BY JOE CHANDLER
It was 10 o'clock Saturday morning - one hour prior to the scheduled start of Saturday's Virgilina SummerFest Parade.
Virgilina fire chief Ralph Murray was perched in a tractor cab watching as heavy rain poured from the heavily overcast skies.
Once in awhile a roll of thunder would be heard. Then, there would be a quick flash of lightning.
A very important decision had to be made - whether or not to go ahead with the annual Virgilina SummerFest Parade and celebration.
"I really didn't know what to think," Murray said yesterday.
"But, I said, I was going to wait awhile and see."
While Murray continued to sit and the heavy rain continued to pour, the voice of a fellow Virgilina fireman piped up on the radio.
"Somebody called me and said they had gotten in the internet and had looked at the Doppler radar," explained Murray.
"He said if we could hold on for a little while longer, we could get it in. So, we waited and it quit raining."
The result - another successful SummerFest - a SummerFest as financially successful as any of its predecessors.
"I want to thank all of the sponsors, all of the firemen and their families, all of the people in the community who volunteered their help and or made donations to us, all of the vendors, the parade participants, the performers, all of the visitors, and all of the people that came out despite the rain and bad weather to support and help us," Murray said.
"It was a huge success. Without the help and support of all of these folks, we couldn't do it. We thank everybody involved and we want to let everybody know how much we appreciate their help and support."
As the rain poured down, a crowd of about 100 or 150 people that had gathered at the Virgilina fire station watched as the South Central Line Dancers staged their scheduled show.
A short time later, as the rain subsided to a very light sprinkle and stopped, as if on cue, they and other folks that had taken shelter at other businesses along the the main thoroughfare of the southern Halifax County community began to trickle out onto the street. People that had been sitting in cars parked nearby then began coming out and, soon, the street began to fill with people.
By the time the parade started there were approximately 1,000 to 1,500 people lining the parade route to view the start of the annual Memorial Day weekend celebration.
And, with the rain holding off the rest of the day and evening, a crowd of about 1,000 or so people came out for Saturday evening's Street Dance and enjoyed the music of the New Country band which performed for the event.
Although few people would have thought it, when the event was over, the Virgilina Volunteer Fire Department emerged as well off financially as it has in many previous years.
"We came out as well as we've ever come out money wise," Murray said yesterday.
"Some of the vendors were down but that was because of the weather. That was something that couldn't be helped. There is no doubt that the weather hurt us in terms of the size of the crowds we had. But, money wise, we did as well as we've ever done. I think we had excellent crowds considering the weather. I really believe we would have had the largest crowd we'd ever had if the weather had been good."
While the weather put a big dent in the number of people that attended Saturday's 16th Annual Virgilina SummerFest, you wouldn't have known it when it came down to the food tally.
Murray said that the Virgilina firemen made and sold "at least 200 gallons" of their famed prize winning Brunswick Stew, selling out all of their supply.
"The stew went away like wildfire," Murray said.
"It was all gone by 1:30 p.m."
Also, the firemen sold out all of its barbecue pork and chicken dinners. Murray said that amounted to "a good 500 plates" of the delicious fire department prepared dinner meal.
"It might have been a small crowd but it sure was an eating crowd," Murray remarked.
The round of morning thunderstorms and rain resulted in a small handful of people dropping out of the SummerFest Parade. Among them were the Halifax County High School band and the Halifax County High School JROTC and handful of people that had brought horses.
Because of the overcast skies and threat of bad weather, the Duke University Medical Center Life Flight emergency medical helicopter also did not make it to the celebration.
Murray said that he spoke with representatives of those three entities and that he understood their respective reasons for pulling out.
"With the weather the way it was, I certainly understand their not participating," Murray said.
"I very much appreciate the people from the high school coming out and making the effort. And, I appreciate the interest of the people at Duke."
As it was, the SummerFest Parade had a good number of participants with "Gomer Pyle" impersonator Bruce Wayne Newnam and his look alike Mayberry police car being a big hit.
Not only did "Gomer" take an active role in the parade, stopping often to climb out of the car and greet visitors with his jolly "Golly!" and "Shazam,"
he made numerous rounds up and down the street after the parade signing autographs and visiting with old and young alike.
Taking the prize for the top float in the parade was the "YMCA Village People" float. The South Boston Fire Department's fire safety "smokehouse" float earned second place honors.
With there being no band in the parade, the trophy award for the band was presented to the House of Prayer of Clarksville whose parade entry was a float featuring several singers from its congregation.
There were several prize drawings conducted as part of the SummerFest. Nadine Carroll of Oxford, N.C. won the $500 grand prize. Diane Ellixson of Southport, N.C. won the $250 prize and Brad Rice of Virgilina won the $100 prize.
In the door prize drawings, Phyllis Hudson of Virgilina won the handmade quilt that was given away and Chris Kittrell of Virgilina won the baby quilt that was offered as a prize.
James Wilkerson of Virgilina won a flashlight, Vicky Cole of Virgilina won a country ham, and Kristi Page-Richie of Danville won a decorative vase.
Allen Rice of Atlanta, Ga. won a stereo radio. However, because Rice had donated the prize to the fire department, he turned the prize back over to the fire department and the fire department auctioned it off.
Editor's Note: The following is an eyewitness account of the Battle of Midway written by John E. Greenbacker Sr. of Halifax who served aboard the USS Yorktown. Last week, a National Geographic expedition found the sunken carrier which lies three miles deep in the Pacific Ocean.
By JOHN GREENBACKER SR.
