no implement for bailing.
However. we did an adequate if not
satisfactory job by taking off all our
clothes, sopping up the water in the
boat, and then wringing our drip
ping garments over the side During
this operation we were continually
IN each others way, which added no
little to our irritation.
Time after time we would no
sooner get the boat free of water
than a high green comber would
curl down upon us. half filling the
boat with churning foam and push
ing down the side on which it hit
until I thought we would surely
capsize. But the boat always re-
bounded with sickening rock to
the opposite direction. sending our
cargo of sea water whirling about
our knees as if it had been given one
violent stir with giant whipping
spoon.
Fear Violent Sea.
The danger of losing our footing
IN the overpowering tumult and
plunging into the writhing sea
struck us with dread that seemed
to stop the blood in our veins.
We exchanged no words at these
times, but alternately held and
bailed. 1t was as we'll; we could not
have heard each other in the
threshing tempest
Here we had the feeling. for the
first time, of being hand-to-hand
against the sea- There was no time
to think of hunger; that gnawing
pain was now becoming part of us.
and we paid it heed only when there
was no more immediate worry on
our minds. Right now we were fight
ing a physical, bruising battle for
our lives.
The almost constant bailing.
added to the considerable exertion
required merely to keep ourselves
inside the heaving raft, was draw
Ing heavily upon our waning
strength. I feared the storms were
using the energy and stamina that
was all we had to live on.
When the last lashing rain left
our boat behind, it was with great
relief that We fell against the
thwarts exhausted, and lifted our
haggard faces to the sun.
On the 18th day of the sea was
still rough. with the choppy surface
showing whitecaps as far as I could
see. During my watch in the morn
ing l sat on the forward thWart,
scanning the glaring blue water for
anything that might affect us, the
While noting ruefully that my sun
burned face, which had been re-
lieved in the cloudy days, was grow
ing hot again.
Suddenly, we'll ahead, saw some
thing strange bobbing in the water.
/ tried to see it again, but it had
gone behind wave. In a moment
1t reappeared. 1t looked brownisl1.
We were bearing down upon the
subject and l stood up to watch
more closely.
AS we drew nearer, 1 saw that 1t
looked like the nose of a seal.
That's strange, l thought. What
In the world is seal doing in this
place?
was familiar with seals. having
watched them off the West Coast