Evening star., 1942-09-19
Saga Of u. S S. Yorktown on To-day Battle Cruise
Described by leader of Carriers Scouting Squadron

Bombing and Scouting 5 back
and left the torpedo planes on
board. I found only one ship.
Wallie Short It. Comdr. Wallace
c. Short of Malone, N. ", who
had Bombing 5, followed a slick
down to a seaplane tender about
40 miles to the north. He bombed
her and we bombed this cargo ship
in the harbor-a 20,000-ton trans
port. We hit it two or three times,
Then followed the battle of the
Coral Sea. Early on May one of
our scouts reported that he had
sighted two cruisers and two de-
stroyers. We launched the air
group. An Army plane was nearby
and picked up another force which
did have a carrier in it. While we
were on the way out I got this last
word from the Yorktown. stating
that, about so miles from our first
position, we would find a carrier.
I think we would have seen it any,
way. 1t was almost on our track
to the other force.
Jap Carrier Hit.
THE Lexington group made their
dive bomb attack just ahead of me.
watched them attack thought
it was all of their bombing group.
The Jap carrier was maneuvering
heavily, and I only saw one hit
The carrier then turned into the
wind to launch her planes. I i'm
mediately called Joe Taylor It.
Comdr. Joe Taylor of Danville, Ill),
who had our torpedo planes, and
told him we were going in. He
asked me to wait because it would
be at least five minutes before he
could arrive on the scene. I told
him I wasn't going to wait because
the carrier was launching planes
and I wasn't going to let them get
off. I got hit and I don't think
any of the squadrons behind me
missed. We really laid the bombs
in that day.
The Japs had in that force a
battleship, four cruisers and light
cruiser. incidentally, the last boy
IN Bombing Five, Ensign H. S.
Brown, jr., decided that the carrier
was already being hit hard enough
and he was going to drop his bomb
somewhere else. He did-right on
the quarterback Of a cruiser. The
cruiser sank before the carrier did.
1t took S minutes from the time I
pushed over until the carrier was
out OF sight below the surface-she
just ploughed herself under. She
had about seven planes in the air
and was launching the rest of her
hghters. 1t seemed best to stop
that.
Two Carriers Sighted.
"On May we made contact
again. We headed to the north
about $50 miles and found the Japs
okay. There were two carriers in
the open. Just south of the jap
anese task force was a large area
OF bad weather. They were heading
Tor it. We co-ordinated our dive
bombing and torpedo attack on the
after carrier. We readily identified
her class. We definitely know that
we made six bomb hits on that
carrier and the torpedo planes made
three torpedo hits. Pictures we
brought back show that from the
bow back about $50 feet the carrier
was one big blaze from a white,
gasoline fire. The pictures also
show a bomb hitting right on the
DOW. II she was all right after
that she was tougher than any
other carrier I've seen.
During seven attacks by bombing
flve and scouting five there was only
one man lost from anti-aircraft.
He was 10 10 Powers lit. John Jo-
seph Powers of New York;. who al
ways went way down low before
pulling out. We don't know
whether he was hit by anti-aircraft
or just went down so low to make
sure OF a hit that his plane was
hit by his own bomb fragments.
Before he took off he said he was
going to lay his bomb on that jap
so-and-so's deck They've awarded
him the Medal of Honor. He de-
serves it.
Our SBDs Dauntless) could
really take it. There were a number
OF cases where planes would come
back with lot of holes in them.
wheels gone, wings shot up, but
they'd still fly home"
Comdr. Burch's squadron was
transferred from the Yorktown after
the Battle Of the Coral Sea, but the
Yorktown was still to fight in an
other major action-Midway, the
greatest of them all, and the action
that led to the loss of the York
town.