In June 1942, I was at the point of completing two years of duty in USS YORKTOWN (CV-5), the "Mighty Y." ( If there had to be a "Big E" we necessarily were forced to counter it with the "Mighty Y"). I had just been promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade) under the new accelerated promotion plans. My job during this second year on board was that of ship's secretary and custodian of all classified and registered publications.
I was assigned to the communications department, but, because of special consideration stood officer-of-the-deck watches rather than communication watches. This unusual arrangement somehow resulted in my being the general quarters officer-of-the-deck and on battle days I found myself on the bridge from dawn until dark.
To understand the attitude and morale of the ship's company of YORKTOWN as we approached Midway, it is necessary to begin with the Battle of the Coral Sea. We considered ourselves a great success in that action. Our planes had performed well and our gunnery had been outstanding, having been credited with fourteen Japanese aircraft. Perhaps unfairly, we prided ourselves on having performed incomparably better than the ill-fated LEXINGTON. Morale was high as a result and further enhanced by the unique leadership characteristics of our Executive Officer, Commander Dixie Kiefer. The long months the ship had spent in the South Pacific had welded the ship and the air group into a single unit. Indeed the same air group had spent almost all of its time on board during the past year and had shared with us the months of convoy duty in the Atlantic prior to shifting to the Pacific after Pearl Harbor. In retrospect, my recollection of those months in the South Pacific reveals that we fully enjoyed the ignorance and naivete of youth. They seemed carefree days to us, utterly without realization that our situation was close to being desperate, that we were a long thin, over-extended line, badly outnumbered. I am sure that the real situation was apparent to the senior officers, but certainly no anxiety plagued us junior officers.
After the battle of Coral Sea the quick trip back and the hasty and partial repairs to our battle damage inflicted in that battle impressed upon everyone the unmistakable signs of preparation for further action. All knew that after this next operation the ship was scheduled for a long period in the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington, where the ship would not only be given the overhaul it had successively missed during the preceding year, but would be fitted out with new guns and new radars.
As ship's secretary one of my jobs was to pick up and route officer messenger mail and so I was the first to receive the operation order for what was to be the Battle of Midway. The intelligence was most impressive; the entire Japanese plan was described in detail. My recollection is that in spite of the massiveness of the Japanese effort I had no real sense of the precariousness and the thinness of our own forces.
I also received many mail sacks of classified registered publications, mostly aircraft contact codes. This part of my duties had 80 increased, as codes were changed with greater frequency, that I despaired of ever keeping up with them. The possibility that this particular problem might be automatically solved for me never crossed my mind.
The YORKTOWN's Commanding Officer, Captain Elliott Buckmaster, was to be relieved immediately after the next operation and in the ante room of his cabin area was piled a great amount of his personal gear, crated and ready to be moved. It was more than the normal amount a senior officer would carry on board because when he came to YORKTOWN, Captain Buckmaster moved directly from his quarters on Ford Island to the YORKTOWN, while moving his family into Honolulu. As a result it was convenient to bring to the ship much more than he would have ordinarily. Included were the personal documents and mementoes of a life time in the Navy. Knowing the seriousness of the forthcoming battle the Executive Officer; Commander Kiefer, pleaded with the Captain to move his belongings ashore for safekeeping. But no, the Captain said, he hated to violate the old rule that you should never get separated from your gear. Suppose we did not come back to Pearl Harbor, but proceeded directly to Bremerton? In that case he might never be able to reclaim his belongings. And so they remained on board.
The battle day, the 4th of June, proceeded entirely according to the scenario which had been 80 thoroughly laid out in the operation order. This accuracy of our intelligence gave me, and perhaps others a sense of confidence which probably we should not have had. I recall during the day mentioning the excellence of this intelligence to the Captain. His reply was, "Don't even talk about it."
But inevitably the Japanese found us in the afternoon and by the time they did their attack had the determination and the recklessness of desperation. It was a completely clear day and we could easily see the dive bombing attack coming in at high altitude. It was well countered by our fighters. Looking at the battle in the distance it appeared that the burning plans were falling like leaves; so many were going down it seemed to me that surely none would get through. But some did. Eight. Not very many, but how different were these eight from the many dive bombers who attacked us in the Coral Sea. Lieutenant Commander Earnest Davis, the Gunnery Officer, whose superb training techniques and leadership made the YORKTOWN the number one AA gunnery ship in the war at that point thought that his shooting was not so good that day as a month earlier. This may have been so, but it was a different opponent we faced this time. Eight got through to make their dive; of the eight only five were able to drop their bombs, and of this five one was so badly hit that the aircraft tumbled and the bomb when it came loose also tumbled. But it still hit. Of the five bombs dropped, three were hits. Perhaps the Japanese were lucky that day in their dive bombing as they had been unlucky in the Coral Sea, but I have always felt that by the afternoon of June 4th those pilots knew that they would never return to Japan.
The bomb that tumbled, unlike the others, exploded on contact with the flight deck creating a large hole in it and ripping to pieces the crews of our 1.1" machine gun mounts at the after end of the island. One bomb penetrated to a rag locker underneath the forward elevator which, as far as I know, was still burning when the ship sank, in spite of our fire-fighting efforts.
It was the third bomb which caused the problem. Entering the stack It tore up the uptakes and caused stack gases to be sucked Into the fire rooms instead of fresh air. It finally exploded in the Executive Officer's office, completely destroying all of the personnel records. The ship slowed to a stop with heavy black smoke pouring from the stacks. We all waited with that helpless feeling knowing that we were a sitting target. The whole attack seemed to have taken but an instant, so unlike the prolonged assaults of Coral Sea; here it seemed we twisted and turned endlessly.
