Neptune's Inferno_ The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal Part 13

There came a cry as a lookout spotted a large s.h.i.+p ahead, off the port bow. Hoover started following it about eight hundred yards astern. "That sure looks like a battles.h.i.+p," Robert Howe said to another sailor. He surmised that it had to be friendly or they never would have gotten so close. "We didn't know where it could have come from, but we were sure glad to have a battles.h.i.+p on our side."

Then a flare popped overhead and began swinging down on a parachute. It was "like sitting under a big streetlight," Howe said. Studying the s.h.i.+p more closely, he noticed sailors in foreign white uniforms. "We had no trouble telling that it was a j.a.panese battles.h.i.+p," he said.

After a few minutes following astern the enemy monster-likely the Kiris.h.i.+ma, Kiris.h.i.+ma, scarcely damaged at all and withdrawing at high speed-Hoover broke away and turned east. His PPI scope showed a scattering of green blips sliding north. Abe's force was withdrawing in disarray. scarcely damaged at all and withdrawing at high speed-Hoover broke away and turned east. His PPI scope showed a scattering of green blips sliding north. Abe's force was withdrawing in disarray.

Soon another phantom loomed in the night, pressing in on the starboard bow. Bin Cochran identified it as a cruiser of the Atlanta Atlanta cla.s.s, knifing straight for the cla.s.s, knifing straight for the Helena Helena's midsection. Since the Atlanta Atlanta lay dead in the water, this had to have been the lay dead in the water, this had to have been the Juneau. Juneau. Hoover ordered a hard right rudder, and as the stern started swinging left, Cochran tensed for an impact on the starboard quarter. Somehow the blow never fell, and soon the Hoover ordered a hard right rudder, and as the stern started swinging left, Cochran tensed for an impact on the starboard quarter. Somehow the blow never fell, and soon the Juneau Juneau was gone again in the night. was gone again in the night.

That s.h.i.+p was consumed with her own problems. The Juneau Juneau had no fire control to her turrets. Her fantail was broken and buckled all the way forward to the hip-mounted five-inch gun on the starboard deck. Her electrical devices were subsisting on thin gruel from the emergency diesel generator. Several large belowdecks compartments were full of the dead, snuffed out by the blast of a torpedo in her engineering s.p.a.ces. Having lurched through the enemy formation with a broken keel and a crippled main battery, the had no fire control to her turrets. Her fantail was broken and buckled all the way forward to the hip-mounted five-inch gun on the starboard deck. Her electrical devices were subsisting on thin gruel from the emergency diesel generator. Several large belowdecks compartments were full of the dead, snuffed out by the blast of a torpedo in her engineering s.p.a.ces. Having lurched through the enemy formation with a broken keel and a crippled main battery, the Juneau Juneau's sailors came out badly shaken. They were no more rattled and no less gallant than any other men in the task force, but under fire, men could feel the impulse to claw at the steel decks with their hands to escape the killing hail, or vomit on deck, or weep.

According to Allen Heyn, a gunner's mate stationed on the Juneau Juneau's fantail near the depth charge mount where the oldest of the five Sullivan brothers, George, stood watch, "It seemed like everyone was giving it to us, you know. There was a big flash, and the salvos would hit the water on one side of the s.h.i.+p and splash all over and then they would hit on the other side.... Then something hit up forward. I don't know what it was because it hit again and the s.h.i.+p shook all over. The s.h.i.+p seemed to be out of control kinda." With most of that behind them, they found refuge in the night. The Juneau Juneau's skipper, Lyman Swenson, thought he might find shelter near Malaita, hole up to see about repairs.

The majority of Callaghan's s.h.i.+ps-now Hoover's s.h.i.+ps-had taken as heavily as they had given, but the Helena Helena's own damage was slight: just five hits, none of serious consequence. With a single man killed and two hospitalized, she was deeply lucky. Slugging through two first-order nighttime brawls in two months, she had taken scarcely a scratch. Smart reliance on SG radar had allowed Hoover to refrain from the standard but generally suicidal act of opening searchlight shutters within gun range of an alerted foe. He wisely chose to illuminate his targets on invisible frequencies, with his radars.

At length, late in the night, the O'Bannon, O'Bannon, the the Fletcher, Fletcher, and finally the and finally the Sterett Sterett checked in on the radio. The checked in on the radio. The Sterett Sterett's captain, Jesse Coward, bristled at first when he was asked if he intended to retire. "We'll fight her until we sink!" he said. He had two torpedoes left in the tubes. When his torpedo officer informed him the mount was inoperable, Coward turned to his exec, Lieutenant Frank Gould, and said, "Frank, let's get the h.e.l.l out of here." As the destroyer left the area, six or seven burning pyres dotted the sea behind her.

Belowdecks, firefighting crews played their streams over smoldering bedding and red-hot sh.e.l.l cases, stuffed the holes in the hull with mattresses, and sh.o.r.ed them. "Bodies, mattresses and other debris sloshed back and forth with the movement of the s.h.i.+p," Perry Hall said. "Footing was difficult and battle lanterns provided the only light. I had no idea what time it was or where the s.h.i.+p was. I knew we were maneuvering using the screws because I couldn't hear the rudder."

Ahead lay the outline of Florida Island. "We had not seen an American s.h.i.+p for a long time, and I began to wonder if we were the only one left," the Sterett Sterett's gunnery officer, Lieutenant Cal Calhoun, wrote. Surveying the wreckage of his s.h.i.+p, which held the remains of twenty-eight men, Calhoun felt "strangely detached, as if I were on another planet surveying the earth in miniature." The feeling persisted till the s.h.i.+p reached Lengo Channel, where she would eventually catch up with Captain Hoover's survivors.

STILL TRYING TO GATHER his surviving vessels, Hoover sent the instruction his surviving vessels, Hoover sent the instruction "Answer" "Answer" to the to the San Francisco, San Francisco, but none came. Where was Callaghan? Norman Scott and the but none came. Where was Callaghan? Norman Scott and the Atlanta Atlanta were unaccounted for, too. Finally a lookout announced the sighting of yet another unidentified s.h.i.+p on the port bow. The were unaccounted for, too. Finally a lookout announced the sighting of yet another unidentified s.h.i.+p on the port bow. The Helena Helena's killing train was set quickly rolling. Hoover ordered, "s.h.i.+ft target!" and Rodman Smith, the gunnery officer, coached his turrets on the new bearing. This s.h.i.+p, spectral and suspicious, had been shattered. Not a pane of gla.s.s remained in her. Fires glowed in several places on deck.

