Herb Morrow of Carlisle served in World War II aboard the USS Birmingham.
Herb Morrow was there when the suicide plane plowed into the starboard bow just 30 feet from his battle station.
It was around 8:40 a.m. on May 4, 1945, and the light cruiser Birmingham was among the U.S. Navy ships trying to fend off a mass kamikaze attack off the coast of Okinawa.
A Loysville native, Morrow lugged shells from the magazine hoist to the breeches inside a five-inch gun mount. He and a crewmate had just left the turret to take a breather when they spotted the Japanese aircraft target the ship in a near vertical dive.
The plane hit just as the two men ducked back into the gun mount to take cover. The impact carried the plane through three decks before its bomb exploded, wiping out the sick bay, according to a ship history posted on www.history.navy.mil.
The blast blew out a five-foot hole below the waterline, which flooded the armory, four living compartments and three ammunition magazines
“It was a good amount of damage,” Morrow recalled. “Our bow was underwater. It caused a lot of problems.”
Though the Birmingham survived the attack, the damage forced the cruiser to withdraw to Guam where the ship entered dry dock on May 13. There, repairmen patched the hull and drained the seawater from the compartments. In the process, they recovered additional bodies bringing the death toll to 52 along with 82 men wounded.
Morrow knew some of the dead in passing, not anyone real close. “There were about 1,500 people on that ship,” he said. “You didn’t know them all.”
The Birmingham departed Guam on May 21 and arrived at Pearl Harbor a week later. There, she was moved into the Navy yard on June 7 for six weeks of repairs and alterations. The ship was in the process of rejoining the main fleet when the atom bombs were dropped and Japan surrendered.
The cruiser became the flagship of an admiral deployed to Australia to arrange transportation for American servicemen returning stateside from the Pacific War.
“When I got discharged in 1946, I went home and got hooked up with my lady friend,” Morrow said. “My brother was married to her sister. We came to know each other through that.”
Within three weeks of his homecoming, the couple were married and they were together about 40 years until she died of cancer.
In civilian life, Morrow was big into bowling. He used to manage the lanes at Carlisle Barracks and own the Newville Bowling Center before it was sold.
Herb Morrow
Q&A with Herb Morrow
Place of Residence:
- South Middleton Township
Service Branch:
- Navy, World War II veteran, bakers helper and ammunition handler onboard the light cruiser U.S.S. Birmingham in the Pacific Ocean
Length of Service:
- two years, from 1944 to 1946
What was the toughest challenge that you faced while in the service?
“It was always dangerous. We were out there fighting the Japanese on Okinawa and Iwo Jima. There were fighter planes and suicide bombers.”
What did you like best about being in the military?
“Learning different things about life. … It was a big experience. When you’re 17, you’re anxious to do this and that. In the two years, I learned more than I probably did before. I learned how to get along with people. I learned how to know people. And you had that beautiful ocean. It was just something different. I’m glad that I had that experience, but I wouldn’t want to go back and do it again.”
What was your proudest achievement in the military?
“I enlisted because there was a war going on. I wanted to be part of it. I was not there for awards. I was in there to help win the war.”
Is there something you would like the public to know about being in the military?
What would you say to someone who is looking to join the military?
“Most of the people back in World War II wanted to go because we were fighting for our freedom. Everybody was willing to go. It was not about winning glory or medals or anything. We didn’t think that. We were about attacking the Japanese and winning the war. That’s all we thought about.”
Email Joseph Cress at jcress@cumberlink.com.
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
September 23, 2020 at 08:00PM
https://ift.tt/303pjab
Inspire Stories of Honor: Herb Morrow - World War II veteran witnessed kamikaze attack - Carlisle Sentinel
https://ift.tt/3eCf9lu
Herb
No comments:
Post a Comment