Evening star., 1942-06-17

Al oAi AAAoediit oAlC was OpllLeTdLeQ IN
a flash of flame-it must have been
a direct hit from the cruisers guns.
The other kept right on coming.
The Lexington was still swinging
however, and because only her
slender stern was presented, the jap
anese changed course, paralleled us
and when abreast turned once more
toward our left side. They were
flying right into a hail of tracer
bullets from our small weapons.
They were close, only 300 to 1000
yards away. and we could see clearly
as they began dropping their tor
| pedoes.
1l:17h am.-Eight of those Japs,
braying our fire, dropped their fish, "
then they continued straight in to-
ward us. The leading pair were
right down on the water, so low that
they zoomed up to get over us. Both
would have passed right over the
| fore part of the deck.
Plane Set Afiame.
Our forward IL battery had the
range Of the first Jap. I could see
their shells. bright crimson traces,
tearing through the wings and
fuselage. This plane wavered, began
slow roll to its left, and veered off
just enough to pass in an inverted
position just under our bow. As it
passed I saw flames coming from the
tail and the machine dived into the
water so feet off our starboard
(righO bow.
The 5-inch forward battery,
manned by marines, laid its fire
on the second Jap. AS this plane
zoomed to cross almost directly
over the marines guns, they hit it
squarely with a shell. The plane
flew to bits. Its engine plunged
into the water, almost at the foot
of the battery, shreds of its wings
and tail surface slithered along the
carriers deck.
The other Japanese flyers were
trying to pass astern. There SINH
lar fusilades of fire were concen-
trated on them.
11:181a am. The Lexington
Shuddered under our feet, and q
heavy blast flashed in a spout of
water on our port side. forward. 1t
was torpedo.
The wakes of others could be
seen streaking toward us. Some Of
these torpedoes were porpoiSing
(nosing up out of the water and
then diving deeply as though their
n0y1frN1 bod
aged) Their wicked noses looked
to me like death incarnate. I had
the illusion they were alive, were
breaking water to keep at us and
then dive again, after having made
sure Of their courses.
Another Torpedo Hits.
11:20 am.-Wham-anoth tor
pedo hit, almost at the same place
forward. Another spout of flame
inclosed in seawater. While we were
staggering under the lurch as the
Lexington f1inched under the blow,
lookout called dive bombers!"
Looking out. saw the first dive
bomber fiattening out, having re-
leased its bomb. "Boom"-a blind
ing flash on the port forward gun
gallery. A 1.000-pound bomb had
hit among these 5-inch guns,
wrecking the battery and starting
fire. And more torpedoes were
swerving toward us. their white
wakes khastly in the water.
11:21 a.m.-"Baloom," another
torpedo hit. Also on the port side
almost amidships.
All around the stricken vessel
huge spouts of water were rising
suddenly. mysteriously. They were
caused by the explosions of near
misses" by bombs. One light bomb
hit the top of the Lexington's fun
mel on the left side, killing or
wounding several men firing a So
caliber anu-aircraft machine gun.
In the midst of all this, doing
my best to see everything going on,
I suddenly had the illogical
thought-"There's so damned much
noise right here I can't hear any
single explosion. It's almost like
silence"
"Wham," boob" "tat-tat-tat-
tat" bang, bang, bang" went our
anti-aircraft. Then the prolonged
"whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" of the Japa-
nese dive bombers coming right
down on us, all guns blasting as
they came. We could see their
tracers laSing past, many of them
too high. I remember thinking
then, These fellows don't dive
bomb like our men. They aren't
coming straight down, only about
so degrees"
Miss Death Narrowly.
As the thought crossed my brain
I saw a black-blue object whip
across between the bridge island
and the funnel, a space of about
Is feet. The object cleared the
rail by inches, hit the water and
blasted. It was a Japanese 1000
pound bomb that would have re-
moved all Of us on the bridge
leland fho rpoin confrp1 cont or