The officer-of-the-deck of the damaged mystery s.h.i.+p was studying the Helena Helena through his binoculars as she overtook him to starboard. From about two thousand yards away, he could make out her twin stacks and five sleek turrets-all trained right at him. Then, in the through his binoculars as she overtook him to starboard. From about two thousand yards away, he could make out her twin stacks and five sleek turrets-all trained right at him. Then, in the Helena Helena's superstructure, a light signaled the letters "H-I-S H-I-S." An encoded challenge signal required a prompt reply, but neither of the two officers up forward on the battered vessel's navigation bridge, Bruce McCandless nor John Bennett, knew what reply to give to this challenge. The dispatch containing the reply codes a.s.signed for use that day had been lost in the fires. Though the codes had also been scrawled with chalk on the bulkhead of the flag bridge, the metal where they had been recorded was thoroughly punctured and scorched. Any attempt to memorize the codes had been "driven from my mind by the events of the last hour," McCandless wrote. "In seconds, unless the correct reply was given, fifteen six-inch and four five-inch would fire into us." Virtually all of the princ.i.p.al means of communication-TBS radio, searchlights, signal flags and halyards, fighting lights-had been destroyed or made inoperable. The steam line to the flags.h.i.+p's siren and whistle had been punctured by splinters. The signalmen had a blinker light, but they hesitated to respond because they knew something their officers didn't: that the three-letter reply code specified for that day was "J-A-P." One signalman, Vic Gibson, told a colleague who was holding a blinker gun, "If you don't want them shooting at us, you'd better send them J-A-P." Nothing doing. The signalman felt that a response that like was as likely to invite gunfire as forestall it. The Helena Helena's batteries were seconds from turning loose when a San Francisco San Francisco signalman, on order from McCandless, blinked a message in Morse from the bridge. " signalman, on order from McCandless, blinked a message in Morse from the bridge. "C38...C38 ..."

Seeing this signal-a reasonable approximation of the San Francisco San Francisco's hull number, CA-38-Rodman Smith relaxed his grip on the firing key and the Helena Helena's gun captains stood down. "Thank G.o.d the Helena Helena accepted that," Jack Bennett said. "Captain Hoover, may he live forever, took a second look before letting us have it," McCandless wrote. The sad news quickly followed via the flashlight that the accepted that," Jack Bennett said. "Captain Hoover, may he live forever, took a second look before letting us have it," McCandless wrote. The sad news quickly followed via the flashlight that the San Francisco San Francisco was bereft of its senior leaders.h.i.+p. On hearing this, Gil Hoover signaled that he would take command of the remnant of Task Force 67 for the journey home. was bereft of its senior leaders.h.i.+p. On hearing this, Gil Hoover signaled that he would take command of the remnant of Task Force 67 for the journey home.

By 3:45 a.m., in the company of the Fletcher Fletcher (untouched despite the numerological odds against her), Hoover's survivors cleared Sealark Channel. The (untouched despite the numerological odds against her), Hoover's survivors cleared Sealark Channel. The O'Bannon O'Bannon found them in the channel with her SG radar and took station ahead. In Indispensable Strait, between Guadalca.n.a.l and Malaita, the damaged found them in the channel with her SG radar and took station ahead. In Indispensable Strait, between Guadalca.n.a.l and Malaita, the damaged Sterett Sterett joined up, her steersman struggling with a balky rudder that was urging the s.h.i.+p toward Guadalca.n.a.l's shoals. Then the joined up, her steersman struggling with a balky rudder that was urging the s.h.i.+p toward Guadalca.n.a.l's shoals. Then the Juneau Juneau appeared ahead to port. Hoover directed Captain Swenson's wobbly s.h.i.+p to fall in. Plying submarine-haunted waters, none of the s.h.i.+ps was out of danger yet. Some of them were good candidates to sink even without further work by the enemy. appeared ahead to port. Hoover directed Captain Swenson's wobbly s.h.i.+p to fall in. Plying submarine-haunted waters, none of the s.h.i.+ps was out of danger yet. Some of them were good candidates to sink even without further work by the enemy.

Simple navigation was a challenge for s.h.i.+ps that had been through a bender such as the night action of November 13. Down twelve feet by the bow, listing slightly to port, the Juneau Juneau was swerving and skidding as if her long hull were jointed somewhere below. The swells crested near the gunwales, her one screw knocked from a bent shaft, water seeped through seams in the stress-fractured hull, and her auxiliary electrical generators were helpless to power all the pumps. By dawn her technicians had patched things together well enough. They even restored local control to one of her five-inch mounts. Swenson decided to press on south for Espiritu Santo. was swerving and skidding as if her long hull were jointed somewhere below. The swells crested near the gunwales, her one screw knocked from a bent shaft, water seeped through seams in the stress-fractured hull, and her auxiliary electrical generators were helpless to power all the pumps. By dawn her technicians had patched things together well enough. They even restored local control to one of her five-inch mounts. Swenson decided to press on south for Espiritu Santo.

Through the last hours before dawn, bearing the burden of 83 dead and 106 seriously wounded sailors, the San Francisco San Francisco tailed the tailed the Helena Helena's dim silhouette ahead. "I hung on, occasionally calling her by blinker gun and steering for the answering flash of light," McCandless wrote. The San Francisco San Francisco's engines were good for twenty-eight knots, but steering the damaged s.h.i.+p was a more serious problem. In Sealark Channel, between Guadalca.n.a.l and Florida Island, Bennett relieved McCandless and quickly noticed that his quartermaster Rogers was having to repeat his orders over the sound-powered phones. The other quartermaster, Higdon, had gone to the smoky emergency steering compartment below, where the helm orders were being manually executed. Seeing the sluggish response from steering, Bennett suspected Higdon was woozy from smoke inhalation and told Rogers to keep him talking so he wouldn't pa.s.s out and leave the s.h.i.+p unnavigable.

When a lieutenant stationed in Sky Forward, d.i.c.k Marquardt, called down, "You're about to run aground on Malaita!" Bennett understood that he might be a little groggy himself, having lost sight of the Helena Helena when she turned south while obscured in the island's silhouette. As he righted his course and fell in line again with Hoover, the decks heeled and a warning came from Bob Dusch, the damage-control whiz, that the rush of free surface water was wiping out the wooden shoring that held several critical mattress patches in place near the bow. When Bennett's relief finally arrived, Bennett scrawled the zigzag plan in chalk on the conning tower door and handed the newcomer a watch that he had taken from one of Callaghan's slain staff officers. Then he went to look for Bruce McCandless. when she turned south while obscured in the island's silhouette. As he righted his course and fell in line again with Hoover, the decks heeled and a warning came from Bob Dusch, the damage-control whiz, that the rush of free surface water was wiping out the wooden shoring that held several critical mattress patches in place near the bow. When Bennett's relief finally arrived, Bennett scrawled the zigzag plan in chalk on the conning tower door and handed the newcomer a watch that he had taken from one of Callaghan's slain staff officers. Then he went to look for Bruce McCandless.

Bennett found him in the captain's emergency cabin, sitting on the edge of the bunk, eyes glazed and with blood trickling down his face from shrapnel wounds in his forehead and ear. Bennett picked out as many bits of steel as he could before determining that McCandless didn't need emergency attention. He left him there, went down to the gun deck, and sprawled on the steel deck, using a Great Warera tin hat for "a wholly unsatisfactory pillow." There were no words for what they had just been through, and none for the fresh horrors they would find topside when sunrise came.

33.

Atlanta Burning Burning THE NIGHT OF NIGHTMARES Pa.s.sED. AS THE SUN DREW BACK THE long shadows of Tulagi and Florida Island from Savo Sound, the remains of the night's struggle were revealed in all their ragged trauma. long shadows of Tulagi and Florida Island from Savo Sound, the remains of the night's struggle were revealed in all their ragged trauma.

