Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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The Canopus

items 17 of 26 items
  • wcu_ww2-928.jp2
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  • dived out of the sun on the boats returning from their deadly work. One was shot down by Gunner's Mate Kramb, who died at his machine gun while pouring bullets into the attacking plane, but a salvo of bombs crashed all around the leading boat, blowing a hole in it's bottom. Goodall was badly wounded in both feet, but ordered the. beaching of the little boats to save the lives of the men still unhurt. Three men had been killed, and four others wounded by the attack, but the survivors improvised crude stretchers for the wounded men, and laboriously cut their way through the jungle to the road. There a friendly truck driver gave them a lift back to the Canopus and medical care. The Naval Battalion had served its purpose, and their work in Bataan was done. Light naval guns were now being mounted along the coast, and machine gun nests established by the Army in order to make further landing attempts by the Japs extremely difficult. However, the beaches of Corregidor and the other fortified islands were long, vulnerable, and only lightly guarded. There were indications that the Jap forces near Manila were preparing for landing operations, so the Naval Battalion soon left us to join the 4th Marines Regiment defending those beaches. Goodall being out of action for the duration, our Engineer Officer, Lieutenant Welch, stepped into his place. The Canopus contingent was officially detached and incorporated into the Fourth Marines Regiment, but left behind them horrible threats describing what they would do if the Canopus should try to leave without them. They swore that the big guns. they xi/ere about to man would, be kept trained constantly on the channel leading out of the harbor, ready to blow the Canopus out of the water at the first sign of a treacherous attempt to abandon them. Of course they knew that situation was just about out of the question, and that any man in either group would gladly give us his own place if fate should give-his shipmates a chance to "make a dash for it".
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).