Evening star., 1945-11-05

Letters to the Editor
A Skipper's Eyewitness Account
Of Okinawa Typhoon
To the Editor Of The Star:
II has been suggested that you might
be interested in the enclosed excerpts
from . letter / have received from my
nephew, 1t. Comdr. Franklin Harris COT
San Francisco), skipper Of the U. g. 8
Feidspar, which weathered the recent
great typhoons. MARY B. HARRIS.
Several weeks ago We set out from
Leyte. in the Philippines. bound for
Jinsen, Korea, via Okinawa. About four
days out our convoy ran into typhoon
OF 100 knots which put every ship out OF
commission and left them to the mercy
Of the raging seas.
have sailed in gales on the North
Atlantic. but never have I seen the In
describable fury Of this typhoon. Waves
so to rs feet high passed over the ship.
Ships drifted past one another and only
by the grace Of God did they avoid coll
liding in the resulting confusion. Dis
tress flares were sent up all over the sky,
but no ship was In position to aid an
other. We rolled violently, tipping al
most at right angles.
We were carrying on deck four land
ing boats and two 20-ton cranes which
were lost overheard the following day.
Crews quarters on the main deck blew
out into the gale rs II they were feathers.
What held us up don't know. At times
we were able to walk up the walls, and
1t seemed that each roll would be the
last.
Ship Is Flooded.
Sometime during the night we de-
veloped q hole in the stern below the
water line and the entire after end of
our ship was flooded. The stern settled
feet, but we still remained anoat. The
boilers broke. which deprived us OF water.
1t was impossible to cook and nobody
ate for three days. Water crept UP until
all were slashing in it ankle deep.
had . hundred men trying to sleep
In the mess hall piled like sardines one
right against the other.
The third day the storm let up, and I
began firing tracer ammunition from the
ships gun in the endeavor to attract
attention. On the fourth day an un-
identified ship saw our gunfre and
reported our position to possible rescue
ships. About five hours later We were
put In tow Of tug and reached Okinawa
five days thereafter. We all thanked
God we were alive.
Other Ships Grounded.
We heard that several other ships of
the same convoy were grounded on reefs
near Formosa.
There were about 800 ships in the
Okinawa Harbor, and we were given q
berth somewhere on the perimeter of 4
not-too-land-locked harbor. The second
day In harbor we received another
typhoon warning. I Immediately re-
quested n more favorable anchorage
berth-one which would afford greater
protection against the elements. The
crew was nervous and jumpy from the
typhoon through which we had just
passed and the dread OF another was
almost unbearAhle. although being at
anchor, we felt safer than In the midst
Of the ocean.
Our request was complied with and
We anchored on the leeward side of one
OF the surrounding islands. I believe
this move eventually saved our lives.
We let down two anchors instead Of the
usual one and waited for the blow. It
came at oeoo the next day.
A Maritime Disaster.
There followed that great maritime
disaster. The typhoon hit with such
force that wind gauges broke at $50 miles
per hour. Later authoritative sources
estimated some Of the gusts at l73 miles
per hour. Compare this with 1 hurri-
cane which is II miles per hour.
The whole ship vibrated 80 that It
seemed that 1t would crumble in pieces.
Transports, Liberty ships and destroy
ers, broke loose from their anchors and
drifted past us in q binding fury Of
wind, spray and waves. Some of them
piled onto one another, knocking loose
other ships in their path. This hellish
violence continued for about 40 hours.
At one time we had two ships piled up
on both our anchors and had to crawl
up to the forecastle to learn II the an
chors were still holding. The salt spray
hit me like buckshot.
of every description high on the beach.
Final figures on how many are killed,
missing and injured are not yet avail
able, but they are very high. We were
one Of the few ships to ride 1t out with
out further damage. but all hands are
badly shaken.
We've lost all our cargo gear, and
our cargo holds are in such chaos that
1t may take months to straighten out
the holds for issue; so now we are Just
resting and taking 1t easy. I am not
holding reveille in the mornings and
breakfast is being served at 1000. OF
course, nothing is boiled or steam
cooked, since our boilers are shambles.
The post Office on the beach blew
away and ! have not received any mail
for weeks.
Echoes Miss Pollock
To the Editor Of The Star:
II men are to be lashed for wife beat.
ing, why not give them . taste of the
whip for inflicting mental cruelty7
There are men that drive good wives to
despair and some times death BY their