THE BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA, 8 MAY 1942
We had reveille at 0500 hours, ate breakfast, and then went to general quarters. Yorktown and Lexington sent out scout planes at dawn to search for the Japanese carriers. I was launched with my Aviation Radioman/Gunner, Jack Kilgore, ARM 1/C, at 0730 for inner air patrol. At 0910, while flying around on patrol, I saw planes taking off from our two carriers and I knew then that our scouts had made contact with the Japanese carriers. A formation of about 100 of our planes left the carriers at 0940 and headed on a course of 045 degrees or north-east.
The carrier
USS Lexington is under attack from Japanese torpedo and dive bombers. Ralph
Wilhelm was flying his seaplane through the heavy anti-aircraft fire directed
at the Japanese.
Our ships kept steaming south, so I knew that they were not intending to make surface contact with the enemy.
At about 1100 hours, the carriers sent off all their Wildcat fighters and SBD scouts to act as a torpedo defense patrol. After that, the Task Force was at thirty knots steaming south for five minutes and then west for the same time, then south again, and so on. Portland was supposed to recover me at 1100 and so I stayed close over the Task Force to detect a recall, if it was sent.
At 1117 hours, I was at 1,200 feet over one of our destroyers on the starboard quarter of the formation when all hell broke loose! At first I saw flashes of gunfire from the anti-aircraft guns on a carrier, then from all the ships. Seconds later, the sky was just a solid blanket of anti-aircraft bursts, all between 1,000 and 3,000 feet altitude! Then I saw Japanese planes diving on the Task Force from everywhere!
I was then being fired upon by our own anti-aircraft guns along with the Japanese! So, to get out of the way, I dove for the water and headed out the starboard beam of the force at about fifty feet over the white caps. On my left, a short distance away, were two Jap torpedo planes and above me, about 1,000 feet, were three Jap dive-bombers. We were all heading in the same direction. I was making 120 knots and they were going about 200 knots. I then tested my fixed gun and Kilgore fired his free gun. We were pleased that they were working well. I then dropped my two 100-pound bombs to give me more maneuverability if I was attacked. A few of them took me under fire, but when they got close, I turned hard right or left and they overshot us.
One of their torpedo planes turned around and went back strafing the ships. The other four climbed into the clouds and were gone. As we were flying out the beam, away from the ships, the anti-aircraft guns were firing at the Jap planes and also at me. They were firing at all planes in sight, and I could see the splashes in the water behind me. Never did my plane feel so slow as it did then!
A couple of minutes after the raid started, Lexington was hit hard and flame and smoke shot up all around her. I thought sure that she would sink right away. Planes were everywhere diving and fighting. It lasted about seventeen minutes and then it was all over. I came back to Portland, making sure that I gave the correct recognition signal, and was recovered at 1225. I counted fourteen ships on our return, so knew that we hadn't lost any. The attack was centered on the two carriers and the other ships were only strafed. No one was injured on our ship, and we were only hit by a few pieces of falling shrapnel.
After our planes were all recovered, except those lost, we steamed south at twenty-five knots. We knew Lexington had been hit, and possibly Yorktown, but we didn't know how badly. At 1400 the Lex sent out a message by visual that she was on fire below decks and that it wasn't under control. At that point, she started smoking badly and did so all afternoon, even though making good speed. We started preparing a boat to take some men over to help fight the fire but it got so bad that she slowed to a stop in the water.
At 1707 hours, the commanding officer of Lexington gave the order to abandon ship. Captain Sherman was last to leave Lexington at 1727. The destroyers went in close and picked up the survivors, and then distributed them among the cruisers. By 1930, we had 400 Lexington people aboard Portland. Twenty-five of these were officers. There were many explosions on the Lex before she went down. A destroyer finally put two torpedoes into her in order to expedite her sinking because the fire could be seen for miles and might have attracted the enemy who were probably worse off than we. At about 2000, as she was flaming, a very large explosion occurred and she threw parts of her hull all over the sky and sank to be no more.
I found out from the Lexington people that my friend Tony Quigley had taken part in the sinking of the Japanese light carrier Shoho on the previous day. His SBD was shot up a bit, and they told me that he and his radioman bailed out over Rossel Island which lies off the eastern tip of the New Guinea mainland. They were picked up by an Allied seaplane.
At the end of that day I recorded in my log, "Today was the most exciting day I have ever had in my life, and it is one which I hope I never repeat."
Return to Pearl Harbor, 8 May to 28 May 1942
After the Battle of the Coral Sea, our Task Force 17 steamed south-east during the night of 8 May. Yorktown was not in her best condition and was leaving a trail of oil for many miles behind her. She had been hit by an 800-pound bomb which had penetrated to her fourth deck. A near miss burst a hole in her side and was the reason for leaving a trail of oil.
Portland had 400 Lexington people on board, and on 10 May, 400 more were put on board. Portland now had its own crew of 1,100 plus 800 Lexington survivors. Our ship had become very crowded!
We didn't realise at this time that we had won a strategic victory at Coral Sea. We just knew that we had lost Lexington and that Yorktown was badly damaged. Although the Japanese were desperate to capture Port Moresby and drive all Allied forces off New Guinea, their invasion force had turned tail after the carrier battle on 8 May and scuttled back to its base at Rabaul. The Japanese never came by sea again to attack Port Moresby.
We also could not appreciate at the time that Coral Sea had put two of Japan's best carriers, Shokaku and Zuikaku, out of action. They would not be able to take part in the great naval battle at Midway that changed the course of the Pacific War. If either or both of those powerful carriers had been at Midway, they might well have changed the course of the battle.
At 1600 hours on 11 May, Minneapolis, New Orleans, and a few destroyers departed us to fuel in Noumea and then steam north to join Task Force 16. Our Task Force 17 was now headed for Tongatapu to fuel and transfer Lexington people to transports.
At 0930 on 15 May, one week after the battle, our Task Force I7 arrived at Nukualofa, Tongatapu . The Lexington people were transferred to the USAT Barnett, the Army transport ship that would take them to the US.
On 19 May, Task Force 17 departed for Pearl Harbor, and arrived there with Yorktown on 27 May 1942.