AWAY BOARDERS

[Applause] [Music] [Applause] this is the old navy of glorious tradition of John Paul Jones Stephen Decatur and Commodore Bainbridge a navy of wooden ships and Iron Men they fought a different kind of fight from today's long-range actions they slugged it out yardarm to guard our then swarmed over the side and boarded the enemy with Cutlass and Marlinspike could our sailors of today max the cold or courage of the old-timers they match their - and superlative seamanship a hard question to answer for the command a wave boarders hadn't been heard in the United States Navy since 1815 not that is until the morning of June 4th 1944 when it sounded crisp and clear from the bridge of the USS guadalcanal off the west coast of Africa that's our story but first let's go back back to the desperate struggle of 1941 and 1942 the Battle of the Atlantic for time we were losing that battle the ships that were sunk and the cargoes that went down with them were sorely needed in England in Africa in Russia [Music] maaan time' in 1941 and 1942 the tall mountain no ship was safe for the Raiders of Admiral Jarrett's work everywhere our cargo vessels were sunk within sight of our boardwalks their flames lighted the very streets of our black Dodge City we had to find the answer [Music] and we did in one of the most versatile fighting teams that ever put to see the baby flattop and the destroyer escort born of dire necessity the baby flattop was a mantra a merchant ship turned carrier but she was a Mongol with a nasty set of teeth as the card the bowl and the Block Island soon proved to Hitler's pack of haunches able the carrier's aerial patrols cover that stretch of ocean out of reach of shore based aircraft where the u-boats once merged in comparative safety now any sub which surfaces within their kin is promptly machine gun rocketed or bomb to complete the team the pilots have at their beck and call the swift and deadly destroyer escorts these are light destroyers modified for mass production light perhaps but fast shifty and packing a murderous wallop in her gun and depth charges the de is more than a match for any you vote this was the team that broke the back of the submarine Maddox here is our flattop the USS guadalcanal fresh out of the Kaiser yards and with a name that is a dedication to all that is bravest in the American spirit and here is her crew as new as their ship fresh out of boot camp and green as the cornfields that some of them come from boys from Scranton Fort Worth a tumbler forest from Terre Haute Muncie and medicine line never saw the sea before but if the crew is green the skipper is not captain dan gallery is a pioneer of Naval Aviation on May 15 1944 a task group of the Atlantic week heads out to sea with orders to operate against submarines to the west of the Cape Verde Islands the group comprises the USS guadalcanal and her five destroyer escorts the Pillsbury the shadow lane the Pope clarity and the James at the departure conference captain gallery and the destroyer skippers decide upon a daring plan of action if during this cruise they can bring a sub to bay they will not attempt to sink her as soon as she surfaces instead they will sprayer with small stuff put cruise over the side in small boats and attempt to board and capture her daring did we say fantastic is the word for boarding a wounded u-boat on the high seas but the prize would be priceless Naval Intelligence could use a completely equipped enemy vessel so during the voyage prize crews were trained trish for this false hope here's the hand boarding party of the Guadalcanal let's meet some of them chief photographers mate clifford werlla his job will be to get inside the sub take pictures of all installations in case she cannot be kept afloat chief pharmacist Raymond Jackson Fredericksburg Virginia he served ten years in the Navy lieutenant JG model Keck a veteran sea dog with 25 years naval experience ensign Fred middle and electrician's mate first class William Stein Stein a crack electrician will assist and submit all in the job of checking the batteries and all operating motors of the enemy vessel ensign James Griffin and machinists mate second class Walter Waller Anson Griffin will check the subs diesel engines Waller is to be engineer of the party's whale boat in command of the boarding and salvage party is commander Earl tocino engineering officer of the Guadalcanal over on the USS Pillsbury a similar party is being trained by lieutenant Albert David on June 4th 1944 the task group is searching for a sub reported 150 miles off the coast of French West Africa when suddenly at 11:10 Frenchie to bluejay I have a possible sound contact nothing startling for the moment possible sound contacts are made every day but a flat top has no business near them with her high freeboard and her spins in she is a sitting duck for any sub which surfaces within torpedo range so the guadalcanal swings away while the two nearest destroyers break off to assist the Chatelain which has made the sound contact and the Guadalcanal patrol of two wildcat fighters is ordered to the scene then commander knots of the Chatelain announces contact evaluated us up and making attack almost simultaneously both whiter flames sight the long dark shape of the submarine running 60 feet below the surface and sing out hi dad at this point the self reverses course temporarily shaking off a destroyer but the Wildcats can see the Sun and reveal its position by firing their guns in the water at the spot where the sub is disappearing this is a remarkable example of aircraft actually directing the attack of a surface vessel