USS Ben Franklin
The ship that we stood on the banks to honor.
USS. Franklin showing extent of fires after being hit by a single Japanese dive bomber on March 19, 1945.
The bomber dropped two armor-piercing bombs, devastating hanger deck and setting off ammunition. Casualties totaled 724 and wounded 265.
Plated over positions below the island are removed 40mm gun mounts to allow her passage through the Panama Canal.
The Franklin departed Puget Sound Navy Yard 2 February 1945 after repair work and after training exercises and pilot qualification joined TG 58.2 for strikes on the Japanese homeland in support of the Okinawa landings. On 15 March she rendezvoused with TF 58 units and 3 days later launched sweeps and strikes against Kagoshima and Izumi on southern Kyushu.
Before dawn on 19 March 1945 Franklin who had maneuvered closer to the Japanese mainland than had any other U.S. carrier during the war, launched a fighter sweep against Honshu and later a strike against shipping in Kobe Harbor. Suddenly, a single enemy plane pierced the cloud cover and made a low level run on the gallant ship to drop two semi-armor piercing bombs. One struck the flight deck centerline, penetrating to the hangar deck, effecting destruction and igniting fires through the second and third decks, and knocking out the combat information center and airplot. The second hit aft, tearing through two decks and fanning fires which triggered ammunition, bombs and rockets. Franklin, within 50 miles of the Japanese mainland, lay dead in the water, took a 13° starboard list, lost all radio communications, and broiled under the heat from enveloping fires. Many of the crew were blown overboard, driven off by fire, killed or wounded, but the 106 officers and 604 enlisted who voluntarily remained saved their ship through sheer valor and tenacity. The casualties totaled 724 killed and 265 wounded, and would have far exceeded this number except for the heroic work of many survivors. Among these were Medal of Honor winners, Lieutenant Commander Joseph T. O'Callahan, S. J., USNR, the ship's chaplain, who administered the last rites organized and directed firefighting and rescue parties and led men below to wet down magazines that threatened to explode, and Lieutenant (junior grade) Donald Gary who discovered 300 men trapped in a blackened mess compartment, and finding an exit returned repeatedly to lead groups to safety. Santa Fe (CL-60) similarly rendered vital assistance in rescuing crewmen from the sea and closing Franklin to take off the numerous wounded.
Franklin was taken in tow by Pittsburgh until she managed to churn up speed to 14 knots and proceed to Pearl Harbor where a cleanup job permitted her to sail under her own power to Brooklyn, N.Y., arriving on 28 April. Following the end of the war, Franklin was opened to the public for Navy Day celebrations and on 17 February 1947 was placed out of commission at Bayonne, N.J. On 15 May 1969 she was reclassified AVT 8.
Franklin received four battle stars for World War II service.
From: http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/franklin.html
"The Ben Franklin came through the Panama Canal about April 17,1945. Five days prior to reaching the Panama Canal, on April 12, the crew learned that the nation's President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had passed away. The grade school children in the town of Gamboa were marched to the banks of the Canal near the Gamboa bridge. Miss Starr, the Principal of our school, in a quiet voice said we would be seeing history on this day. We all stood silently watching this valiant ship as she came up Culebra Cut. We were told that the ship had many bodies trapped in the compartments. Among the living crew members, who were taking the ship back to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, were a Lieutenant Commander Joseph T. O'Callahan, S. J., USNR, the ship's Chaplain, who administered last rites while also directing firefighting and rescue parties and who led men below to wet down magazines that threatened to explode, and Lt. (jg) Donald Gary who discovered 300 men trapped in a charred mess hall and made several trips below to lead them to safety.
.The ship listed to one side and was still smoking. Our fire engines stood by the canal in case of fire and a blimp followed overhead. It was something that we who stood there will never forget."
Doris
Hymn to the Sea MIDI
www.fromtheheartpostcards.com/MidiPreview.html
