Newspapers / Carteret County News-Times (Morehead … / March 21, 1958, edition 1 / Page 13
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Neal Willis Recalls Day When Tprpedo Passed Him Neal Willis, Beaufort, one of the county'! amateur radio operators aqd former Navy man, reached back to the days of World War II the other day and recalled Ms personal experience when the de stroyer, William D. Porter, fired a torpedo, by mistake, at the battleship Iowa. Aboard the Iowa was President Franklin D. Roosevelt and other high-ranking officers. "Firing of an armed torpedo at the USS Iowa stands out vary vividly in my mind, because I was there, and I'll never forget it," Mr. Willis says. He continues: I was a Chief Radioman at the time serving aboard the USS Cogs well which, along with the USS Porter, was escorting the Iowa to Its destination, at that time top aecret. R waa standard practice aboard deatroyera to make almulated tor pedo rum 011 accompanying ships and that la what we were doing on this date. The Porter trained its torpedo tubes oe the Iowa and went through the procedure (or launch ing torpedoes, but something went wrong tad armed torpedoes were actually launched and were on their way at aixty miles par hour headed directly at the Iowa. Of course all heck broke loose and everybody started oa the ra dio at oae time, and since my ship waa slightly ahead but be tween the battleahip and the d? Porter Survivors Recall Incident at Miami Reunion Miami, Fl*.. Mirch 15 (AP) One of tlx most embarrassing ex perience* ot World War II wai re called here today at a reunion of survivors of the destroyer William D. Porter. By accident, they fired a torpedo at the battleship Iowa when it was taking the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Teheran con ference with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin in 1943. "At that time, the Navy didn't say anything about it," recalled H. Seward Lewis, 43, of Miami. Porter Sunk "I think the first time the story was released was when the Por ter was sunk in the Pacific by a Japanese suicide plane. And there was only a bare mention of it then. "No one was exactly proud of it." Lewis was a lieutenant aboard the Porter. At the time of the tor pedo-firing mistake, which almost made history, he was serving as officer of the deck. "President Roosevelt: Adm. Er nest King, the chief of naval op erations; and 1 don't know how many other VIPs were on the Iowa going to Teheran," he re lated. "The Porter was one of She ships in the destroyer screen. "Just as we were approaching Gibraltar, the Iowa started some training exercises, firing at bal loons and stuff, and all of the de stroyers were taking part. Iowa Target "We were using the Iowa as a target for a simulated torpedo at tack. The skipper ordered, 'Fire one, fire two, fire three.' When we fired No. 3 a fully-armed tor pedo shot right toward the No. 2 magazine of the Iowa. "Someone had forgotten to dis arm No. 3. When tM switch was closed on that one, it went. "I saw it going from the bridge. Nrwi from y ^ SOUTH RIVER fir's March 19? Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Eubanks of Bridgeton visited their mothers, Mrs. Mary Tosto and Mrs. Ruth Kubaaks, Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. Rone Wallace Jr. and daughter spent the weekend with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Joe Blake of Beau fort RFD visited her mother, Mrs. Ruth Eubanks Sunday. Mr. George W. Wallace was the overnight guest of Edward Cannon Saturday night. Mrs. C. O. Dawson and boys visited Mrs. Caritu Hardy Sun day afternoon. Mr. and Mrt. Joseph Willis and Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Guthrie of Morebead City was the afternoon guest of Mrs. Mary Willis Satur day. Chief Harry Hardy and family of Beaufort visited his parents, Mr. and Mrs. B. 0. Hardy, Friday night. Mr. and Mr*. Jackson Edwani* Jr. of Merrimoo visited Mr. and Mrs. Carl Edwards Sunday after Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Taylor of Atlantic visited Mr. and Mrs. Gas ton Hill Friday afternoon. Miss Marsha Hill was the din ner guest at Miss Betty Norman Sunday. Mr. William Cannon ami Miss Nancy Pitt* an Waited Mr. and Mrs. Doris Norman Friday night. Mr. and Mrs. James Dixon and children of Harkers Island spent the weekend with hi* parents, Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Dixon. Mrs. Ernest Courtney and her mother-in-law of Russell* Creek visited in the community Monday. Mrs. Dick Carraway and girl* of Merrlmon visited Mrs. Gaston Hill Monday. 