Tony Judkins went into the air from the explosion and came down on the deck, suffering painful but minor injuries. John Murphy was blown off into the water where he found some floating debris and clung onto it with another man who died later.
John Murphy had his shoes on and was considering kicking them off, but was glad he kept them as they were useful in kicking off sharks. He still had those shoes when he died.
Rescuers arrived on the scene (unlike in the case of the USS Indianapolis) and were about to give up looking for survivors in the water, but Judkins insisted that his buddy John was still alive out there. On their last try, 24-hours later, they found John floating a mile away. he was alive, but had suffered a broken back which troubled him for the rest of his life.
The ship captain and second in command had been killed in the wheelhouse during the explosion.
Tony Judkins then was transferred to an aircraft carrier and his buddy John was transferred back to the U.S.. His war was over.
This story related to James Murphy by John Murphy.
Just One of Those World War II Stories. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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