Detroit evening times., 1943-09-11

It was the 29th Of January The North Atlantic metal
heavy and bitter cold In the high took many hours
transfer owne from the 32oot Coast Guard cutter to
the tug while plungng deroyers crcled ceaselessy
The kid from Wisconsin Howard Wolf, off the cut
ters fire control watch at went below to second chow
and finally settled back in small folding chair against the
outer bulkhead Of the starboard passageway
1t was snug in there one playing harmonica,
other lingering tonee omething like sweet potato
and the rest of the nine men, including Wolf slowing away
laundry just shooting the breeze stocy blond clean
featured Howard Wolf felt safe in church at Two
Rivers Wis.
Then it hit.
chief machnists mate coming through the passage
way making the number of there TO- when the torpedo
strikes Is aft and slightly below and two explosions
follow almost together torpedo and the boilers and blast
Of super invisible and between 400 and 600 de-
gree Fahrenheit hits Wolf full in the face the lights 60 out
all the ship.
he hears man scream and another yell Lets get out
of here They grOpe the bacness with the terrified con-
vistion Of blindness
The kid thinks of his mother can opening the
Government telegram telling how killed in line of duty
ell that because at this moment the ship gong
I'll her my father and brother Lake
sil he struggles off the chair tilted back by the ships list
and saggers through the rising water 1t grows dead quiet
In the compartment you could hear pin drop the water
Automatically he slohes forward toward what be thinks
the deck He grabs stanchon by the starbOard
ladder going up the galley passageway He slowly raises
his head streak of light down where the canvas is
sipped aside. He knows he isn't blind.
Somehow he reaches topslde and pods along the deck
toward the sick bay He feels pain Just terrible shaking
al like high fever He looks at his hands They are
AL cooked" creased and wrinkled and graywhite.
The door going into the sick bay dogged down How he
does it, Wolf doesn't know but with his burned hands he
knocks off the top dogs and kicks the bottom ones off
with his feet
BE the sick bay and walks to mirror the after
bukhead He his face 1t is graywhe and shrunk like
a mummys-ke plucked chicken just dipped in boiling
water" He thinks oh my God what sight, How they
fix face like this ..
Pharmacs Mate peals off the kids clothes, and Wolf
the skin dangling from his hands and There is
still pain; just the violent shaking after the Phi M puts
him in a bunk and covers him with blankets.
They drag other scsded and wounded up lay them
in the hunks the sick bay decks The ships doctor goes
from another giving injections The burned shiFe
conyusYely, begging for more blankets.
shipmate in the adjoining bunk says Hey, Wolf How
do look" By Wofs eyes beginning to swell shut
but he enough Of the to answer Just like do!
(The dies three days later)
The sound Of gunre reaches into the sick bay and the kid
thinks another attack coming he hears the outside
lowering the port hieboats take off the wounded
They carry him mattress blankets and all The life
BOAT is lowered to The guuwae and the wounded put aboard
Az the boat swings eff the high Wolf has one agonzng
moment when he felt they will drop him the cold water
The boat pulls away from the ship The fellow next 70
Wolf talks Together they Try TO them
selves elbows look the ship forcing their
closing eyes open They curse the Huns that figured
torpedoed ship (Tha too dies day two later