YORKTOWN SUFFERS FIVE DEAD AS RESULT OF DIRECT JAPANESE ATTACK
By Ruben P. Kitchen, Jr. USS Yorktown Veteran Pacific Carrier ©1988 p.207
It was March 18, 1945 and Lee Spaulding was the Landing Safety Officer on that chilly afternoon. Lee brought the first plane down safely; but as the second plane landed on the Yorktown, two live rockets were jarred loose from its wings. All along the flight deck men ducked to avoid the skidding rockets. After the rockets stopped, several of the flight deck men raced out to get rid of the rockets before they had a chance to explode. One man walked over to one of the live rockets, picked it up, patted it on its warhead, and then tossed it over the side of the flight deck.
The fifth plane to land could not get his tail hook down. The F6F, number 57, made 3 approaches without success. Each time Lee would wave him off. It was decided to let him make a fourth pass. As he came down the groove, the five inch guns on the flight deck began turning toward the starboard. A Japanese plane, a Judy, had dropped out of the clouds unexpectedly and was dead ahead.
Seconds after the plane was sighted, its pilot dropped his bomb. This traveled almost horizontally toward the ship.
The gunners managed to knock the Judy out of the sky as its pilot attempted to pull his plane out of the run. The pilot was picked up, but the other man in the plane was killed. As the gunners were shooting the Judy out of the sky, the Yorktown was hit by the enemy.
The bomb hit the starboard side of the signal bridge and sheared smooth as a brass rim on the porthole on Admiral Radford's sea cabin. The bomb then ripped a squawk box off the bulkhead, slashed two small pipes, and tore out a two foot section of the incinerator vent. The bomb cut through steel like a knife through butter.
Next, it cut a five foot hole out of the deck of the signal bridge, just in front of the hatch coming out of the superstructure. J. Bryan III was on port side of the bridge of the ship at the time, watching number 57 trying to land. Chief Mueck, the flag's chief signalman, was on the starboard side of the bridge. What he could see in the next few seconds would startle him.
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Only a second had passed since the bomb had hit the Yorktown. The next few seconds would change the lives of 23 men. Without warning, the bomb hit the 20mm gun gallery below the signal bridge. Don Seaman was firing his gun when he saw his TRUNNION operator Elmer Jekel, fall. The bomb's fins had cut his legs off as the bomb passed by him.
Over on gun mount five, next to mount seven, (Don's mount) the gunner, Paul Barnette, was hanging in his harness. The fins had also cut his legs off, and he hung there with his life's blood dripping from his stumps into the holes on the deck left by the path of the bomb. The two men were fatally wounded but still alive. Before Don could help his turning operator, the bomb exploded below the gun gallery.
But before the bomb exploded, it had traveled to the level of the hanger deck and exploded in one of the new 40mm gun mounts put on recently at Bremerton Washington. The explosion wiped out this mount, killing one man and fatally wounding another. Other men were wounded, but not fatally.
As the explosion forced its way upward and inward, it wounded man more men and killed more. Ed Johnson, on the superstructure in the after 40mm gun mount, was thrown about 15 into the air. The blast threw Ed backward, which probably saved his life. If he had gone forward, he would have been tossed overboard into the water 70 feet below; and, if he were wounded, this would have meant certain death. Instead, he came back down upon his gun.
Lt. Fred Weatherford had left repair three just a few minutes before, when the ship was at modified affirmed. When the ship went to general quarters (battle stations) because the planes were returning from their strike, he was not able to return to repair three. Seeing that he would have to stay up on the hanger deck, he went into the ship fitter's bunk room to rest. He entered the bunkroom and decided to lie down on James Mack's bunk. There he rested, waiting for modified affirmed so he could return to repair three on the third deck.
Lt. Weatherford probably never knew what hit him. When the bomb exploded, it riddled the bulkhead next to the bunk he was lying in. the bunkroom turned into junk in an instant. The life of Fred Weatherford was wiped out. Lt. Weatherford was the only officer killed by the bomb.
The bomb had done its damage. Holes were ripped into the side of the YORKTOWN. Some men were killed, others were wounded. Small fires had started. Mount 7 was burning, while mount 5 was silent. One 40mm quad was wiped out, and a 5 inch battery was out of commission.
As the smoke began to clear, men rushed to the aid of the wounded and dying. Edward Wallace rushed to the 40mm quad that was under his command. When he got there, he saw the destruction. Men were lying about everywhere, bleeding and moaning. Ed could clearly see that mount 13 was the point of the explosion for the bomb.
