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Ken
Loewecke is an original Plankholder and he is looking for some help.
Below
is an account of an incident that happened while Big J was anchored
at Ulithi on December 23, 1944. He'd like to know if anyone has a
picture of the damage that occurred to the ship that day. Ken
recently visited the ship in Camden but he
wasn't able to see
any evidence of the repairs he made that day. If you can help,
please send me an e-mail and I'll get you in touch with Ken who lives in
Illinois.
To send me an e-mail, click Here.
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After
some time at sea we anchored at Ulithi. Our ship had survived a
typhoon five days before, so we had seen a bit of sea action. When
we dropped anchor the day before Christmas Eve 1944, it was a relief to
all hands on board. While walking the main deck aft, I heard a
hissing sound and saw a puff of dust coming from the main deck about 60
feet from where I was standing. Everyone started to run for cover,
including myself. A destroyer nearby was target practicing and
firing toward the harbor, Thank goodness this five-inch shell was a
DUD. It went through the main deck and landed in the head where
there were 20 to 30 men showering, shaving, etc. Unfortunately, one
sailor lost his leg. Being on duty at the time, I worked all night
welding a steel plate in the opening in the deck.
If
the shell had exploded, it would have been a sad Christmas for many men
and their families. I'm sure the Lord was looking out for the
sailors aboard the USS New Jersey! BB-62, which never took enemy
fire. |