Broken through the keel, her bow and stern drifting in different directions with the currents, the Atlanta Atlanta lay dead in the water a few miles off Lunga Point. Still heavily afire, she was kept from breaking apart only by the latent tensile strength of her decks and the fickle mercy of a calm morning sea. Every heavy apparatus on the s.h.i.+p that was removable was jettisoned: an anchor and its chain, a whaleboat and its davits, four torpedoes found in the disabled port side tubes, and miscellaneous gear of all kinds-paravanes, gangways, smoke screen generators, depth charges. lay dead in the water a few miles off Lunga Point. Still heavily afire, she was kept from breaking apart only by the latent tensile strength of her decks and the fickle mercy of a calm morning sea. Every heavy apparatus on the s.h.i.+p that was removable was jettisoned: an anchor and its chain, a whaleboat and its davits, four torpedoes found in the disabled port side tubes, and miscellaneous gear of all kinds-paravanes, gangways, smoke screen generators, depth charges.

By the first blush of dawn, Lloyd Mustin saw evidence of the astonis.h.i.+ng volume of ordnance that flew over the s.h.i.+p that night. The mainmast near his aft air-defense station, only eight inches in diameter, was riddled with holes. All three forward turrets were knocked out, several of their six barrels sliced away. Like a cavern in a gray sea cliff, her forward engine room was a void. Filled with black water, it was a grave for a fine engineering department headed by Lieutenant Commander Arthur Loeser and chief machinist's mate Henry A. Wolfe. In the mess compartment above it, a heavy serving table had been "plastered flat against the overhead" by the force of the torpedo's blast.

A few rapid tugs on a flywheel spinner was all it took to get a gasoline-powered handy-billy pump growling. Dropped over the side, the inch-and-a-half-diameter suction hose could draw on a limitless supply of seawater to fight fires, with pressure enough to play a stream high into the superstructure, or anywhere else something was burning. On the Atlanta Atlanta that morning, almost everything was burning. that morning, almost everything was burning.

"It is a matter of wonder to observe, at close hand, a steel wars.h.i.+p on fire," wrote Bill McKinney, the electrician's mate. Having rushed topside up ladders and through compartments that were scorched and baking hot, he found that his rebreather expired much more quickly than the fifteen minutes it was rated for. Emerging on the main deck, he confronted a landscape aflame. The s.h.i.+pboard fires illuminated a bleak, steel-gray landscape that seemed deserted. "What is burning that makes the jagged edges around sh.e.l.l holes white hot?" he wondered. "Paint, other combustibles, but more possibly that the type of enemy sh.e.l.ls contained thermite, contact with which makes almost anything burn." Ammunition didn't need help. Below, magazines full of rounds for the twenties were popping away, small heavy box by small heavy box, and so fiercely that they set the deck burning, melted right through it, spilled down into the compartment below, and set it on fire, too. It was unfortunate for the antiaircraft cruiser that she stored such a large volume of ammunition.

When the forward gun director was. .h.i.t, the thick ma.s.s of wiring running down through the trunk was set aflame, another avenue for the fiery contagion. A locker containing pyrotechnics-flares and smoke markers-had taken a direct hit, too, producing a spectacular runaway blaze. As flames aspired to the top of the steel foremast, the fires devoured its base, melting through its thirty-inch diameter and felling the eighty-odd-foot-high tower to port, trapping men in the 1.1 clipping rooms. Damage-control parties managed to cut the foremast free, righting some of her starboard list.

According to McKinney, a terrified s.h.i.+pmate ran past him at one point shouting, "Get off. She's going to blow!" But the executive officer, Dallas Emory, had already countermanded an order to abandon s.h.i.+p, and McKinney was just as happy to stay aboard. "Better to be blown up than eaten up," he figured. Then McKinney happened upon "a bright idea": opening the fire main in his compartment and allowing seawater to flood the deck. He thought this would provide a buffer between the fires above and the magazine below. Emory, in his cabin writing a report by the light of a battle lantern, approved the request. "Just don't sink the s.h.i.+p," he advised. As McKinney opened the main, no one on board seemed to understand that the same free-surface effect that was plaguing the San Francisco San Francisco could have capsized the could have capsized the Atlanta Atlanta had the seas gotten rough. had the seas gotten rough.

Searching the s.h.i.+p for wounded, Raymond Leslie came upon a hole in the boat deck caused by an explosion from below. The steel plates, blown upward into a jagged rise, had to be carefully negotiated. Razor-edged hunks of steel, most of them the size of anvils, some as large as small cars, were scattered across the decks. In wreckage nearby, Leslie found two s.h.i.+pmates, both friends of his, trapped under some deck plating. He and the other rescuers set themselves close against the heavy steel, lifting with the legs. Their s.h.i.+pmates were pulled free and taken to an aid station. Later, after daylight, when Leslie and the others returned to the site, they would marvel that they had been able to move the plates at all. Joined by others, they tried again, just to sate their curiosity. They found now that they couldn't budge them.

McKinney and another electrician, Bob Tyler, "took a little time to get rid of some bodies that lay in the way of s.h.i.+p's work." According to McKinney, "I recall many corpses, badly torn up, but there was not a great deal of blood. Could the white-hot metal that killed them have had a cauterized effect? More probably the ma.s.sive shock of death stopped the heart and no more blood was pumped." A particularly grisly place was gun number five, the hip mount on the starboard side. Trained aft, its entire left bulkhead had been torn open and lay nearly toppled over the side. Near the mess of charred metal they attempted to recover the body of a boatswain's mate, and it came in half in their arms. Another sailor, the mount's pointer, "hung out of his seat with his head gone from the nose up," McKinney wrote. "He was jammed in place by a jagged portion of the turret structure which had penetrated his back. We couldn't get him loose, so I entered the wrecked turret to push him from within. The remains of the Turret Captain hung over his booth railing like a large piece of burnt bacon." They finally got the pointer out of his seat and tumbled him overboard. As a young sailor walked to the lifeline to throw a dismembered arm overboard, he ate an apple with his free hand. Tyler explored the forward superstructure, which McKinney called "a horrifying spectacle of flesh and bone." Though most of the remains were beyond recognition, a hand was found wearing a Naval Academy ring engraved with the cla.s.s year 1911. The navigator, Lieutenant Commander James Stuart Smith, sat in the starboard bridge chair, dead without a mark on him.

With the forward engine s.p.a.ces gutted and the after boilers swamped, the s.h.i.+p was powerless to resist the currents that moved toward the beach. They threatened to carry the crippled Atlanta Atlanta within range of j.a.panese artillery. Commander Nickelson rallied a work party to lower the s.h.i.+p's remaining anchor to keep her from grounding near the j.a.panese-held section of the coast. Even with all hundred fathoms of heavy chain run out laboriously by hand, it still did not reach. within range of j.a.panese artillery. Commander Nickelson rallied a work party to lower the s.h.i.+p's remaining anchor to keep her from grounding near the j.a.panese-held section of the coast. Even with all hundred fathoms of heavy chain run out laboriously by hand, it still did not reach.

As the sh.o.r.eward drift continued, Captain Jenkins sent Lloyd Mustin to the s.h.i.+p's armory to issue Springfield rifles to the crew. As daylight came, shots began ringing out all through the s.h.i.+p's topside s.p.a.ces when the newly armed crewmen began firing on j.a.panese survivors paddling in the oil-drenched waters around the s.h.i.+p. "They were so deeply ingrained against capture that they wouldn't let us rescue them, for the most part," said Mustin. He ordered the snipers to stand down.

