The sub., 1943-11-25

rOWed time.
 Sixty-five Japs trapped him in his tank on Gavutu Island, ripped open the hatch, threw hand gren- ades into it, and set it on fire. Smoke and fumes forced Moore out of the tank after the other crew members had been killed. The JapS grabbed him, knocked him down, kicked him, jabbed him with a pitch-fork, knifed him, then picked him up and bounced him off the side of the tank.
 T guess they thought I was dead" Moore recalls. T had quite bit of blood on me, and was un- conscious"
 Private Moore, wnOse home is San Francisco, told his remarkable story from his cot in the mobile base hospital which the Navy has stationed in Gavutu. One of the first to hear 1t was Under Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal who paid a visit to the hospital during a stop-over on his tour of Pacific Naval outposts.
 We were advancing up the beach in front of the infantry" Moore related, They were moving very slow as a result of sniper fire, when we stopped to fire shot with the cannon. It was my job to handle the radio and load the cannon.
 We were firing at a pillbox couple of hundred yards away when I heard our tank commander yell and fire his forty-five up through the turret. looked out one of the peep sights and saw what looked like an army of Japs. We all drew forty-fives, cooked them, and posted ourselves to keep the Japs from coming down the turret. One Jap rammed a pitchfork down the turret, and another started swinging a long knife. The tank commander shot him in the hand and they both withdrew.
 They were making lot of noise and after looking out again found that someone was firing at them. I got up next to the sergeant who was guarding the turret, and one of the Japs stuck his down inside the turret. l knew one of them would sooner or later, and was ready for him. I shot him right between the eyes.
 About this time the tank com mander ordered the driver to move up the beach. The tank jumped ahead a few feet and we realized that they had put brace between the wheels. poked a sub-machine gun outside the tank and started firing but they cleared. away.
 Suddenly there was terrific explosion and I saw the tank com- mander go down-then l felt burning pain in my neck and realized they must have thrown grenade down the tl1rret. A few moments later they set fire to the tank. The smoke and fumes were terrific, and the driver and fig ured it was better to get outside the tank and get shot rather than burn to death. So the driver poked his head outside the front hatch. They shot him.
 T figured it was better to go out feet first, so piled out of the tank and one of them helped me along. I remember one of them climbed on my back and started walloping my head. They were banging me all around the place and I was bleeding and everyone of them were trying either to kick me, punch me, or knife me, and about that time I passed out. When I came to, they had me in the Naval shack which served as hospital.
 T had hole in my crash helmet so large that couldn't get 1t back on my head. I suppose it saved my life. Incidentally, they stole twen- ty dollars from me and it made me plenty mad"
 While Moore's tank was under siege, Private Kenneth Koon, of SJmmitville, Indiana, was some distance away sniping at the at- tackers. Private Koon, also among the wounded here, was an eye wit ness to the entire action, and Is credited with picking off more than 30 of the Japs. This Is his