The Executive Officer came forward, superficially wounded as a result of having opened the door of the after conning station In order to see what was going on. He reported briefly to the Captain that the situation was quite grim, being particularly impressed with the large hole In the flight deck and the gory mess around the 1.1 mounts.
Actually the flight deck hole was rather rapidly mended by covering it with long metal planks carried expressly for the purpose. But It was the damaged uptakes that took the time. Finally the engine room reported being able to commence building up speed. It was a slow but cheering process, which unfortunately was interrupted at the 20 knot point by the approach on our port beam of another small, but desperate attack group. This time torpedo planes. In they came through the furlough crescendo of AA fire from both our own guns and those of the support ships. They seemed to keep coming in, miraculously untouched. Their determination was impressive (and frightening), but equally impressive was the performance of our fighter aircraft which were barely able to take off at this speed, most of them unrefueled. They courageously banked sharply to the left immediately upon being airborne and flew directly down our own line of fire making head on passes against the incoming torpedo planes.
In spite of this effort, the Jap torpedo planes came on relentlessly. When the one that hit us dropped his torpedo it was obvious that he was so close there was nothing he could do at our speed to avoid. He continued close aboard, across our bow. What became of that aircraft we never learned, because our attention was diverted by the column of water and the great heave of the decks as we took our hit slightly forward of amidships. The ship again slowed and immediately started to heel to port. Japanese torpedoes packed a terrible punch.
The hit could not have been better placed. It struck and put out of action the forward electrical distribution board and so tangled up our electrical system that the after board could not keep the circuit breakers closed. The ship was now without any electrical power. In those days there were no emergency power cables or emergency diesel generators, that we had later in the war. As a result the ship was unable to help itself by any immediate action. It quickly listed to port to about 20 degrees. Further list accumulated at a slower role but from the clinometer on the bridge it was apparent it was still slowly increasing. First 22°, then 23°, finally very slowly to 26°, where it hung. We could not be sure that it had gone as far as it would go. Up on the bridge, out in the open, there was no sense of panic. What our feeling would have been, had we been below, I can't say, but I am sure they would have been different.
In this silence the First Lieutenant, Commander C. E. Aldrich, finally made his way to the bridge and with impressive calm pointed out to the Captain that there was simply nothing he could do to take the list off the ship. It did not occur to me at the time (nor did the Captain ask), but in retrospect it would seem that an important question would have been to ask how much reserve stability we had left. In other words, would the ship stay at this or was it likely to capsize. Of course, even this would be subject to doubt because we could never tell when a weakened bulkhead or deck might give way. The Captain paced up and down the starboard catwalk in agony for several minutes, saying he hated to give the order to abandon ship. He talked on in this vein for a moment as we all gaped at him mutely and finally said there was nothing else to do, we must abandon ship. And so the order was spread by word of mouth and sound powered telephones throughout the ship.
Captain Buckmaster not only hated to order abandon ship but he also disliked to practice at it. The ship had never had an abandon ship drill since the war started and very little instruction in abandon ship procedures had been given. The Captain felt that abandon ship drills would be destructive of morale and confidence. We did have some improvements in equipment, such as life rafts with provisions and knotted abandon ship lines on the sides. But our organization for this evolution had not yet changed and some of the people only remembered their old assignments an the watch, quarter and station bill. My room-mate, Lieutenant (junior grade) SNYDER, for example, and Chaplain Hamilton found themselves waiting in one of our stacked motor launches impatiently wondering where was the crane operator. Meanwhile everybody else was going over the side and it was some minutes before the two realized that there would be no crane operator because there was no power.
Very few knew how to abandon ship with our new equipment. Many suffered severe rope burns as they slid down ropes; others attempted to slide down knotted ropes and had the ties of their life jackets ripped off. Some life rafts were launched still bundled together; so that they ended up in a pile in the water with only one usable. No one had been instructed in how to use these rafts and it was not realized by most that only the wounded are supposed to get in them, the others to attach themselves to the lines which are provided for this purpose. As a result in many cases they crowded aboard the rafting tight clusters whereupon the rafts immediately sank, so that the ocean was dotted with little islands of tightly packed men up in the water. It was an odd sight. They reminded me of pond lilies floating in an immense pool.
More seriously, we failed to secure or destroy most of our cryptographic publications and coding equipment. As far as I know, only the signal bridge carried out the proper procedure of throwing their publications overboard. I, as officer-of-the-deck, was similarly required to throw the tactical and signal publications overboard and for this purpose the books were provided with lead covers. There was no sense of panic; I simply did not think about it, probably because we had never drilled at it. Below in the coding room, the response was quite different from what it had been in the Coral Sea action, where through apprehension, if not panic, the coding officers decided the ship was in serious difficultly and immediately returned everything to the safe and then locked the safes. This time they did none of this. Coding machines, code lists, code books and secret message files were all left untouched and the safe was left open. Had the Japanese managed to take physical possession of the ship during that night when only one destroyer guarded it, the security of the Navy's communications would indeed have been in catastrophic difficulties.
In due course we abandoned the bridge and I made my way down to the flight deck. There, in scouting out the situation I came upon a leather flight jacket inscribed with the name D. T. MACONBER, one of the pilots of Fighting Squadron 42. Inside I noted a packet which might have been life insurance policies. Having always wanted such a jacket and thinking that it might come in handy under the circumstances I picked it up and put it over my shoulder.
