Evening star., 1943-09-30
Buck From the Wars
Worship Bridge No Safe Place
In Bombing, DC. .OffcerReIotes
Comdr. W. B. Moore
Felt Like Golf Boil
On q Tee,' He Says

Imagine now you would feel II
all the territory around you were
lighted by flares and you were at
the mercy of the German air forces!
Comdr. William B. Moore can tell
you that it's no picnic.
Under the glare of these flares
you have a helpless feeling-like a
golf ball on a tee-with German
planes lowering, waiting to descend
and drop their bombs," he said.
This was Comdr. Moore's impress
sion of the Sicilian invasion in
which he took part.
Comdr. Moore, son Of Mr.. and
Mrs. Felix T. Moore of Falls Church,
Va, is attached to the Navy De-
partment's Bureau of Ordnance in
Washington. He was sent on the
invasion of Sicily as a representa-
tive Of that Bureau, and was
temporarily assigned to Admiral
Alan G. Kinks staff.
"As such I was able to be on the
bridge of the flagship at all times
with the admiral, and can appre-
ciate how exasperating it must have
been to the many men whose duties
required that they be below decks
when all this excitement was going
on" he said.
Little Chance of Protection. b
While on the bridge your sources
Of protection are few and far be-
tween. Many accidents occur when
fragments from their own bombs
hit the men. THE feeling is that
there is no place to go because you
are just as apt to walk to the
wrong side of the ship thinking
you would be protected. When all
of the surrounding ships are putting
up curtain of heavy antiaircraft
fire, you realize the old axiom that
what goes up must come down."
Comdr. Moore remarked.
Those who were free to move
around would sidle over and get
underneath any overhead protec-
ton available, no matter how
f1imsy," he continued.
BY the time the formation had
passed Malta in the early evening
with wind of approximately
30 or IS knots-the sea was so rough,
it was felt that successful landing
would be impossible. Sailors knew
If a landing were attempted, there
would be many drowned or crushed
between ships and boats, to say
nothing of the problem of getting
through the surf at the beach.
Heavy Seas Abate.
But the winds dropped and the
heavy seas abated before midnight,
and by the time the convoy was
within sight of Sicily the air was
calm, although there were still ap-
preciable ground swells.
First glimpses of Sicily were in
teresting, Comdr. Moore said. The
red and green tracers streaming up
and the flares dropping down dur
ing the air battle gave the impress
sion of gloriied Fourth of July,
he remarked.
On the way in the allied forces
had continual coverage by air
forces, which no doubt explains
why there were no air attacks"
he said. AS far as you could see
the sea was covered with ships.
The enemy apparently was more
afraid of an attack by air than by
sea. Searchlight beams spun through
the sky. This distraction of the
forces ashore made it possible for
the large feet of ships to approach
the coast undetected," Comdr.
Moore said, adding his force landed
at small village south of Celia.
At the appointed hour destroyers
and combat ships opened fire at pre-
arranged targets to cover the
debarkation.
Tells of Destroyer Loss.
Then German planes, apparently
from the field near Vittoria, began
dropping flares at "disconcertingly
slow rate" he said These flares
gave of sort of salmon pink
light like sodium lights on high
ways"
The enemy apparently concen-
trated on bombing the shore and
the ships to their north, he stated.
We saw one tremendous ball of
fire leap skyWard in the distance.
We first thought our forces had ex-
ploded an ammunition dump ashore,
but it was later determined that
this was the regrettable instantane-
Gus destruction of the destroyer
Maddox. 1t was several hours be-
fore anyone realized that ship
had been lost, so sudden was her
disappearance"
| Unloading of equipment continued