First Hand Account of the bombing of Big Ben - USS Franklin CV-13

This is my uncle John Cox's first hand account of the bombing and aftermath of the USS Franklin March 19, 1945. It is amazing that the ship took so much punishment and still made it home.


Moderator note - I merged these two threads. One thread per subject, please.

 

Thats one interesting story!

Thanks!

 

Here is the transciption of the newspaper article you requested//

He’s home today at 384 Lincoln Place, on leave for 30 days, but he’s home with the memories of a two-hour “hell” he would give anything to forget

Nineteen year old John J. Cox was a radioman 3rd class, aboard the 27,000 ton Essex class carrier Franklin when a Jap dive bomber landed two 500 pound bombs on the ship’s flight and hanger decks March 19. He’s one of the 704 survivors who brought the carrier back to the States over 13,400 miles of ocean to be repaired at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

It was about 7 o’clock in the morning, Johnny relates. “I was eating breakfast with 50 other fellows in one of the small mess compartments just above the water level. We were talking, smoking, relaxing before the day’s duties began. The Jap plane came overhead and dropped two eggs.

Big Ben shook all over and I was knocked for a loop, Johnny said. Smoke began filling the mess compartment and all of us beat it out of the place.

We met about 50 other fellows from another mess compartment, Johnny said, We were running forward. The other guys said to go aft. We didn’t know which way to turn. And all the time smoke and flames were shooting at us from all sides. We finally locked ourselves, more than 100 of us, in the mess compartment we had just come from.

Locked all Hatches

They locked all the hatches to the compartment, Cox declared so the smoke and fire couldn’t get in. But the only air that could filter in came through an air hole about the size of a tennis ball, and as the minutes passed, the room became stuffy.

We spent two hours in that compartment, he recalls, two hours of the worst hell I’ve ever known. We did a lot of praying.

One fellow had been hit by shrapnel in the other mess compartment. He died during those two hours. We said rites over him ourselves because there wasn’t any chaplain in the room to do it properly.

Johnny is the son of Mrs. Helen Cox. He has two brothers in the service. PFC James Cox in the Infantry and PFC William Cox, with an anti aircraft unit in the Philippine Islands/

Jimmy, recuperating in England General Hospital, Atlantic City, was wounded twice on Manila and Luzon. He holds the Bronze Star and is up for the Silver Star and Presidential Unit Citation. Bill was wounded in the Philippines several months ago.

 

Lt. Donald Gary found them and took them out

 

Donald Arthur Gary was born in Findlay, Ohio, on 23 July 1901. He enlisted in the Navy in December 1919 and served continuously in the enlisted ranks until November 1943, when he received a commission as a Lieutenant (Junior Grade). In 1943 and 1944, Lt(JG) Gary was assigned to the Third Naval District and as an inspector of machinery at the Babcock and Wilcox Company. In December 1944, he was sent to the aircraft carrier Franklin as an engineering officer. When that ship was severely damaged by Japanese air attack on 19 March 1945, Lt(JG) Gary distinguished himself as he helped hundreds of trapped men to escape from below decks, organized and led fire-fighting parties and directed the restoration of power in one boiler room. For his heroism on that occasion, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

 

Note: Here is a photo

 

Wrong Button!

Here is a photo of the Lucky 13 from CV-13 My Uncle Johnny is 2nd from the right