"I wasn't hurt, although I guess I might have been out momentarily. Then men came running and said, 'Boy, oh boy, you did a pop!' I hollered at them, 'Get a hose and let's put these fires out.'"
His primary concern was the whereabouts of his younger brother Virgil, who also was aboard the Tennessee. He later found out that he had gone over to the USS West Virginia to make plans with a high school friend. "I couldn't find him for the longest time. I finally saw him coming across the gangway back to the Tennessee as the West Virginia was starting to go over."
Mr. Hengl got married in 1940 and he and his wife had a secret code so she would know from his letters where he was because of security censorship.
He ended up serving on the USS Tennessee for the duration of the war. Latter he served on the USS Commencement Bay, USS Philippine Sea, USS Essex, USS Shangri-La and the USS Coral Sea before his retirement.
--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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