When the Japanese planes left, James Hamlin returned to his ship, the USS California to help fight fires and keep her afloat, but it sank. However, the main deck and superstructure were above water. he worked until almost midnight salvaging equipment and gear.
At one time that night, he fell off the gangway into the water. An officer ordered him to go ashore and get some sleep.
He told me, though, that wherever I went I should be whistling and singing because the military personnel there were shooting anything that moved. Hamlin continued, "I don't remember what I sang but I remember I said, 'Please don't shoot me' at the end of every verse."
Needless To Say, They Were Expecting a Land Attack As Well. --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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