With more than half of her forty-five officers killed or wounded, and 153 of 700 enlisted men dead or missing, the Atlanta Atlanta was ultimately fortunate to lie so close to Guadalca.n.a.l. From the auxiliary radio room, survivors called Naval Base Guadalca.n.a.l (a makes.h.i.+ft naval station and encampment commanded by the skipper of the late was ultimately fortunate to lie so close to Guadalca.n.a.l. From the auxiliary radio room, survivors called Naval Base Guadalca.n.a.l (a makes.h.i.+ft naval station and encampment commanded by the skipper of the late Astoria, Astoria, Captain Bill Greenman, who adopted the t.i.tle Commander, Naval Activities, Cactus-Ringbolt Area) and asked for small boats to take off the wounded. The sailors ash.o.r.e responded swiftly, manning boats and venturing into the battle-littered sea. Bill Kennedy, a gunner's mate at the station, wrote, "The entire area was covered with a thick layer of oil; all kinds of debris was floating in it with survivors hanging on to whatever they could grab. They were all so black with oil that we had to come in close to see if they were ours or theirs. American survivors took precedence, of course; later in the day we went back out for the j.a.ps but found very few. My boat didn't see any." Captain Bill Greenman, who adopted the t.i.tle Commander, Naval Activities, Cactus-Ringbolt Area) and asked for small boats to take off the wounded. The sailors ash.o.r.e responded swiftly, manning boats and venturing into the battle-littered sea. Bill Kennedy, a gunner's mate at the station, wrote, "The entire area was covered with a thick layer of oil; all kinds of debris was floating in it with survivors hanging on to whatever they could grab. They were all so black with oil that we had to come in close to see if they were ours or theirs. American survivors took precedence, of course; later in the day we went back out for the j.a.ps but found very few. My boat didn't see any."

A small fleet of utility craft, known as "mike boats," began motoring out to the s.h.i.+p. Manned by marines, they pulled alongside and took off survivors. To Mustin's surprise, one of the boats turned out to have an unexpected crew. "As it came alongside where I was standing at the rail-the rail was not very far above the water at this point-here stood up in the boat a j.a.panese sailor. He had his white uniform jumper on. His boatswain's insignia were unmistakable. He was gesturing that he wanted some rags. He showed us that he had about six or eight men there who were wounded in various ways and all covered with oil. He was taking care of them. A couple of them were j.a.panese, and a couple of them were Americans. They were all immobile. They were perhaps unconscious. This one j.a.panese boatswain's mate had taken it upon himself to take care of all those sailors."

Retrieving the wounded from the clutches of the sea, Atlanta Atlanta sailors had to content themselves with small victories. Thomas Carroll took a raft out and returned with the only survivor of turret five, a sailor named Stanley Hicks, who had been blown out the side of the gun house when it was. .h.i.t. Hicks's reunion with his brother, Benjamin, was tearful. sailors had to content themselves with small victories. Thomas Carroll took a raft out and returned with the only survivor of turret five, a sailor named Stanley Hicks, who had been blown out the side of the gun house when it was. .h.i.t. Hicks's reunion with his brother, Benjamin, was tearful.

To hold on to one's sanity, it helped, Bill Kennedy found, to see the horror in terms of simple physics. Kennedy wrote, "There were not very many parts, arms and legs, that is. I don't know why, but when arms and legs are blown off, they usually sink-but not the torso; it will float. Doc told us that the torso has cavities which retain and even produce ga.s.ses-like the lungs, stomach, bowels, etc. Makes sense." After several shuttle trips out to the Atlanta, Atlanta, the decks of Kennedy's boat were blackened with oil. "It took weeks of was.h.i.+ng them down with gasoline, over and over again, to dissolve it. With a lot of sweat, we got the boats clean. That is, we got the oil and grime off. Funny thing about the blood stains; much of it remained until we repainted the boat." the decks of Kennedy's boat were blackened with oil. "It took weeks of was.h.i.+ng them down with gasoline, over and over again, to dissolve it. With a lot of sweat, we got the boats clean. That is, we got the oil and grime off. Funny thing about the blood stains; much of it remained until we repainted the boat."

As morning deepened, the risk of air attack returned. The Atlanta Atlanta's vulnerability was evident enough. Little remained of her formidable main battery. Her aftermost two five-inch mounts were the only ones that weren't disabled. But without steam, there were no generators working, and thus no power to train them. It was not an ideal state for repelling a fast-developing air attack. A tug working out of Tulagi, the Bobolink, Bobolink, came alongside, hooked up, and gingerly began towing her toward sh.o.r.e until her anchor, streaming at full extension, finally grabbed the seafloor, holding the s.h.i.+p a few miles off Lunga Point. came alongside, hooked up, and gingerly began towing her toward sh.o.r.e until her anchor, streaming at full extension, finally grabbed the seafloor, holding the s.h.i.+p a few miles off Lunga Point.

The senior a.s.sistant in the engineering department, Lieutenant Commander John T. Wulff, realized that the s.h.i.+p's 250-kilowatt diesel generator could be tied into the switchboard to supply the necessary power, but the superheated compartment needed to be made habitable first. Bill McKinney and others set up a portable blower to remove the tremendous heat from the partially flooded engine room. A submersible bilge pump was next, pumping the water level below the second-level gratings. Then, adjusting the switchboard to take power from the emergency generator, he connected one end of a cable to the 440-volt board, and threaded the other end down several decks to the emergency diesel room, where the generator was. Through trial and error, Wulff and his men got power flowing to turret eight, and soon its guns were barking at the sky as a single j.a.panese aircraft approached. Ten salvos quelled any ambitions the pilot might have had to finish the crippled vessel, and the plane veered away.

Close by the Atlanta, Atlanta, a larger s.h.i.+p circled like a shark. When she was first seen, "There was a general rush for the torpedo tubes," McKinney wrote. They stood down when Lloyd Mustin determined that the stranger was the a larger s.h.i.+p circled like a shark. When she was first seen, "There was a general rush for the torpedo tubes," McKinney wrote. They stood down when Lloyd Mustin determined that the stranger was the Portland. Portland. The men of that s.h.i.+p, too, had been struggling to peg the ident.i.ties of the smashed s.h.i.+ps around them. Seeing a destroyer standing to their north, they quickly identified it as an enemy and trained the s.h.i.+p's two forward turrets on her. This turned out to be the The men of that s.h.i.+p, too, had been struggling to peg the ident.i.ties of the smashed s.h.i.+ps around them. Seeing a destroyer standing to their north, they quickly identified it as an enemy and trained the s.h.i.+p's two forward turrets on her. This turned out to be the Yudachi, Yudachi, still dead in the water. Captain DuBose got on the intercom and invited anyone who wasn't busy serving the main battery to come topside and watch a firing squad by naval rifle. In the still dead in the water. Captain DuBose got on the intercom and invited anyone who wasn't busy serving the main battery to come topside and watch a firing squad by naval rifle. In the Atlanta, Atlanta, all damage-control work was stopped. "We stood, frozen at the life-lines, spectators to a kind of action rarely witnessed," McKinney wrote. all damage-control work was stopped. "We stood, frozen at the life-lines, spectators to a kind of action rarely witnessed," McKinney wrote.

The Portland Portland's fire-control team quickly got comfortable with their s.h.i.+p's gyrations, drew on the target with their after director, and fired six salvos from 12,500 yards. Over. Short. Straddle. Straddle. There came then a report from Commander Shanklin that the j.a.panese destroyer was showing a white flag.

