Down to the Sea (11 page)

Patrick Douhan, of Fresno, California,
Hull
sonarman. FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH

Michael “Frenchy” Franchak, of
Jermyn, Pennsylvania,
Hull
radarman.
FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH

Portia and John Kreidler,
Hull
chief sonorman, one month
after their August 1944 wedding.
FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH

Carl T. Webb, an Oklahoma cowboy turned
Hull
seaman. FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH

The destroyer
Monaghan
(DD-354), commissioned in 1935, winner of 12 battle stars. U.S. NAVY

Joseph “Mother” McCrane, of
Clementon, New Jersey, Monaghan
water tender. FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH

L. Bruce Garrett, graduation
photo, Annapolis class of 1938,
the last commanding officer of
Monaghan
. U.S. NAVY

Joseph Guio, Jr., of West Virginia,
Monaghan
gunner's mate. U.S. NAVY

Joseph Candelaria, Jr., of Bakersfi eld,
California,
Monaghan
water tender. FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH

Four of the six survivors of
Monaghan
; from left, Evan Fenn, William F. Kramer, Doil Carpenter
and James T. Story, being handed their leave papers by Ensign Maragaret Harrison upon their
arrival at Los Angeles harbor. LOS ANGELES EXAMINER

Last living survivor of
Monaghan
today: Evan
Fenn, 84, of Saint David, Arizona. CHRIS
DAVOBICH, SAN PEDRO VALLEY NEWS-SUN

As Christmas (1943) approached,
Hull
's crew received word that they were heading for California, where for a few weeks they would take part in amphibious exercises off the coast.
Hull
pulled into San Francisco on December 21. There was insufficient time for leaves home or for a shipyard stay even though everyone knew the well-traveled ship “had to get some work done before long.” Nonetheless, the crew enjoyed a week's worth of holiday liberties.

For some, the brief stateside visit was time enough to start a serious romance, as it was for Greil Gerstley. Asked by a local friend if he would agree to a blind date, Gerstley demurred, explaining that he wanted to “get a look at her first.” He went to the department store where his would-be date worked and “looked her over,” which Eleanore Hyman
“greatly resented,” although not enough to turn down the handsome naval officer when he asked her out. The beautiful twenty-year-old brunette, who had attended Stanford University, and the debonair Philadelphian “fell in love very quickly.”

On January 13, 1944,
Hull
sailed with Task Force 53 (which included
Monaghan
) for the invasion of the Marshall Islands. Two weeks later,
Hull
was screening transports off Kwajalein, and more screening and patrol duties continued throughout February off Eniwetok and Majuro. Antisubmarine patrols could be “dull business,” but aboard
Hull
the routine would never again seem rote or mundane to men who had witnessed the sudden sinking by a single torpedo of
Liscome Bay
with its horrendous loss of life.

The next action for
Hull
came in March, when she joined the aircraft carrier
Lexington
(CV-16), two battleships, and several destroyers in the bombardment of enemy-held Mille Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Lexington,
in commission for only a year, had already survived one near-fatal attack three months earlier off Kwajalein, when an enemy torpedo knocked out her steering gear and ruptured fuel tanks. Listing and ablaze, the crippled carrier made it to Pearl Harbor for repairs, while Tokyo Rose jubilantly reported her sunk with all hands. Painted dark blue and the only carrier not to wear camouflage colors,
Lexington
was soon dubbed the “Blue Ghost,” as Tokyo Rose would report the carrier sunk a second time in April during the devastating raid on the major Japanese base at Truk, where
Hull
once again stayed protectively close to
Lexington,
untouched even as her aircraft downed seventeen enemy planes.
Hull
was also in
Lexington
's company for the June 15 invasion of Saipan in the Marianas, during which the U.S. task force was attacked by waves of Japanese planes. Close on
Lexington
's port quarter,
Hull
helped bring down an enemy dive bomber heading for the carrier “either to land or crash on it.”
Lexington
's air group played a major role in the resultant Battle of the Philippine Sea (also known as the “Marianas Turkey Shoot”) on June 19–20, during which the Japanese lost three carriers and 600 planes, some when they ditched at sea with nowhere to land after their carriers were sunk. While again emerging unscathed, the
“Blue Ghost” for a third time was reported by Tokyo Rose to have been sunk during battle.