Evening star., 1942-06-13
By STANLEY JOHNSON,
Foreign Correspondent OF the
Chicago Tribune.

4 ShlShSO AiAodhs.
CHICAGO, June 13-From the
deck of an aircraft carrier which
was bombed, machine -gunned and
torpedoed, I witnessed the battle
of the Coral Sea. For five full,
never to- be forgotten days I lived
with the American heroes-airmen
and seamen alike-who there won
q magnificent victory.
Now, five weeks after the battle,
it's story. replete with the dramatic
details of deeds of valor as thrilling
as any in American history, can be
told. The veil of ofhcial silence can
be lifted. The vivid pictures of this
action. etched in my memory and
hurriedly scratched in disjointed ex-
clamations in my notes in the midst
of battle shocks. can be reported
fully.
It was battle that naval authori-
ties believe may prove to have been
the turning point In the Pacific
phases of World War II.
1t was the first great naval defeat
ever dealt Japanese fleets-and
ironically enough it was fought en-
tirely in the air. 1t was a battle
of aircraft carriers-aircraft car
riers, the modern rulers OF the seas.
1t may have saved Australia from
invasion.
Surface Fleets Miles Apart.
The naval developments of these
five days were scattered over 400. 900
square miles of tropic seas. The
surface fleets which fought the bat
tie never saw each other, and during
most of the fighting were from 80
to 1870 miles apart. This is the
story l have to tell-the first OF Its
kind in all history.
There were, of course. other sides
to the entire Coral Sea engagement
In these, Gen MacArthur's bonn
bardment squadrons based on Aus
tralian soil pounded japanese in
stallations in and around New
Guinea. I was, however, at sea
and my story is the Nays story.
First of all this was an engage
ment of aircraft carriers-twc
American against three Japanese
It was disclosed how completely the
carrier has displaced the battleshir
in importance in modern war.
It was a battle of dive bombers
torpedo bombers. and fighter pilots
It also was q battle OF anti-aircraf1
gunners.
When 1t was finished two Of the
japanese carriers had been sunk
and the third was out Of action. Al
for our own forces, the gallant ole
U. S. S. Lexington. one Of the famous
old twin" carriers that laid the
foundation for all the Navy's air
craft operations. and the destroyer
Sims and the tanker Neosho were
our only losses.
Beaten by Internal Fires.
I stood on the signal bridge oi
this gallant old ship and watched
her crew fight the Japanese. defent
her, and make desperate efforts tt
save her. I saw them beaten by
internal fires started by explosions
which rocked the ship hours aftel
her Jap assailants had been beater
of.
With her officers and men I slic
50 feet down hemp lines into the
sea. I was picked up by lifeboats Of
other United States vessels thai
rescued every one who survived the
air combats, exploding bombs ant
torpedoes. And finally I saw hel
sunk by an American DESTROYER,
"She never wavered. She KEEP
her head up and went down hks
the lady she always was" one o.
her executive officers said 70 me a!
we watched her flaming hull. still
upright, sink at dusk on last May
The total balance sheet for profit
and loss of the Coral Sea battle
however, was much more than twt
carriers to one. Although our owl