I was joined at this point by my boss, Lieutenant Commander Ray, the Communications Officer. After discussing with him the relative merits of going over the side from lines which extended from the high side of the flight deck as opposed to taking the ordinary ladder below to the hangar deck, I finally won the argument that it would be more prudent to go over the side from the lower level, even though it meant going down ladders through the interior of the ship. We reached the hangar without incident and proceeded to the quarterdeck area. Most of the ship's company seemed to have left the ship by this time. There was a small group gathered at the quarterdeck, mostly officers, looking rather dubiously at the water below and at the streaks of oil which covered it. We were more deliberate and calm than we might have been otherwise, but there were many destroyers close at hand picking up personnel and our experience gave us the comforting idea that the carriers were always the target and the destroyers were never hit. This gave us confidence that there would always be destroyers about to pick us out of the waters should something happen to the carrier. This was a confidence which in two days was going to be severely shaken for some of us.
Finally, Commander Aldrich, the First Lieutenant, managed to procure a life raft from one of the spare aircraft which were carried in the overhead of the hangar deck. He inflated it and threw it overboard, then lowered himself into it without getting wet. Agreeing that this was a fine idea, I climbed up into the storage area and found one for myself. However, before I could get into mine several other people boarded it and proceeded to paddle off. I was left to catch up with them the best I could, getting fully wet in the process.
I approached the actual debarkation with some trepidation because I was not sure my kapok life jacket would support both me and all the gear I was carrying.
I still had on my helmet liner although I had disposed of the helmet itself. My pistol was still belted on and around my neck still hung the officer-of-the-deck's binoculars. In addition LTJG Maconber's jacket was over my shoulder. I was agreeably surprised to find that the kapok jacket held me quite high in the water even with all these encumbrances. Unwilling to part with my shoes, I did not leave them behind with the hundreds of others along the deck edge but instead tied them to the life jacket. Actually, I should have left them on, but at least I had mine when the decks of the destroyer became too hot during the day and too cold at night.
Reaching the raft, I placed my gun, the binoculars and the jacket in it and proceeded to help push in the direction of the nearest destroyer. While enroute another air raid alert was sounded. The destroyer hoisted the emergency flag hoist signal and commenced sounding the general alarm, which in those days was a raucous buzzer. Its motor whale boat, which had been about to take us in tow was urgently recalled to the ship. Yielding to panic, as the result of having heard of the unpleasant things which can happen to you when bombs go off in the water nearby, I, along with the others, abandoned the life raft and its contents and swam, frantically to the motor whale boat and boarded it. As it turned out the air raid alarm was false.
With all safely aboard, the destroyers proceeded eastward to clear the area, leaving only one ship to guard the YORKTOWN. Years later, after reading the instructions which had been issued to Rear Admiral F. J. Fletcher, the senior officer in command, it seemed to me that he might well have taken the decision to sink the YORKTOWN right then and there, because his orders were that under no circumstances was he to risk actual surface contact with the Japanese forces. Had a cruiser or a destroyer been hooked onto the YORKTOWN she might have been dragged to safety, but under the circumstances and with these instructions it was understandable that time was not taken for such an operation.
Later that night I worked with my yeomen in the ship's office of the destroyer, making out muster lists of all the refugees we had on board, some several hundred. There, during the course of the evening, someone returned to me the binoculars, now ruined by salt water, and the pistol which I had left in the life raft. The jacket, however, was not returned. I never learned who retrieved the gun and the glasses or how he knew they belonged to me.
The next day our destroyer went alongside the crueler ASTORIA to refuel and to exchange personnel to form the salvage party which had been decided would return to the YORKTOWN In a salvage attempt. Everyone wanted to go, and finally guards had to be placed at the highlines to keep additional personnel from coming over from ASTORIA in their determination to go back to their ship. The dedication to the "Old Lady" was most impressive. It would be considerably different the following day when a second salvage team would be suggested.
While I stood on the destroyer's deck I was hailed from the ASTORIA by LT(jg) Maconber. Would I, he wanted to know, be 80 kind when I returned to the YORKTOWN as to look for his flight jacket? It contained $1500 of Fighting 42's welfare fund. I was forced to confess I had started to bring it but had lost the jacket. Had I suspected the contents of the packet it would have been so easy for me to have placed it inside my shirt. I never saw Maconber again and never learned whether the funds were in cash or a checking account. But what became of the jacket and its contents? Was it really left in the water or did the unknown person who returned my pistol and binoculars see fit to retain the jacket ?
Back at the YORKTOWN the single ship guard had taken the precaution of sending aboard a party to investigate the situation. Discovered in the coding room were out completely unguarded coding machines and unlocked safe. The search party proceeded to remove to the destroyer all the coding machines and looked up the rest of the material. One vulnerability, at least, was eliminated. By the time that we in the salvage party arrived upon the scene in the early morning of the 6th of June there were a total of six destroyers circling. A mildly humorous material loss had been suffered by one of them. Desirous of doing what they could, several of the ships sent small damage control parties and their equipment in motor whale boats to the YORKTOWN. The ship was easily boarded because the port edge of the hangar deck was at the water's edge. The party from one of the destroyers, newly arrived from the States and particular well supplied with the latest damage control gears left their equipment on deck and proceeded to explore the situation. The next boat to arrive had instructions to throw overboard all loose equipment that they could find on the port side in order to help correct the list. The first such material that they came upon was the damage control equipment of the other destroyer.