DuBose asked his gunnery officer what nationality the flag was. The gun boss said, "It's not in my registry."

"Sink the s...o...b.." DuBose replied.

The next salvo struck the destroyer amids.h.i.+ps, bringing a bright flash and a tower of black smoke. When it cleared, nothing remained. On the Atlanta, Atlanta, "We raised a cheer," McKinney wrote. "A sentimentalist near me croaked, 'Don't cheer fellows. The poor guys are dead. It could have been you.' All shared his observation, few his recommendation." "We raised a cheer," McKinney wrote. "A sentimentalist near me croaked, 'Don't cheer fellows. The poor guys are dead. It could have been you.' All shared his observation, few his recommendation."

The next short chapter in the "battle of the cripples" belonged to the j.a.panese. The Hiei, Hiei, lying north of Savo Island, outside the lying north of Savo Island, outside the Portland Portland's line of sight, opened fire on the nearest American s.h.i.+p, the Aaron Ward. Aaron Ward. As he lolled in an opiate-addled haze, Bob Hagen watched the great splashes close by as the third and fourth two-gun salvos straddled the s.h.i.+p, compelling Captain Gregor to duck behind the pilothouse wheel. Seeing the frailty of that small installation relative to the towers of seawater raised by the salvo, and his holy terror of a skipper diving for cover, Hagen couldn't suppress a numb smile. The torment ended quickly for the As he lolled in an opiate-addled haze, Bob Hagen watched the great splashes close by as the third and fourth two-gun salvos straddled the s.h.i.+p, compelling Captain Gregor to duck behind the pilothouse wheel. Seeing the frailty of that small installation relative to the towers of seawater raised by the salvo, and his holy terror of a skipper diving for cover, Hagen couldn't suppress a numb smile. The torment ended quickly for the Aaron Ward Aaron Ward when some Marine Dauntlesses from Henderson Field, escorted by Wildcats, found the battles.h.i.+p. when some Marine Dauntlesses from Henderson Field, escorted by Wildcats, found the battles.h.i.+p.

Shortly after 7 a.m., when Master Technical Sergeant Donald V. Thornbury planted a thousand-pound bomb into the Hiei Hiei's superstructure, it was the first of a rain of ordnance that would fall in a daylong deluge, seventy sorties in all. The Hiei Hiei's a.s.sailants included nine Avengers from the Enterprise Enterprise's Torpedo Squadron 10, "the Buzzard Brigade," which attacked after 10 a.m. Led by Lieutenant Albert P. Coffin and Lieutenant MacDonald Thompson, the veterans of the action off Santa Cruz eased their big Grummans out of the cloud cover and dispersed to set up "anvil" torpedo attacks, converging on either bow. Zero fighter pilots flying from Rabaul, Buin, and the carrier Junyo Junyo were foiled by distance and heavy weather and could do little to protect the battles.h.i.+p. The Buzzard Brigade would claim three hits. Rearming at Henderson Field, they attacked again in the afternoon. were foiled by distance and heavy weather and could do little to protect the battles.h.i.+p. The Buzzard Brigade would claim three hits. Rearming at Henderson Field, they attacked again in the afternoon.

[image]

(Photo Credit: 33.1) The Hiei Hiei still had a surprisingly deep reservoir of fight left in her. She was capable of ten or more knots, and as long as her crew remained ahead in the close race with floodwaters for control of the manual steering compartment, there was hope she might get away. By midmorning, the still had a surprisingly deep reservoir of fight left in her. She was capable of ten or more knots, and as long as her crew remained ahead in the close race with floodwaters for control of the manual steering compartment, there was hope she might get away. By midmorning, the Kiris.h.i.+ma Kiris.h.i.+ma received orders from Admiral Kondo to reverse course and return south to take the received orders from Admiral Kondo to reverse course and return south to take the Hiei Hiei in tow. According to j.a.panese sources, however, an attack by a U.S. submarine, which landed two dud hits on the in tow. According to j.a.panese sources, however, an attack by a U.S. submarine, which landed two dud hits on the Kiris.h.i.+ma, Kiris.h.i.+ma, compelled Kondo to abandon the plan and recall the compelled Kondo to abandon the plan and recall the Kiris.h.i.+ma Kiris.h.i.+ma to rejoin his Advance Force. to rejoin his Advance Force.

As American planes kept the struggling Hiei Hiei under siege, the tug under siege, the tug Bobolink Bobolink took the took the Aaron Ward Aaron Ward under tow, handing her off to a patrol craft that brought her into Tulagi's harbor. The under tow, handing her off to a patrol craft that brought her into Tulagi's harbor. The Portland Portland aspired to get there, too, but her starboard sheer defied all efforts at navigation. Higgins boats pushed against her starboard bow. The s.h.i.+p's port anchor was cast out and streamed alongside. The crew fas.h.i.+oned large improvised sea anchors out of canvas and threw them overboard, hoping to drag enough water to pull the s.h.i.+p out of her circle. That, too, was to no avail. As the struggle continued, the aspired to get there, too, but her starboard sheer defied all efforts at navigation. Higgins boats pushed against her starboard bow. The s.h.i.+p's port anchor was cast out and streamed alongside. The crew fas.h.i.+oned large improvised sea anchors out of canvas and threw them overboard, hoping to drag enough water to pull the s.h.i.+p out of her circle. That, too, was to no avail. As the struggle continued, the Portland Portland served as an emergency aid station for wounded sailors rescued from the sound. The cruiser's whaleboat, Higgins boats from Guadalca.n.a.l, and several floatplanes motoring around the surface brought some thirty-eight men aboard, most of them from the served as an emergency aid station for wounded sailors rescued from the sound. The cruiser's whaleboat, Higgins boats from Guadalca.n.a.l, and several floatplanes motoring around the surface brought some thirty-eight men aboard, most of them from the Barton. Barton. They were treated and sent on to Tulagi. Finally, the busy They were treated and sent on to Tulagi. Finally, the busy Bobolink Bobolink nudged alongside and threw her powerful shoulder into the nudged alongside and threw her powerful shoulder into the Portland Portland's starboard bow. Aided by the patrol boat YC-236, YC-236, they got the heavy cruiser going in the right direction, creeping along at a walking speed. they got the heavy cruiser going in the right direction, creeping along at a walking speed.

At 10:20 a.m., disturbed by the persistence of the air attacks, which required the s.h.i.+p to keep moving and thus foiled flood-control efforts, Abe ordered the Hiei Hiei's captain, Masao Nis.h.i.+da, to beach the s.h.i.+p on Guadalca.n.a.l. The flooding had conquered the steering compartment, and as soon as it was abandoned, the s.h.i.+p was stuck circling northeast of Savo Island. But Nis.h.i.+da flatly refused the order, and in the face of his doggedness, Abe relented. If they could survive the day, they might have the liberty, under cover of darkness, to pump flooded compartments dry and get her under way again.