on a u-boat at 11:21 the destroyer makes a depth charge attack [Music] all ships are red battle stations and all eyes are glued on the Chatelain the guns of a task group are loaded with anti-personnel rather than armor-piercing ammunition at 11:22 and a half the wounded u-boat services right in the middle of the task imagine firing the planes over the person [Applause] [Music] now the floor really began all right on land [Music] [Music] [Music] he's firing away our boarding planes the Nazis are scrambling overboard there are the Nazis in the water in their rubber rafts [Music] but there may be more onboard ready for business away all boarding parties the soft butter is jammed and she is running in a tight circle to the right but the planes are all set to open up if she makes a false move this is it for the first time since 1815 the United States Navy boards a foreign enemy man-of-war on the high seas the first boarding party has swarmed aboard only one did not see on deck there may be live ones below but our lads tumble down the hatch and find to their amazement that the u-505 is all theirs all theirs that is if she doesn't sink or blow up here comes the Pillsbury making knots and there is a second whale boat with a boarding party from the Guadalcanal the Nazis have done a hurried frantic job of scuttling a solid 8-inch stream of water is pouring through an open strainer but lieutenant David and his boys find the cover slanted back in place and secure it just in time a few minutes more and it would have been too late the end rush of water is checked each man has a different job to do as rehearsed it for months and now that the chips are down they come through the ship is thoroughly searched but she's still running wild and the Pillsbury and more boarders are chasing her finally the Pillsbury orders stop double engine but when the prize crew complies the subs safe so alarmingly that they throw the switches to full speed ahead and the chase begins all over again [Music] meanwhile the shadow lane is busy rescuing some very wet members of the master race amazingly all but one are saved and brought on board the châtelet [Music] dry clothing and cigarettes are passed around the tradition of the sea is honorably and punctiliously respected [Music] these mantle the cream of the German Navy they just can't believe that their ship has been captured and by members of a decadent democracy at last the pillsbury comes alongside and passes a line to the boarding party a neat bit of seamanship but watch out that sub is still as dangerous as a wounded shark she swings into the Pillsbury and her bow flippers ripple long underwater - in the tikis templates flooding two main compartments clear up to the waterline [Music] the destroyer has to cut loose and back clear the Pillsbury radios subs and she has to be told to stay afloat but we don't think the destroyer can do it so the guadalcanal heads over and says on the TBS destroyers stand clear I am going to take him in toll myself now we'll see whether this aviator skipper can handle this ship it's a ticklish job cooking a flattop to a sinking sub on the high seas and in the middle of the Atlantic you bow planes look how far down she is they've closed the hatch to keep the swells from pouring down on the boys working inside if she goes down now they all go down with her let's get that line out there it goes the messenger line with a big toe line at the end this is a job to test the mettle of veteran Cena and four out of five of those boys on the subs folks who are Glee but there is no problem [Music] [Applause] [Music] the towline is made fast and the anxious skipper heaves a sigh of relief as the sub makes wave and rises in the water she is safe again for the high-speed under the new flag [Music] the task group forms up and on orders from the Navy Department yes for Bermuda a sterling 2,500 mile falls with a riddle waterlog u-boat in tow normal flight operations are resumed and carried on day and night just right the greatly reduce speed of the at times there are only 15 knots of wind across the flight set and in fact geomatic to the flyer has to have 25 knots to land on a baby flattop but these pilots land anyways and with a vernacular [Music] the prisoners are transferred from the overcrowded destroyer to the carrier the one in the stretcher is overloading our Jersey here alone captain of the u-505 the first man out of the conning tower he was instantly blown overboard by a shelf [Music] during the voyage they're brought on deck for exercises [Music] and a thorough salt shower [Music] on the 7th of June the fleet turn have knock-kneed joins up and the tow is transferred from the Guadalcanal now comes the most anxious moment of the cruise as she loses Wayne jr. as the crew have twisted son Saints lore and lore in the water the salvage party worked desperately to take all movable weights out of the u-boat then as the transfer is completed and the obnoxious underway the clutches on the subs engines are released and her propellers recharge her batteries with power aboard her pumps worked once more and her tanks are blown out now she rides again at full service trip On June 19 the u-505 was told into the moon and there remains as a prize of war one less wolf if the man of the old Navy had been looking down from some quarterdeck in sky they've seen strange things steel ships maneuvering at high speed roaring mechanical monsters catapulted from their decks and an enemy vessel evening up from the depths but one thing is familiar one thing hasn't changed the courage resolution and parties seamanship of the men of our Navy [Music]