This mount was ruined. The men remaining there were lucky not to be dead.
Within seconds after the bomb exploded Father Moody was rushed to the flight deck to give air where needed. As Father Moody rounded the corner of the island, he saw a Marine rubbing his eyes and screaming in pain. His eyes were bleeding from fragments that had hit him in the face. Lying beside this Marine was another Marine. He had a large gash in his leg, and he was clasping the wound trying to stop the flow of blood. Quickly, Father Moody got three medical corpsmen to help him and rush the two wounded men to battle dressing station one, located at the forward end of the superstructure.
Up higher on the superstructure the men of the 20mm gun gallery were lying in a clipping room. They had been moved there by sailors to protect them from the elements. There were six wounded men lying on the deck when Father Moody arrived there. Two of the six had their legs cut off, two were stretcher cases; and the other two were able to walk themselves.
Father Moody leaned down beside Elmer Jekel. Father Moody could tell that Elmer was in shock from the loss of his legs. Carefully Father Moody lifted Elmer onto a stretcher and helped carry him down the ladder to battle dressing station one. As Father Moody and the corpsman carried Elmer into the small compartment, Dr. Bond was bandaging a burnt arm. Father Moody called out to Dr. Bond, telling him he had a bad case. Dr. Bond glanced at Elmer and made the statement that all feared, "He's gone, put him aside."
Father Moody gently lowered the stretcher, but there was no time for morning. There were other wounded men who needed help.
Father Moody started back up the ladder, but was met by two corpsmen carrying Paul Barnette. he, two, was legless and going into shock. Father Moody sent him ahead to the dressing station, then climbed up to the other four men.
....
The F6F, number 57, that was trying to land when the bomb hit was told to hit the water. After the Yorktown aviator hit the Pacific, a destroyer picked up the pilot.
Throughout the evening Father Moody and Chaplain Wright stayed with the men in sick bay. They passed out cigarettes, gave drinks of water, covered the men with blankets and helped the doctors.
Down in sick bay, the lonely night passed. The men stood the pain the best they could. Father Moody sat down beside Edward Sherman. He had been badly wounded when the bomb exploded in mount 13. Both his arms were broken and his body was riddle with bomb fragment wounds. Father Moody softly asked Ed if he wanted a "beauty treatment." Looking up from his blood caked face, Ed grinning and said, "Sure."
As Father Moody gently wiped the blood and smoke from Ed's face, they talked. Shortly after midnight Ed called to Father Moody. Ed spoke a few words and then died.
By early morning, shock and loss of blood had taken its toll on Paul Barnette. He died less than 14 hours after he was wounded. The "Fighting Lady" had lost a total of five sailors. They were the only men to ever die aboard her as a result of direct enemy hit by a bomb or torpedo. Never again did she receive a hit from the enemy. To many on the other carriers she deserved the name of the "Lucky Y". The other carriers had lost hundreds as a result of enemy action. The Yorktown had gotten off lightly during World War II, and only the Enterprise and Saratoga had seen action before her.
The crew of the Yorktown had a sad task to perform. On the fantail were the five bodies of the men who had been killed on March 18. At 2:00 pm the five bodies, each now covered with an American flag, were brought up to the flight deck. All the men who were not on duty assembled on the flight deck facing the port side. Chaplain Wright and Father Moody read the services as the wind blew across the flight deck, ruffling the flags draped over the bodies.
After the two Chaplains finished, the bank played "Onward Christian Soldiers". The Marines fired three volleys, then the number two elevator was lowered to the hanger deck. The five bodies were tiled into the sea. All the ships around the Yorktown had their flags at half mast. After the last body was lowered into the sea, word was passed to carry on and flags were brought back to full mast.
These five men,
Lieutenant Fred G. Weatherford,
Seaman First Class Elmer Jekel,
Seaman First Class Powell M. Barnette,
ART 2nd Class Edward Sherman, and
ART 2nd Class Robert Lee Lueck,
would always be a part of the USS Yorktown.
These were the only men to ever die as a result of a direct enemy hit.
A month after the first and only direct hit on the USS Yorktown, the temporary patch on her starboard side was now rusty. The rust stain was running down her side, washed down with the water that had sloshed up the side from the seas and the rain. Except for this small patch, the USS Yorktown looked as she always had.