Once aboard, the salvage party proceeded to do what they could to lessen the list and to fight the fire which still smouldered in the forward rag locker. To help us, the destroyer HAMMANN came alongside and provided water pressure. For a time I assisted in this effort. It seemed to me that almost every section of hose which was strewn about the hangar dock was useless because there had been holes burnt in it. But finally streams of water were directed into the rag locker and the fire was suppressed if not extinguished.
But my chief responsibility was to go about the ship and secure all confidential publications. The larger part of these were aviator's contact codes some seventy of which were scattered about the ready rooms. I gradually gathered them up and locked them in the vault, incidentally picking up a few choice items such as winter night boots and cold weather flight jackets. In the vault I was confronted with those four unopened mail sacks of cryptographic publications.
Sometime during the day I took the time to seek out replacements for my wet shoes from the hundreds which had been left along the decks edge. There were so many they indeed did appear to be neatly laid out in rows. Why so many of us found it advisable to abandon their shoes I will never know unless they really feared their shoes would drag them down. The worst case was LTJG MacManus of the salvage party who found he definitely needed his shoes once on board the destroyer and managed to buy a new pair. Inexplicably, even to himself, he managed to shed these also when we were forced to abandon ship the second time.
I had always admired the expensive cordovan shoes the aviators seemed to fancy and searched diligently for a pair, but completely without success. I could only conclude that naval aviators who wore cordovans thought highly enough of them not to leave them behind for such as me to scavenge. I was forced to make do with a pair of black issue shoes, which turned out to be not even mates.
In the mid-afternoon I was directed by Lieutenant Commander Ray to help him assemble Admiral Fletcher's message files which we removed from the safe in Flag Plot. With these packed into a mail bag we proceeded to the quarterdeck area where I was to transfer to the HAMMANN and go by HAMMANN boat to deliver the bag to one of the destroyers, which was scheduled to depart that afternoon for Pearl Harbor. On the quarterdeck someone had placed several cases of coca-colas and it was for one of these that I stopped before proceeding to the HAMMANN. This pleasant pause was interrupted by the sudden firing of our 20mm alarm gun, cries of "torpedoes" and the buzzing of HAMMANN's general alarm. My reaction was unthinking. I immediately fled with my mail sack to the port side of the quarterdeck. By the time I reached it I had time to reflect that perhaps torpedoes might be coming from that side also and that I was awfully close to the water. As a result of this thought I secured the bag to the ship's structure and then by means of lines that lay across the hangar deck worked my way back uphill to midships where it seemed I had forever to wait for the torpedoes to hit. But they finally came with the usual muffled explosion and the slow, tremendous heave of the deck.
When things subsided the first thing I heard was a cry for assistance. Lieutenant Wilson was just emerging through the hangar deck hatch from below when the torpedoes hit, releasing the hatch which pinned him and broke his arm. Behind him Boatswain Briggs set up the cry for help. I lifted the hatch off Lieutenant Wilson then went back to the quarterdeck where I could see the HAMMANN settling in the water on an even keel. She gave me the impression of a ship which might have been dropped from a great height, upright but broken. She sank smoothly, submerging rather evenly and plunging forward with her fantail disappearing last. When the entire ship was well under water all of her depth charges exploded in a tremendous explosion. In what had been an area of water dotted with her ship's company, there now could be seen-only a ring of a few survivors around the circumference of the explosion's wake. Although there seemed to be horribly few, I later learned that a surprising proportion of the ship's company survived.
Although I had no time then to reflect upon how closely I came to having been aboard the HAMMANN at the wrong moment, I came to be greatly impressed afterwards with the luck of the pause which may well have saved my life. In later years it also occurred to me that I missed a great opportunity to profit from a testimonial for a Coca-Cola ad.
The salvage party, which had been 80 enthusiastically dedicated and 80 unthinkingly confident of success, was no longer the same after this blow. It was undoubtedly the shock of seeing how rapidly a ship could sink that did more than anything else to shake us. We had been falsely led to expect that there would always be destroyers to pick us up, that destroyers were indestructible. Now, although there were still five out there they had lost their dependability. I recall vividly the impression I had looking out upon that seascape, destroyers and all, that it was the lonesomest scene I had ever witnessed. And there was no place to hide.
From this condition of shocked inactivity we were aroused to life by our Supply Officer, Commander Arnold, who was the most dynamic of the group at this juncture. He ordered everyone forward to the forecastle and directed us to obtain mattresses from the officers' rooms to serve as a substitute for our now absent life rafts. This we proceeded to do although as we had to go farther and farther into the ship the working party dwindled. I was impressed with the one man, a black steward, who went with me to the last room, after all the others had ceased their efforts. It has always been one of my happier memories that I was instrumental in obtaining for him a Silver Star for this dedication to duty under the circumstance of dread of the ship capsizing with him in it.
But we did not need the mattresses. The fleet tug which had been towing us at a speed of about two knots, cast-off and quite heroically came alongside to the very spot where HAMMANN had met her end. Everyone, both the salvage group and ship's company of the tug, were most urgently aware of the need for speed in carrying out this operation of removing the salvage party to a position of relative safety. The tug's people were not particularly pleased to have to take the time to receive suitcases which some of the officers part were thoughtful enough to pack during the period they were on board. But finally, when all seemed to be off, the Captain climbed down the line to the deck of the tug. Almost immediately thereafter there appeared on the quarterdeck the Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Delaney and two of his men who had been below. Thereupon, Captain Buckmaster who was tremendously upset by thus having been deprived of being the last to leave the ship, attempted to swing back on a line and touch the YORKTOWN. The Commanding Officer of the tug was understandably not particularly impressed by such a moving effort to fulfill this ancient bit of maritime protocol and kept urging Captain Buckmaster to hurry it up. In the end the tug cast off before the Captain was able to make it. He stood on the superstructure of the tug and cast out to Commander Wiltsie, who was acting Executive Officer, "Why didn't you tell me there was someone else left aboard?" Captain Buckmaster never forgave Commander Wiltsie for this failure which under the circumstances seems to have been entirely excusable.