The return of the Buzzard Brigade at about two twenty-five that afternoon dashed these hopes. Fliers swooped down and planted a pair of torpedoes into the battles.h.i.+p's starboard side. The shoring that held the floodwaters out of the steering compartment finally yielded, and the s.h.i.+p became unnavigable. As Captain Nis.h.i.+da ordered the crew to abandon, he supervised them from a chair perched atop turret three aft. He stayed there even as Dauntless dive-bombers bore down on the s.h.i.+p. With the Hiei Hiei listing to starboard and down by the stern, Abe ordered Nis.h.i.+da forcibily taken from the s.h.i.+p. Flying his flag in the destroyer listing to starboard and down by the stern, Abe ordered Nis.h.i.+da forcibily taken from the s.h.i.+p. Flying his flag in the destroyer Yukikaze, Yukikaze, standing by, Abe decided his old flags.h.i.+p was a total loss. Though Admiral Yamamoto intervened directly from Truk, instructing Abe that the standing by, Abe decided his old flags.h.i.+p was a total loss. Though Admiral Yamamoto intervened directly from Truk, instructing Abe that the Hiei Hiei not be scuttled, leaving her instead to lend support to Tanaka's transports as they approached Savo Sound in conjunction with a renewed attack by surface wars.h.i.+ps, Abe saw no hope in this. After dark, the not be scuttled, leaving her instead to lend support to Tanaka's transports as they approached Savo Sound in conjunction with a renewed attack by surface wars.h.i.+ps, Abe saw no hope in this. After dark, the Hiei Hiei sank un.o.bserved, somewhere north of Savo Island. Yamamoto was reportedly furious with Abe for his resistance, and removed him from seagoing command. sank un.o.bserved, somewhere north of Savo Island. Yamamoto was reportedly furious with Abe for his resistance, and removed him from seagoing command.

WHEN THE PILOTS FROM the the Enterprise Enterprise's Buzzard Brigade returned to Henderson Field, they were met by the surprised commander of the Cactus Air Force, Brigadier General Louis Woods, who declared, "Boys, I don't know where you came from, but you look like angels dropping out of heaven to us." Touching down on the airfield again near dusk, with their khakis still fresh and their faces clean-shaven, the carrier pilots found old friends from flight school among the Marine fliers and enjoyed the occasion to celebrate. They gained full members.h.i.+p in the Cactus Air Force by donating some torpedo fuel to the bar, run by Seabees, who always had a healthy supply of grapefruit juice on hand as a mixer. a.s.signed tents in a camp already crowded with survivors of the naval action, the tenants of Henderson Field raised their gla.s.ses and cheered.

34.

Cruiser in the Sky CAPTAIN HOOVER LED HIS SQUADRON OF SURVIVORS TOWARD ESPIRITU Santo, forced to limp at ten knots until temporary repairs let the Santo, forced to limp at ten knots until temporary repairs let the San Francisco San Francisco keep pace with the nimbler survivors. The keep pace with the nimbler survivors. The Helena Helena led her and the damaged led her and the damaged Juneau Juneau south. As the sh.e.l.l-battered south. As the sh.e.l.l-battered Sterett Sterett pa.s.sed the pa.s.sed the San Francisco San Francisco to take station ahead, forming a patchwork destroyer screen with the unscratched to take station ahead, forming a patchwork destroyer screen with the unscratched Fletcher Fletcher and the lightly grazed and the lightly grazed O'Bannon, O'Bannon, her crew beheld what the night had wrought on Dan Callaghan's flags.h.i.+p. The bridge was battered and charred; the after control tower, thoroughly put to the torch. They counted twenty-six holes in her port side. her crew beheld what the night had wrought on Dan Callaghan's flags.h.i.+p. The bridge was battered and charred; the after control tower, thoroughly put to the torch. They counted twenty-six holes in her port side.

On request from Bruce McCandless, the Juneau Juneau sent the sent the San Francisco San Francisco a medical officer, Lieutenant Roger W. O'Neil, and a trio of corpsmen to a.s.sist with the wounded. O'Neil was angry about being sent away from his s.h.i.+p. "I don't know why they sent us over here," he said, coming aboard. "You people are going to sink, and we are needed back on the a medical officer, Lieutenant Roger W. O'Neil, and a trio of corpsmen to a.s.sist with the wounded. O'Neil was angry about being sent away from his s.h.i.+p. "I don't know why they sent us over here," he said, coming aboard. "You people are going to sink, and we are needed back on the Juneau. Juneau." In Captain Swenson's s.h.i.+p, a damage-control party was working to fortify her fractured keel.

Just before dawn, the San Francisco San Francisco's senior enlisted men reported topside to join a grim detail, conducting what was known as a body parts sweep. Such an effort was necessary following any battle action in which casualties occurred. Its purpose was to cleanse the s.h.i.+p of human remains. The crew picked up body parts and threw them overboard, and washed down the s.h.i.+p's steel surfaces of drying blood. As with abandoning s.h.i.+p, it wasn't something that could be realistically rehea.r.s.ed ahead of time.

"The s.h.i.+p was just absolutely a shambles," said Joseph Whitt, a San Francisco San Francisco sailor. "It was just like you were opening up your eyes in a nightmare. I walked amids.h.i.+ps and the five-inch guns that I pa.s.sed had been hit, just wrecked. I looked at the stack-and this is a sight that I shall never ever forget. There were holes in the stack from the shrapnel from those explosions, and there was blood from the top of that stack running down the side of it, where the body parts had been blown up there and splattered down the side of it. The way that smelled...it was just something that no one should ever go through." sailor. "It was just like you were opening up your eyes in a nightmare. I walked amids.h.i.+ps and the five-inch guns that I pa.s.sed had been hit, just wrecked. I looked at the stack-and this is a sight that I shall never ever forget. There were holes in the stack from the shrapnel from those explosions, and there was blood from the top of that stack running down the side of it, where the body parts had been blown up there and splattered down the side of it. The way that smelled...it was just something that no one should ever go through."

Few new sailors were equipped to handle it. "Detailing the senior rates for this gruesome task was a good call," Don Jenkins wrote. All around the s.h.i.+p, the growling of handy-billy pumps swelled. Hoses were dropped overboard and streams of water set flowing against all surfaces. Slowly the stubborn knots of flesh clotting the s.h.i.+p's thousands of crooks and crevices, the drying splashes of blood, were washed away. All hands received a "ditty bag" and were ordered to identify the dead, remove their dog tags and personal effects, place a five-inch dummy sh.e.l.l down the front of their dungarees, cinch their belt tight, and ease the body over the side. The San Francisco San Francisco had no chaplain aboard, so there was no ceremony to any of this. Lieutenant James I. Cone, who supervised the gathering of personal effects, collected far too many Annapolis cla.s.s rings for his liking. Through this grimly determined effort, the s.h.i.+p returned to a tolerable state of habitability. had no chaplain aboard, so there was no ceremony to any of this. Lieutenant James I. Cone, who supervised the gathering of personal effects, collected far too many Annapolis cla.s.s rings for his liking. Through this grimly determined effort, the s.h.i.+p returned to a tolerable state of habitability.

Littering the deck everywhere were small tubes of phosphorous, detritus of the incendiaries fired by the j.a.panese battles.h.i.+ps. "Fellows were picking them up and putting them in their pockets as souvenirs," Joseph Whitt remembered. It was a bad move. Some of the dud incendiary elements were still doing a slow burn. "One guy had one in his hip pocket, and before he tore his pants off, this thing really blistered him," Whitt said. "Water wouldn't put the fire out."