April 18, 1945 was Father Joe Moody's birthday. He was now 41 years old but looked years younger. Things had calmed down a great deal after all the action of one month before.
Yorktown Gunners Mate Bob Davis looks at the over 12 inch, over 5 pound piece of bomb that Hospital Corpsman Carmine Pierro (left) took out of his abdomen, then replaced his stomach organs after the bomb hit the Yorktown 18 Mar 45
says Wendell Mayes, Jr. (former) ART 1/c
"Air Group 3 and Air Group 9 swapped places on March 6, 1945, with VF9 going aboard the Yorktown and my squadron, VF3, going aboard the Lexington. The Lexington sailed for Pearl Harbor and Seattle a few days later. On March 14 the Yorktown left Ulithi and on March 18 the bomb killed two of the three radar technicians of VF9 that had replaced me and my two shipmates only 12 days earlier.
I think about those 12 days from time to time. I'm sure former ART 1/c's Wally Cranston and Gene Brooks do, too."
FROM SEA V TEN MAGAZINE. Special thanks to Bob Wallace who compiled this article.
EYEWITNESSES
Perry Rodgers recalls looking up from the flight deck seeing "our guns blazing as the Jap bomber came diving down on us. The smoke from the guns blurred my vision as I saw the Japanese plane's bomb fall hitting the signal bridge and passing through the 20mm gun mount. After a few minutes the smoke cleared and as I looked up I could see blood oozing from the gun mount."
Ruben Kitchen, Jr. remembers, "The bomb hit the starboard side of the signal bridge and sheared smooth the brass rim on the porthole on Admiral Radford's sea cabin. The bomb had ripped a squawk box off the bulkhead slashed two small pipes, and tore out a two foot section of the incinerator vent. The bomb cut through steel like a knife through butter."
"Next, it cut a five foot hole out of the deck of the signal bridge, just in front of the hatch coming out of the superstructure. Chief Mueck, the flag's chief signalman, was on the starboard side of the bridge. What he could see in the next few seconds would startle him."
"Without warning, the bomb hit the 20mm gun gallery below the signal bridge. Don Seaman was firing his gun when he saw his TRUNNION operator Elmer Jekel, fall. the bomb's fins had cut his legs off as the bomb passed by him."
Over on gun mount five, Paul Barnette was still in his gun harness. The fins has also cut his legs off, and he hung there with his life's blood dripping from his stumps into the holes on the deck left by the path of the bomb. The two men were fatally wounded but still alive. Before Don could help his turning operator, the bomb exploded below the 40mm gun gallery killing one man and wounded another."
"Ed Johnson on the superstructure in the aft 40mm gun mount, was thrown 15 feet in the air.. Lt. Fred Weatherford had left repair three and went into the ship fitter's bunkroom on the hanger deck. When the bomb exploded it turn the bunkroom into junk in an instant, killing Lt. Weatherford instantly."
Dr. Smith sadly recalls, "They brought Jekel down and he was bleeding profusely and it was obvious that there was nothing that could be done...we both knew it. He was coherent, albeit in no pain because he was in shock. He asked me for a cigarette and we visited for a couple of minutes, then he died...in my arms."
Down in sick bay, men stood the pain the best they could. Chaplain Moody sat next to Edward Sherman from gun mount 13 who had been Badly wounded. Both arms were broken and his body was riddled with bomb fragments. As Chaplain Moody wiped away the blood and smoke from Ed's face, Ed spoke a few words and died.
J.C. Moore said that "when we got the bomb hit the ship fitter was welding steel planks on the side of the ship where the explosion occurred to prevent flooding. He was sitting in a boatswain's chair welding a cover over the hole when a wave rolled over him instantly electrocuting him."
The bomb had severed the main fire control cable, thus disabling the gun turrets. As a result they had to be hand cranked until the electrical system was put back on line. We kept cruising at 28 knots and the Admiral stayed aboard...we wouldn't leave.
Fred Keller says that when he saw the bomb falling, "I realized that there wasn't any place to go for protection, so I just stood there on the flight deck in the middle of the mayhem."
James Kissick says, "A severe jolt abruptly brought me wide awke, to find my nose and eyes burning from thick, white smoke that filled the space."
The "Judy" bomber that dropped the bomb was destroyed by the ship's antiaircraft fire with the pilot and gunner bailing out in parachutes. Yorktown's 20mm gunfire killed the plane's gunner and the Princeton educated pilot was picked up by an escorting destroyer.