Aboard the tug and clear of the YORKTOWN plans were immediately made to return to the ship the next day with a smaller party, large enough only to help with the towing. How different now was everyone's attitude from what it had been yesterday. The reaction of most was "Of course, I will go back if I am asked to, but I really don't see what I can do there now." Some of us did not express ourselves but merely shared the sentiment.
But the issue never arose. In the dawn of the 7th of June, aboard the destroyer PORTER we watched the Old Lady slowly roll over and sink. Some internal deck or bulkhead, weakened by the heavy series of blows had finally given way. For us of the salvage party the Battle of Midway was over.
By Bruce Wilkins
Halfway around the world and over half a century ago, John E. Greenbacker Sr. of Halifax was a young naval officer on the verge of experiencing the greatest naval battle in history.
Serving aboard the ill-fated USS Yorktown, Greenbacker was one of thousands of American sailors and marines who fought in the "Battle of Midway."
He survived not one, but two separate torpedo attacks on the Yorktown, and was one of the last sailors to leave the sinking vessel.
Meanwhile, Norman Robarr of South Boston was a young sailor attached to a converted yacht based on the island of Midway, the most westward of the Hawaiian islands.
Early on the morning of June 4, 1942, he and and fellow members of his detachment were moored at an atoll about 40 miles northwest of Midway.
Though only 19 years old, Robarr had already witnessed the aerial invasion of Pearl Harbor just six months before. Hearing the unmistakable sounds of aircraft, he looked up and spotted hundreds of Japanese planes on their way to bomb the remnants of the American Sixth Fleet, which was less than two hundred miles to the south.
It was the pivotal point of the Pacific theater of World War II. High level Japanese officials knew they could not win a war of attrition against the United States. So a "final knockout blow" was needed before they would sue for peace, consolidating their Pacific empire.
They thought that blow would occur at Midway.
It didn't.
In fact, the battle is now considered the turning point of the Pacific Theater, the equivalent of D-Day in the European Theater against Germany. After Midway, defeat for Imperial Japan was only a matter of time.
Among the Japanese flotilla at Midway were 11 battleships, 53 destroyers and 15 submarines, according to Sea Battles in Closeup: World War II by Martin Stephen (Naval Institute Press, 1988). There were also four large and two small aircraft carriers which formed the very heart of the Japanese strike force throughout the Pacific.
None of those aircraft carriers would survive the next day.
Meanwhile the United States forces consisted of three aircraft carriers, 17 destroyers, and eight cruisers. It was truly a "David and Goliath" situation.
"We were definitely outnumbered that day," reflected Greenbacker. "The Japanese had two big problems which led to their defeat: overconfidence cockiness."
What the United States brought to Midway was determination, bravery, and countless unselfish acts of self-sacrifice for one's country: the true essence of what Memorial Day is all about.
Police are still investigating Thursday night's armed robbery of the Movie Gallery in the Halifax Square Shopping Center, according to South Boston Police Chief Jim Hall.
The incident occurred at 10 p.m. when a subject entered the store shortly before closing and asked the manager for assistance about a movie, Chief Hall said.
When she went to the back of the store to help him, he forced her into the back room, took an undetermined amount of cash, and then placed her in the bathroom, according to the investigation.
She called 911 a short while later and SBPD officers Brian Lovelace, Earl Hall, and Fletcher Daniel responded to the scene. They were assisted by members of the Virginia State Police and the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
Virginia State Trooper L.G. Perkins and his police dog were called to the scene to assist in a search of the area.
The subject was described as a light-skinned black male, approximately 25-30 years old, clean cut, and wearing a white shirt and jean shorts, police said.
Chief Hall is requesting anybody with any information on this subject to contact the South Boston Police of the Halifax County Crime-stoppers.
Officer Lovelace is the investigating officer on the case.
Douglas Michael Lacks, 40, of Ringgold was arrested Sunday on misdemeanor counts of assault and battery and brandishing a firearm, according to the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
Lacks allegedly assaulted Rhonda R. Lacks, a household or family member, during an argument on Friday, according to the investigation.
Lacks was released on bond pending his trial in the Pittsylvania County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. He was arrested by Cpl. S.T. Moser and Deputy K.B. Tribble.
In other arrests:
· Marvin Wayne Cash, 29, of Halifax was arrested Friday on misdemeanor counts of assault and battery and destruction of personal property, police said.
Cash allegedly assaulted Teresa Cash, a household or family member, after a disturbance on Friday, according to the investigation.
Cash was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. He was arrested by Sgt. T.E. Logan and Deputy Q.W. Clark.
· Crystal Michelle Lacks, 20, of South Boston was arrested Friday on misdemeanor counts of assault and battery and destruction of personal property, police said.
She allegedly assaulted Karla Coleman and damaged Coleman's 1995 Geo Tracker on February 26, according to the investigation.
Lacks was released on bond pending her trial in the Mecklenburg County General District Court on June 12, Lacks was arrested by Deputy Clark.
