Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1943-07-23
W.N.u.F

much speed until the carbon was
burned out.
"As you know, we'd intended to
make good speed, but I found my
boat wouldn't quite do it. Pretty
soon we were tagging fifty yards
behind, then, after a while, two hun
dred. The Admiral didn't mention
this for some time. But finally he
said:
Don't you think we're getting
a little far apart?'
Well close in gradually said.
And I tried to, but finally we were
so far behind Bulkeley's flagship we
couldn't see it with the naked eye.
Il sent a whispered message to
the engine room, ordering them to
disconnect the throttle, and to push
the carburetors up with their hands
as far as they would go. We now
had on every possible ounce of pow
er, but the Admiral still wasn't sat-
isfied.
Were closing pretty slowly he
complained.
Privately, doubted that we were
closing at all, but I only said, No
use pushing her too hard, SIR"
But about five minutes later we
really we're closing. Buckley, no.
ticing we were pretty far behind,
had reduced his speed But, with
my throttle disconnected, couldn't
reduce mine, and it took me about
a minute to get a message down
there telling the engineers to take
their hands off the carburetor lev
ers and reconnect them with the
controls on the bridge. During this
minute we not only gained on Bulke-
ley's boat, but overlook it and went
roaring madly past.
I'm the darkness I could see the
Admiral had squared around and
was giving me doubtful look.
could tell he thought he was riding
with mailman, and I decided he
would worry less if I told him the
truth-that our maximum speed in
this boat was something under for
ty knots. Any Japanese destroyer
could easily make this maximum of
ours, as the Admiral very we'll
knew. But all he said was My
God!' very softly to himself.
ut happened that we were just
passing an island. The Admiral
glanced over.
How far are we from shore,
Kelly?'
"'About four miles, sir
Looks farther than that to me.
Take bow-and-beam bearing
AYE, aye, SIR said. But of
course didn't have any instru-
ments. So, making the 45-degree
angle with two fingers, I sighted
along them to point ahead When
we came just abeam of this point,
since we knew our own speed, it
would give us roughly our distance
from shore-very roughly. The Ad-
miral noticed me sighting along my
fingers.
Don't you have a pelorus?' he
said, sharply.
No, SIR said.
Hmm. suppose the flag
ship has better means?'
No, SIR I said. They don't
How in hell do you navigator
BY guess and by God, SIR
said.
"'My God!" said the Admiral,
and this time he didn't say it so
softly. 4 hope he added wistfully.
that we get there"
"At four o'clock in the morning,
my engines suddenly stopped" re-
called Lieutenant Kelly. II knew the
strainers were clogged with wax and
rust, and it would take half an hour
to clean them, which explained
to the Admiral, who was watch
ing the other three boats disappear
over the horizon.
"'What time will we get to the
rendezvous?'
Il made fast mental calculation.
About $50, sir
Dawn, as we both knew, would
come at seven, and with tiff the
mainland had seen that island sig
nal fire-Japanese planes, looking
for us.
That's an hour and a half later
than I like to be out said the Ad-
miral. Our plans, of course, called
for running only at night, and lay
ing up by day in the Cuyo Island
group, with a general rendezvous in
a harbor of one of the central is
lands for our start at sunset.
''There are thirty or forty islands
in the Cuyo group, and just before
dawn we began to make out the
first ones-tiny mounds on the hori-
ION ahead and around us. The flag.
ship had the only detailed chart OF
them; all I had was a large-sized
map of the Philippines, and on this
the Cuyos looked like a cluster of
some forty-odd fyspecks.
"When the Admiral asked how in
the world we-without navigation in
struments or chart-expccted to
make a proper landfall on the par
ticular flyspeck that we all had Sc
lected as rendezvous, I explained
we had provided for that; I knew
its general location, and from Bulke-
ley's chart l had drawn 6 pencil
sketch of this island. But again he
was skeptical.
at was eight O'Clock (no planes