The sickbay was too small to handle all the wounded. They had to be carried to the hangar deck. Don Jenkins recalled, "I never will be able to erase from my mind the utter feeling of helplessness and sorrow one feels as each time you deliver another wounded to the hangar. The moans and screams of pain, and many of the badly wounded calling out to their mothers." In the admiral's cabin, the doctor from the Juneau, Juneau, Lieutenant O'Neil, donned a mask to a.s.sist in emergency surgery on Captain Ca.s.sin Young. His wounds were mortal, and there was no saving him. Lieutenant O'Neil, donned a mask to a.s.sist in emergency surgery on Captain Ca.s.sin Young. His wounds were mortal, and there was no saving him.

As the s.h.i.+ps pa.s.sed through Torpedo Junction, it was clear to everybody, most of all Captain Hoover, that they were a vulnerable group. The crews of Wasp, Wasp, the the North Carolina, North Carolina, the the O'Brien, O'Brien, and the and the Saratoga Saratoga had been no less diligent than they were, and had enjoyed far more protection than Hoover's threadbare destroyer screen offered now. The had been no less diligent than they were, and had enjoyed far more protection than Hoover's threadbare destroyer screen offered now. The O'Bannon O'Bannon's sonar was out of commission. The Sterett Sterett's stack was working, but the s.h.i.+p had no depth charges, having jettisoned them as the fires raged aft. She was able to steer only with her engines. The Fletcher Fletcher was in good shape. But a single fully functional destroyer was a weak deterrent to submarine attack. Hoover called SOPAC air command to request aerial coverage and hoped for the best. was in good shape. But a single fully functional destroyer was a weak deterrent to submarine attack. Hoover called SOPAC air command to request aerial coverage and hoped for the best.

In the Helena Helena's pilothouse, all talk was of the battered flags.h.i.+p, steaming on the port quarter. The helmsman, George A. De Long, thought the San Francisco San Francisco would be lucky to reach Espiritu Santo. McCandless placed her fighting efficiency at 25 percent. Though the would be lucky to reach Espiritu Santo. McCandless placed her fighting efficiency at 25 percent. Though the Juneau Juneau was four feet down by the bow, she looked considerably healthier as she made seventeen knots on the was four feet down by the bow, she looked considerably healthier as she made seventeen knots on the Helena Helena's starboard quarter.

The radio, meanwhile, carried hopeful tidings-the excited transmissions from U.S. pilots as they swarmed a j.a.panese battles.h.i.+p, the Hiei, Hiei, dead in the water near Savo Island. The running report was vastly entertaining for sailors who had just finished their own turn in the battle zone and had had a hand in leaving the aviators this first-cla.s.s prize. dead in the water near Savo Island. The running report was vastly entertaining for sailors who had just finished their own turn in the battle zone and had had a hand in leaving the aviators this first-cla.s.s prize.

It was about 11 a.m. when a lookout noticed a disturbance on the surface of the sea to port. He said at first that it resembled "the usual eruption made by a porpoise." Then a Helena Helena gunner on a port side mount spotted it, a thin wake and a fin breaching the surface, just inside the wake of the gunner on a port side mount spotted it, a thin wake and a fin breaching the surface, just inside the wake of the Sterett, Sterett, riding on the riding on the Helena Helena's port bow. A torpedo. He watched as it pa.s.sed astern. The navigator shouted, "Hard right rudder, De Long!"

On the San Francisco, San Francisco, a bridge lookout, speechless, grabbed Lieutenant Commander Schonland by the shoulder and pointed at no fewer than four wakes approaching the s.h.i.+p's port bow. Schonland ordered, "Full right rudder, emergency full ahead." Seeing the white wakes burning toward the s.h.i.+p, Joseph Whitt starting running aft to escape the explosion. Leaping over a large gash in the deck, he caught his foot and went sprawling. He gathered himself quickly and looked forward to find the wake. The torpedo pa.s.sed under the s.h.i.+p on the starboard side. He found himself looking directly at the a bridge lookout, speechless, grabbed Lieutenant Commander Schonland by the shoulder and pointed at no fewer than four wakes approaching the s.h.i.+p's port bow. Schonland ordered, "Full right rudder, emergency full ahead." Seeing the white wakes burning toward the s.h.i.+p, Joseph Whitt starting running aft to escape the explosion. Leaping over a large gash in the deck, he caught his foot and went sprawling. He gathered himself quickly and looked forward to find the wake. The torpedo pa.s.sed under the s.h.i.+p on the starboard side. He found himself looking directly at the Juneau. Juneau.

There was no way to send warning to Captain Swenson's s.h.i.+p. With all of the San Francisco San Francisco's steam lines broken, she could not give voice to her siren or her whistle, and with her flag bags burned, her TBS transmitter out, signal halyards cut, and all but one large searchlight wrecked, it was impossible to raise an effective alarm. Fate had placed Hoover's formation in the periscope crosshairs of the submarine I-26, I-26, the same boat that had hit the the same boat that had hit the Saratoga Saratoga in August. Lying along the eastern flank of the column's southerly line of travel, the IJN boat had three torpedo tubes flooded and ready. in August. Lying along the eastern flank of the column's southerly line of travel, the IJN boat had three torpedo tubes flooded and ready.

As the Helena Helena came right, De Long watched the came right, De Long watched the Juneau Juneau through a porthole but soon lost her to the s.h.i.+fting line of sight. Then, unexpectedly, the navigator hollered, "Hard left rudder!" De Long reversed the helm, and the s.h.i.+p shuddered for several seconds and slowly came back. That was when the ocean s.h.i.+vered. through a porthole but soon lost her to the s.h.i.+fting line of sight. Then, unexpectedly, the navigator hollered, "Hard left rudder!" De Long reversed the helm, and the s.h.i.+p shuddered for several seconds and slowly came back. That was when the ocean s.h.i.+vered.

A Helena Helena signalman was watching his counterpart on the signalman was watching his counterpart on the Juneau Juneau through a gla.s.s, taking a blinker signal. One moment the man on the through a gla.s.s, taking a blinker signal. One moment the man on the Juneau Juneau was standing there, sending Morse, the next he was gone, s.n.a.t.c.hed up from the field of view as if by a giant hand. Removing the gla.s.s from his eye, the was standing there, sending Morse, the next he was gone, s.n.a.t.c.hed up from the field of view as if by a giant hand. Removing the gla.s.s from his eye, the Helena Helena man saw his counterpart hurtling through the air. man saw his counterpart hurtling through the air.

Joseph Whitt in the San Francisco San Francisco heard a "loud heard a "loud crrrrrack, crrrrrack, like a lightning strike nearby." On the bearing that the antiaircraft cruiser once occupied, all the like a lightning strike nearby." On the bearing that the antiaircraft cruiser once occupied, all the Helena Helena's George De Long could see was a large cloud swelling low on the water. "Where is she? Where is she? Where is she? I don't want to ram her!" he said. No one remained in the Helena Helena's pilothouse. Everyone had raced out onto the bridge wing. A sailor ducked back into the pilothouse and said, quietly, "De Long, she ain't no more."