'Hot Air* Heats Stat* Building in Maryland Baltimore (AP)? Before a rec ommendation that Maryland coal be used to heat state offices when economically feasible the Legis lative Council's finance committee discussed other fuels. "What do we use for heating the Statebouse?" asked one commit tee member. "Hot air," snapped Chairman Boone (D-Balta Canty). I ran up the fiagi tailing the Iowa a torpedo was coming at her port side. Actually, it wai the (lar board side, but I was excited. "We gave the danger signal of {our short blasts on the wMstle, and I was screaming into the ra dio: 'Lion, Uon, lion eode name of the Iowa, come right, come hard right!' "The big old thing finally lum bered around out of the way and the torpedo exploded when it hit the wake about 10 yards behind the ship. Air Blue "When everybody finally real ized what had happened, the lan guage from the Iowa and from the destroyer division commander wasn't fit to print. "Our whole ship was put under arrest? the only time I ever beard of that happening in the Navy? and we were ordered back to Nas sau." However, an investigating board found no evidence of sabotage, Lewis said, and all that happened was that "some of the officers re ceived letters of reprimand." The Porter went into action in the Pacific soon afterwards and later was sunk by a Japanese sui cide plane. Her history was writ ten after she went down but the torpedo incident wasn't mentioned. "No one was exactly proud of it," Lewis said. atroyer launching the torpedo, the skipper of my (hip, Capt. Deilter tnann, Immediately changed course to put us into an intercept poai Uon so that w? would be hit in stead of the Iowa. I waa in main radio at the time, thia being located Just below the navigation bridge. When I heard the alarm on the radio and felt the ship change course and speed, I stepped outside of the radio room and looked in the direction of the Porter, and to my horror watched the white streak of the torpedo's wake come tearing di rectly at the spot where 1 was standing. I was paralysed and couldnt move, It happened so fast and be sides there was no place to hide. I knew that if that fish hit us we would all be blown to kingdom come. I think right then that I said a very quick and brief prayer and watched that torpedo pass under the ship and disappear into the distance. Thank God, the depth control was set too deep to hit us. I went through six years of war and saw action in the North At lantic, the South Atlantic, the Ca ribbean and the Pacific and had many narrow escapes, but I'm telling you that's the most terrify ing experience I ever had. It's bad enough when you don't knew when or where you're going to get It, but when you stand and watch six hundred pounds of Death com ing at you at sixty miles an hour and no place to run. It's really rough. Dayton Police Chief Opposed to Women Copt Oayton, Ohio (AP)? Women traf fic cops "wouldn't be worth more than a nickel for anything other than checking parking meters," says Dayton Police Chief Paul Prices. Prices says he is opposed to the use by some cities of petti coat ticket writers. "Policemen who do traffic work," Chief Prices says, "perform many other functions. Sometimes they are called upon to break up fights." Strong Thieves Johnson City, Tenn. (AP)? Police had one clue to the burglars who broke into O. G. Kelly Co. her* ? they had muacles. The loot con sisted of 7V* tons of lead, in 100 pound bars. OLD HICKORY SIX YEARS OLD straight BOURBON whisky 2t5 rare 085 ^J4/5Qt r ? M proof, ou hickoot mnuEM commit, mumeuim. ml SPECIAL "Super-Right" Carnad'or Ro?*t BEEF 3 12-0*. Cans $1-00 SPECIAL! Jesse Jewell, Frozen FRYIR (ST6CK YOUR BREASTS 59 SPECIAL! Allfood Brand "S?per-*J?htM Hmvt Grain IM Beef Sliced Bacon *? 49c Chuck Mads Roasts ^ 49c ?PKUL! p? p?t _ _ _ _ Sausage ? 45c ? 89c Pot Roast 75c ^SPECIAL! "Sup?r-Right" Standing 7" Cilt? Rib (Bologna H. 49c Roasts# 95c T 85c 10c OFF LABEL? Ann Pog* Strawberry Preserves ?59? Mldovi Wfcoi Serrtsd - mm fish ? Omu Spray CranWrry Sauce a?' 23c SPECIAL LOW PRICE! Flake Stylo Sultana Tuna 2^ 39c SPECIAL LOW PRICE! A&P Fmh Prune Plums % 25e SPECIAL LOW PRICE! Fancy A&P Pineapple Juice - 25? Special Low Mm! 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Carteret County News-Times (Morehead City, N.C.)
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March 21, 1958, edition 1
13
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