The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1942-06-12

Sne Is the daughter Ol WITS
Minnie Whiteman, 1915 North
Gratiot.
even bigger than the one we sunk
yesterday and both are of big
gest, newest Jap types. We cut
loose four fish and they catch
him under the stern.
SORELY WOUNDED
The whole ship staggers and is
obviously badly hit. It'll be sur
prising if he gets home. Again
there is a feeling of tremendous
relief that at least one more
source of danger to us has been
eliminated. We didn't see him
go down but others of our planes
hit him later and left him even
more badly crippled.
We pull away through heavy
Ack Ack from the cruisers and
start wondering whether our
ship is still afloat or has been
as badly punished as the enemy
vessel we have just attacked. We
don't have much time to wonder.
Almost simultaneously all our
rear gunnerS sight flight of at
least 10 enemy fighters - yell
low 97's-getting ready to at
tack us.
Over the radio I scream at the
boys to tighten up behind me.
Also l scream at a lone fighter
Of ours which is sitting up at
about 10000 to get the hell down
and give us a hand. l don't real
ize it but later the boys tell me
I am cussing a blue streak.
The CTS pull calmly and de-
liberately up into positions on
our quarter and prepare to at
tack. We get set for the shock.
The first fighter comes in at
steep dive and | see that our
tracers are too far behind him.
scream at our gunners to give a
bigger lead with their machine
guns. The Japs don't come too
close. Not over $50 yards,
One by one they peel off and
take a crack at us. Bullets whip
through the radioman's cockpit
of my number two plane, smash
ing the gun mount and missing
the radioman's head by half an
inch. Other planes are hit but
not seriously. AS each enemy
fighter comes down his bullets
Puff up the water below us in a
series of little sprays.
GET THE RANGE
Then our gunners steady down
and we get the range. A 81 flys
into our cone of fire and sudden
ly bursts into flame. II reels over
and hits the water blazing. A
second one gets the same treat
ment and they decide they have
enough and breal, off the action.
They surely look beautiful-go-
ing away.
l figure the JapS must be near
ly out of gas and have to hurry
home. Now the attack has stop
ped l realize gas is becoming
serious problem to us. Our indi-
Gators are slipping toward empty
and we don't know if we'll make
it.
One Of us doesn't Only 20
minutes from home the pilot of
one of my planes tells me by
radio that his gas is gone and he
has TO sit down. We see him go
down on the water in a perfect
landing giving him and the crew
plenty Of opportunity to get into
their boat.
I feel sure they'll turn up lat
er somehow, somewhere.
If they don't we will continue
to talk of them just as if they
we're alive. When some friend
from another ship asks about
item my pilots will say they
were smoked up in the Coral
Sea"
We simply can't let ourselves
worry too much about death. It
may be the turn Of any Of the
rest Of us tomorrow.
Our engines are already be-
ginning TO cough when we fin
all sight our carrier. 1t shows
no signs Of damage. We hurry
aboard. Several Of my planes
are considerably shot up. One
will never get back.
But we have won the second
round too. We begin prepare
4,A-- tha rnut