The Omaha guide., 1943-11-27
NEGRO BECOMES "a ONE MAN
GUN CREW" IN FURIOUS
BATTLE WITH SUB
ANOTHER DORIE MILLER
Continued from page l.

Continued from page l.
must have scored because the u
boat came to the surface. Again
we sped forward to ram, firing os
we went. Our fire wiped the subs
deck clear of Germans and swept
away their forward gun.
"Our bow struck the sub and rode
over it. | stopped the engines and
we held it fast. Then we let 60
with everything we had. ...4- inch
guns, 20 mn and machine guns at
ranges from 10 to 40 feet.
"Some men fired %shotguns. The
executive officer grabbed a tommy
gun and started firing from the
bridge. Others used pistols and
n boy even took a signal pistol
and fired at the sub. The range
was so short that n gun couldn't
be brought to bear. So the gun
captain started throwing empty
shell cases and he knocked one
man off the deck of the sub.
Another fellow threw his knife.
He said later he'd never been able
to stick a knife in the floor before,
but this time he stuck it in the
stomach of a German and he went
overheard.
after about 10 minutes of this
inferno, the submarine got clear
and attempted to flee. 1t went in
to a tight turn in the pitch black
darkness, and for a time the Borie
could not close in"
Then he turned the tables and
tried to ram u.s." Hutchins coptin-
ued, But we stopped him six fest
short by dropping depth charges,
set to the most shallow charge. 1t
was like two tomcats in a room.
We were both firing t~orpedoes al
every chance"
Meanwhile, the Borie had been
hurt, mainly from the ramming.
The forward engine room was flood
ed, but the crew there kept the
turbines operating. operating in
water UP to their necks.
The blond young skipper, then
told of the work of Sheppard and
Gardner.
Under the terrific fire, the sub
marine was battered by repeated
hits, and finally exploded and sank
Lieutenant Hutchins said.
Badly crippled, the % year old
Borie then started to limp back to
its task force, through the North
Atlantic sorm. All electric lights,
however, we're knocked out, as well
as the radio and heating plant.
There was no fresh water for the
crew. Torpedoes, torpedo tubes,
guns and other weight topside were
cut loose and thrown overheard in
an effort to save the listing vessel.
There was a small auxiliary
radio aboard, but We had lost all
the gasoline aboard" reported Hut
chins. $50 we collected all the
cigarette-lighter fluid aboard, mix
ed the doctors alcohol with kcro-
enc and got enough fuel to use
the generator for a short message.
The message was picked UP and
planes from the Card located the
ship. Despite a Is to 20 foot sea,
all but n members Of the Boric's
crew were rescued by the task force
destroyers. Then the hulk VAS
sent to the bottom by bombs from
the carriers planes.
Navy records reveal that Shop
pard is a native Of Norfolk, Va,
and that he enlisted there. Gard
ner, son Of Mrs. Rose E. Gardner
Of Ware Neck, Va, is a resident Of
Baltimore, Md, where his wife Mrs
Lucille Gardner lives at GA Warner
street.
Dorie Miller, the first Negro ma
val hero in this war, manned a ma
chine gun during the sneak Japan
csc attack at Pearl Harbor and shot
down four attacking planes. He
was later awarded the Navy Cross
by President Roosevelt. Many
other Negro naval recruits have
distinguished themselves in action
.ince then and several have receiv-
ed awards.