By DAVID ESPO
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Standing a few paces off the Senate floor, Sen. John McCain expressed satisfaction that far-reaching tobacco legislation had withstood two early test votes. Still, he cautioned, ''I know there will be bad days before this is over.''
Less than 24 hours later, the Arizona Republican watched grim-faced as his prediction came true. Lawmakers who upheld the bill's $1.10-per-pack price increase for cigarettes on one day signaled opposition to the bill's limited legal protection for the tobacco industry on the next.
The quick shift in fortune underscores the difficulties facing McCain and his allies, as well as the White House and public health advocates, as they seek the political center on legislation to curb teen-age smoking.
Republican critics of the bill say they are no less perturbed over the evil of teen smoking, but they contend the same goal could be accomplished with far smaller tax increases and far less government spending.
Big Tobacco, nominally without allies in Congress, is not without resources. It is spending heavily on advertising that makes the same point as some GOP critics of the bill.
The legislation will be back on the floor next month, after lawmakers return from the Memorial Day recess, and Democrats served notice Friday they will insist it remain the first order of business. Democrats are ''determined not to do anything else until we get it done,'' said the party's leader, Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
Republican critics are no less determined.
''I've not yet begun to fight the tax increases,'' said Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri, who held the Senate floor for more than three hours one day last week to dramatize his opposition.
Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma, the GOP Whip and a leading critic of the measure, says it is ''too early to tell'' what the fate of the measure will be, although he conceded votes probably exist for substantial tax increases.
The bill's very presence on the Senate floor represents an irritant for Republicans. Several sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi allowed the measure to come up for debate over the advice of Nickles as well as at least two other members of the Republican leadership.
Democratic divisions as well were plainly on display last week. Only 20 members of the rank and file voted in Thursday's roll call for the legal protection provision, despite efforts by the White House and Democratic leader Daschle to preserve it. Another 24 voted against, although some indicated a willingness to back the White House position until they saw it would fail.
Some Democrats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they want the toughest bill possible to emerge from the Senate, not only for inevitable bargaining to follow with the House but because they fear the White House will be too eager to compromise.
Public health advocates such as former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, among the nation's strongest supporters of anti-smoking legislation, opposed the $8 billion liability cap that McCain and the White House negotiated in mid-May.
The White House and others argued the limited protection is necessary if tobacco companies are eventually to agree to restrictions included in the bill on their constitutionally protected right to advertise.
That presented an opportunity to conservative Republicans such as Nickles, none of whom want to be seen in an election-year as tobacco company allies. Their votes helped doom the liability cap, and they took quiet satisfaction that they had complicated McCain's efforts to pass the bill.
The vote was a ''defining moment,'' declared Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas. He swiftly sought to follow up by refocusing the debate away from teen-aged smoking, an issue that polls say favors Democrats, and onto the tax issue that is better ground for Republicans.
Moments after the vote on legal protections, Gramm won recognition to offer an amendment to rebate some of the bill's tax increases, which fall heavily on low and moderate-income taxpayers. His proposal would eliminate the so-called ''marriage penalty,'' a portion of the tax code that requires some married couples to pay higher taxes than they would if they were single.
''If our objective here is to get people not to smoke and to do it by raising the price of cigarettes, shouldn't we take some of the money that we're taking from very moderate income Americans and give it back to them by cutting other taxes?'' he asked.
Other contentious issues remain, including provisions to help tobacco farmers and penalties for tobacco companies that don't meet targets for reductions in teen-aged smoking
Huell W. Matthews, who donated more than half his life to serving his friends and neighbors as a member of the Halifax County Board of Supervisors, died Saturday at Halifax Regional Hospital, one day before his 84th birthday.
Mr. Matthews, who resided at 1089 Dogwood Trail, was a member of the Board of Supervisors for 44 years, holding numerous important committee assignments during that tenure.
A native of Halifax County, he was born May 24, 1914, and was the son of the late Joseph Edward Matthews and Mrs. Rosa Wilkins Matthews.
He was married to Mrs. Evelyn Lowery Matthews, who survives.
Mr. Matthews held several employment positions, and was a longtime automobile salesman at Crowell Motor Company prior to his retirement some years ago.
Baseball was one of his abiding interests, and for a number of years he aided in the business management and sponsorship of the popular South Boston Wrappers teams.
Mr. Matthews was a member of the Shady Grove United Methodist Church, a member of the Hyco Road Ruritan Club and a member of Ducks Unlimited.
He served in the CCC during the 1930s.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Matthews is survived by two daughters, Janet Bacuzzi of Virginia Beach and Amy Harris of South Boston; a son, Huell W. Matthews Jr. of Ashland; one sister, Bessie Coates of Rustburg; one brother, Luther Matthews of South Boston, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral service plans are incomplete, but burial will take place in the Black Walnut Baptist Church Cemetery at Cluster Springs.
The family requests that memorials be made to the Halifax County Rescue Squad or to a local fire department.
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The 37 states with lawsuits pending against Big Tobacco are in stronger positions thanks to the groundwork laid in Minnesota's case, although that's no guarantee they'll prevail.
The lawyers who pursued Minnesota's case, eventually winning a $6.6 billion settlement, forced the industry to hand over enough internal documents to fill two warehouses. And the 15-week trial demonstrated to other states how the documents could be used, the industry's defense and the effectiveness of witnesses.
Experts singled out Arizona, New York and Wisconsin as having strong pending lawsuits against tobacco.
But the laws, courts and legal talent in each state's case are different.
Courts elsewhere have thrown out important parts of state cases, particularly in Washington and Iowa, said James Tierney, a former Maine attorney general who is a consultant to states with tobacco lawsuits.