Even after the unprecedented blooding of the previous night, never had anyone witnessed a blast such as this. Bruce McCandless wrote, "The Juneau Juneau didn't sink-she blew up with all the fury of an erupting volcano. There was a terrific thunderclap and a plume of white water that was blotted out by a huge brown hemisphere a thousand yards across, from within which came the sounds of more explosions." As Hoover would report to Admiral Turner, "Debris fell to such extent and volume as to cause belief of high level bombing attack." didn't sink-she blew up with all the fury of an erupting volcano. There was a terrific thunderclap and a plume of white water that was blotted out by a huge brown hemisphere a thousand yards across, from within which came the sounds of more explosions." As Hoover would report to Admiral Turner, "Debris fell to such extent and volume as to cause belief of high level bombing attack."

What fraction of the Juneau Juneau's steel plates and hardened armor belts were launched skyward and fell back to earth in shards is anyone's guess, but the shrapnel rain was heavy and voluminous. As Schonland, McCandless, Wilbourne, and Lair looked on stunned from the San Francisco San Francisco's flag bridge, the officer-of-the-deck, Jack Bennett, noticed an object hurtling toward them through the air. "Scatter!" he shouted as a rectangular plate of steel plating wobbled in and smashed into the superstructure just a few feet from where they stood. It bounced across the deck and fell overboard. One of the Juneau Juneau's twin five-inch mounts arced through the bright sky and splashed down not a hundred yards astern the Fletcher. Fletcher.

"As we got up even with it-the pall of smoke had begun to rise up from the water-there was a gigantic explosion under the water," Joseph Whitt said. "They said it was probably the boilers blowing up. She came up just like a big whale. You've seen pictures of them as they come up and breech and go back down. It was a big, huge bubble. In that bubble of water was part of the hull of that s.h.i.+p. I mean it was eerie."

As witnesses struggled to believe, an ocean swell some thirty feet high crested into the San Francisco San Francisco from the starboard side. "Our s.h.i.+p rapidly keeled over to port until the outboard portion of the well deck was underwater," Don Jenkins wrote. "One had to hold on for dear life to keep from tumbling across the well deck into the sea. The s.h.i.+p slowly came back to an even keel and then we found that all our shoring and caulking had been knocked out of the waterline sh.e.l.l holes and sea water was pouring in by the thousands of gallons." from the starboard side. "Our s.h.i.+p rapidly keeled over to port until the outboard portion of the well deck was underwater," Don Jenkins wrote. "One had to hold on for dear life to keep from tumbling across the well deck into the sea. The s.h.i.+p slowly came back to an even keel and then we found that all our shoring and caulking had been knocked out of the waterline sh.e.l.l holes and sea water was pouring in by the thousands of gallons."

On a day of terrible visions, the sudden death of the Juneau Juneau may have been the worst of all. Few witnesses could imagine there were any survivors. The suddenness with which more than six hundred men perished had no a.n.a.log in other types of combat. The single blast offered none of the emerging trauma of an eroding front line or a sundered and faltering flank. It was an apocalyptic accident, random and undeserved, and paid in a single shocking stroke. Chick Morris observed, "No one moved or spoke.... A man needs some kind of mental and physical reserve to accept such a disaster when not prepared for it, and we had exhausted our reserve during the night.... Many a man aboard may have been the worst of all. Few witnesses could imagine there were any survivors. The suddenness with which more than six hundred men perished had no a.n.a.log in other types of combat. The single blast offered none of the emerging trauma of an eroding front line or a sundered and faltering flank. It was an apocalyptic accident, random and undeserved, and paid in a single shocking stroke. Chick Morris observed, "No one moved or spoke.... A man needs some kind of mental and physical reserve to accept such a disaster when not prepared for it, and we had exhausted our reserve during the night.... Many a man aboard Helena Helena walked the decks for the following few hours in a kind of trance, brooding and frightened." walked the decks for the following few hours in a kind of trance, brooding and frightened."

Robert Howe said, "We often talked about getting hit by a torpedo so we could go back to the States for repairs. Never again after seeing the Juneau Juneau disappear under a cloud of smoke." It was still Friday the thirteenth. "The rest of the day I don't think anyone took their eyes off the water." disappear under a cloud of smoke." It was still Friday the thirteenth. "The rest of the day I don't think anyone took their eyes off the water."

GIL HOOVER TOOK the the Juneau Juneau's loss hard. Her captain, Lyman Knute Swenson, had been a Naval Academy cla.s.smate and a close friend. Now he was either gone or, worse, alive, wounded and in urgent need of rescue. Untold scores of the antiaircraft cruiser's survivors floated on the swells in Torpedo Junction. Though many witnesses professed to see no survivors, they were a.s.suredly there. The crew of an aircraft that happened by later counted at least sixty of them, their lives spared by freak accidents of physics that kept the gusting remains of the s.h.i.+p from breaking their bodies as they flew into the sea.

As Hoover judged it, the logic of the situation required him to foreclose any thought of saving them, or his friend. With just a single undamaged destroyer to chase submarines, with the responsibility to get heavily damaged s.h.i.+ps and badly wounded men to base on his shoulders, with an adeptly commanded enemy submarine still at large, he decided he couldn't risk stopping to search for survivors. Earlier that morning he had ordered the O'Bannon O'Bannon to steam away to the north to transmit a report of the previous night's engagement to Noumea. When maintaining radio silence, s.h.i.+ps departed formation before transmitting their messages to avoid betraying the group's location to radio snoopers. The to steam away to the north to transmit a report of the previous night's engagement to Noumea. When maintaining radio silence, s.h.i.+ps departed formation before transmitting their messages to avoid betraying the group's location to radio snoopers. The O'Bannon O'Bannon wasn't due to rejoin him until midafternoon. wasn't due to rejoin him until midafternoon.

Few naval commanders understood the delicate work of rescue at sea as well as Hoover. As commander of Destroyer Squadron 2, he had escorted the Lexington Lexington when she was sunk in the Coral Sea, and had received the Navy Cross for the manner in which his destroyers pressed in close, braving repeated heavy explosions and flames, to recover the carrier's survivors. Hoover's award citation stated, "The intrepid and seamanlike way that these officers handled their vessels about the listing and burning when she was sunk in the Coral Sea, and had received the Navy Cross for the manner in which his destroyers pressed in close, braving repeated heavy explosions and flames, to recover the carrier's survivors. Hoover's award citation stated, "The intrepid and seamanlike way that these officers handled their vessels about the listing and burning Lexington Lexington without regard for the flames and explosions emanating from her, was in accord with every fine tradition of our Navy and of the sea, and undoubtedly contributed to the rescue of many survivors who might otherwise have been lost." Circ.u.mstances now were vastly different. Still, he would write that the decision to continue south "was not made without much effort." without regard for the flames and explosions emanating from her, was in accord with every fine tradition of our Navy and of the sea, and undoubtedly contributed to the rescue of many survivors who might otherwise have been lost." Circ.u.mstances now were vastly different. Still, he would write that the decision to continue south "was not made without much effort."

At eleven twenty-one, a B-17 Flying Fortress arrived from Espiritu Santo, as Hoover had requested, to provide air cover. To preserve radio silence, Hoover refrained from radioing Turner or Halsey about the incident. Instead, he had one of his signalmen blinker to the bomber overhead: "JUNEAU TORPEDOED DISAPPEARED LAT 1032 LONG 16102 AT 1109 X SURVIVORS IN WATER REPORT COMSOPAC." "JUNEAU TORPEDOED DISAPPEARED LAT 1032 LONG 16102 AT 1109 X SURVIVORS IN WATER REPORT COMSOPAC." The plane acknowledged receipt of the message with a visual signal, and Hoover repe