They started throwing everything overboard, including gasoline. To fire up the generator to send out an S.O.S. signal, they collected fluid from cigarette lighters.
He remembers that the crew would play music to pass the time and he put his Sons of the Pioneers songbooks into a waterproof plastic bag and went topside where he had some cocktails. Upon jumping into the freezing water, he swam to a lifeboat, where once aboard, he sang "Cool Water" (by the Sons of the Pioneers) to entertain the other shivering sailors.
"The cocktails helped a lot but was wearing off fast."
Some of the sailors were hanging onto the outside of the lifeboat and gradually began slipping under the water. The bow of the Borie crashed into his lifeboat, tossing Mr. Kent into that cold water again.
Eventually he was brought out of the sea by another boat where a doctor restimulated blood circulation in his legs.
Quite the Ordeal. Like I Said, "The Greatest Generation." --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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