The judge in Minnesota's case allowed the plaintiffs to press their case on nearly all the legal grounds they sought.
''Minnesota was in almost every respect fundamentally different from every case, past or future,'' said Michael York, an attorney for Philip Morris. ''In particular, the trial court seemed determined to keep the jury from hearing all of the important and relevant facts.''
Industry spokesman Scott Williams said the companies settled in Minnesota and three other states for reasons that won't necessarily apply elsewhere. And he noted that juries in several tobacco cases have sided with the industry.
''We have valid defenses,'' Williams said. ''It's not a predictable environment.''
Williams and York said the companies settled in Minnesota - just hours before the case was due to go to the jury - because they believed the judge was biased and his rulings were unfair. Under those circumstances, they said, it was too risky to see what the jury would have decided.
The industry's earlier deals with Texas, Florida and Mississippi were part of a push for a national settlement, Williams said.
But the companies last month gave up on a proposed $368 billion national settlement. A bill under consideration in Congress would not resolve the remaining state lawsuits although its price tag, more than $500 billion, surely would cut into the money available for state-by-state deals.
Of the 10 cases on court calendars in 1998 and 1999, the states' prospects vary considerably.
The judge in the Washington state case threw out some key issues used in Minnesota. Those included claims that the tobacco companies unjustly enriched themselves through alleged wrongful conduct, and that they violated a ''special duty'' they assumed when they published a joint statement in 1954 promising to protect the public health.
''They've got a very tough case out there,'' Tierney said.
Iowa's Supreme Court said the state can't make the industry compensate the state for what it spent treating sick smokers, which was the main goal in Minnesota's lawsuit.
Wisconsin, on the other hand, is in a strong position because its laws are similar to Minnesota's. A judge there is allowing eight of the original 11 claims including several fraud and conspiracy counts, and its legal team is well-regarded.
Steve Berman, a Seattle attorney who represents 13 states, said a state anti-racketeering law puts him in a strong position in Arizona.
Berman also said New York has strong state laws that work in his favor. In addition to alleging violations of state fraud laws, New York's case claims the defendants violated federal anti-racketeering laws.
The tobacco industry also faces a growing number of lawsuits filed by local governments, insurance companies, unions and people.
Minnesota's lawyers have made it easier for all those plaintiffs.
As a result of its case, depositories in Minneapolis and England hold more than 33 million pages of documents available to other states and anyone else, and Minnesota has done the work of sifting them for incriminating material.
''The documents that have been disclosed here are just incredible,'' Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said. ''(They're) going to have a major impact on all the cases that are tried.''
By The Associated Press
States with trial dates for lawsuits against the tobacco industry:
-Washington, September 1998.
-Oklahoma, November 1998.
-Arizona, February 1999.
-Massachusetts, February 1999.
-Maryland, April 1999.
-Oregon, May 1999.
-New York, June 1999.
-Wisconsin, September 1999.
Iowa's and Michigan's lawsuits also are expected to come up sometime next year but no dates are set.
Sunbeam Sullivan Woodard of South Boston died May 22, 1998 at The Woodview at the age of 86.
Mrs. Woodard was born in Plymouth, NC on September 22, 1911 to Robert and Lula Johnson Sullivan. She was married to William Clyde Woodard.
Her survivors include a son: Aubrey Clyde Woodard of Clarksville, three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Memorial services will be held at a later date at the Hillandale Baptist Church, 2601 Powder Mill Rd., Adelphia, MD 20783.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Hillandale Baptist
Church or your favorite charity.
Elizabeth Brice Smith of Westminster Towers, Rock Hill, SC, formerly of Chester, SC, died Thursday, May 21, 1998 at her home at the age of 92.
Mrs. Smith was born in Woodward, SC on August 28, 1905 to Samuel McDonald Brice and Elizabeth Dougherty Brice. She was married to the late John T. Jefferies Smith.
Mrs. Smith was a retired teacher at Purity Presbyterian Church, Chester, SC, a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Rock Hill and former member of Bethel Methodist Church, Chester. She was a member of the Violet Sunshine Club and the Up-To-Date Club.
Her survivors include her daughter: Sarah Jefferies Calhoun of Halifax and two grandchildren: Rob Calhoun of Halifax and Elizabeth Brice Calhoun of Halifax. She was preceded in death by a daughter: Elizabeth Brice Bethea.
Graveside services will be held at noon Tuesday at Concord Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Chester and a memorial service will be held at 2 pm. in the chapel of Westminster Presbyterian Church. Dr. Shelton Sanford and Dr. William Fox will preside.
Memorials may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1300 India Hook Rd., Rock Hill, SC 29732.
The family will receive friends from 11-11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Barron
Funeral Home and immediately following the memorial service in the Community
Room at Westminister Towers.
Thomas Finney Chandler of Long Island, NY passed away Monday, May 18 in Long Island at the age of 54.
Mr. Chandler was born in Baltimore, MD on June 8, 1943. He was married to Betty Turner Chandler.
His survivors include his wife; daughter: Sybil Chandler Grimes of Long Island; sons: Thomas and Shawn Chandler and Craig Turner of Long Island; five grandchildren; aunts: Bertha Hill of Halifax and Mildred Taylor of Vernon Hill; uncles: Acrea and Rudolph Williams of Halifax and Ernest Williams of Albany, NY.
Funeral services were held Saturday, May 23 at Wesley Chapel CME Church in Vernon Hill with the Rev. Ronald Dean officiating. Interment was in the church cemetery.