Evening star., 1942-06-18

4
lD1S the only American reporter
aboard the aircraft carrier Ler-
ington in the Coral Sea battIe.)
BY STANLEY JOHNSTON,
Foreign Correspondent of the Chicago
Tribune.
| CHICAGO, June 18.-This Is the
story of the Lexington's last hour.
1t is tale OF gallantry above
and beyond the valor of men in
the heat of battle.
1t is the story of a crew, smashed
and blitzed from the air by an
overwhelming enemy force, that
rose to second desperate fight
when attacked from within by nat
ural enemies that fed upon the
fuels and stores within the great,
valiant aircraft carrier.
1t is an account of the dogged
determination and unshakable
courage with which the humblest
and highest members of the ships
company strove together in a long,
torturing and deadly hazardous ef-
fort. Its heartbreaking finish, in
which the doomed Lexington slid
flaming beneath the calm waters
of the Coral Sea. was one they
had battled against for hours.
Novices Act Like Veterans.
Many of the men who dis
tinguished themselves so greatly
during these final nine hours of
the Lexington's existence as a ship
had been Navy men for only few
months. Many of them had joined
after the japanese assaults on Pearl
Harbor. Many were on their first
cruise.
When 1t was over the oldest,
tried seadogs in the crew declared
that these as yet unsalted tars had
behaved like "old man O. wars
men"-the Navy's highest tribute
to Navy men.
No one man could have seen all
there was to see aboard the Lex
ington during these final hours. I
saw what I could, and made strag-
Cling notes that later merely served
to jog my memory. Much of what
I am about to tell I learned from
the lips of the ships officers and
men while we were on a long voy-
age back to the California port
where we disembarked Is days after
these stirring happenings.
The fight to save the Lexington
began as soon as the attack on her
had ceased that morning of last
! elr
nese counterpart Of a blow that
the Lexington's own force Of dive
bombers, torpedo bombers and
fighters had launched over the l80
miles that separated our forces
from the Japs. What our own air.
men did to the Japanese in this the
third and final engagement in the
battle of the Coral Sea is material
for our next installment.
Hit BY Torpedoes, Bombs.
Today we are concerned with the
Lexington. The great old ship
one of the twin carriers around
which almost all modern carrier
fighting technique was developed
was hard hit in the attack which
began at 11:16 am. and continued
for II minutes.
Five torpedoes had torn huge
holes-2O to 80 feet in diameter
in her port QefD side along the
water line and below it. One heavy
bomb, probably a japanese 1000
FOUNDER, had hit the ships rail on
the forward flight deck and on the
!
Another lighter bomb had ripped
holes III her smokestack and killed
with its Splinters several men OF an
anti-aircraft machine gun crew
stationed there.
In addition to these direct hits by
torpedoes and bombs, the Lexington
also had been damaged to some ex-
tent by scores of near-misses by
japanese dive bombers. The heavy
bombs, exploding in the water at
distances of 100 feet to 10 feet from
the carriers sides, had rocked her
and possibly had sprung certain side
plates.
She had taken, in the swift air
battle, a six-degree list to the port
side as water poured through the
torpedo holes.
Bomb Fires Shells.
Finally the heavy bomb which
struck the rail of the forward flight
deck had penetrated into the living
quarter below. There a quantity of
5-inch shells, which were stacked so
as to be close at hand for rapid
firing, had been set OF. The COM
bination of explosions had started
fire and had been responsible for
heavy casualties among the marines
who formed the gun crews.
These quarters also happened to
be those of Rear Admiral Aubrey
Fitch, whose guest ]. was ofiicially.
My room, my clothing, notes and
typewriter, not to mention my safe
In which had 500 in currency and
a wrist watch, suffered severely.
Admiral Fitch's papers and belong
ings also were shattered and strewn
about The fire thata followed the
explosions burned fiercely until
damage crews extinguished them
| Wieii SiiCiiiASoio, iCdNAliS Iilc WIcCh-
age and tattered bits of furnishings
covered with chemical foam.
The torpedoes and bombs had
damaged three flrerooms of the
Lexington's engine system. This
damage, however, was not sufficient
to stop her. Indeed, her speed never
dropped below Is knots until hours
after the attack. She stayed with
the other carrier-her name Is with
held for reasons of national secur-
ity-and with the cruisers and de-
.Stroyers. We we're all bound for
the Japanese, the intention of Ad-
mral Fitch and Rear Admiral
Fletcher being to close in and fin
ish them off.
Almost before the last Japanese
dive bomber had flown away, Comdr.
H. r. (Pop) Healy had telephoned to
the bridge to tell Capt. Fred Sher-
man. the Lexington's skipper (and
since promoted to rear admiraD,
we've got the torpedo damage tenn
porarily shored up, the fires out and