THE USS FRANKLIN

[Music] a deserted fighting ship forgotten by all but a few lies lonely in the Navy Yard at Bon New Jersey the bonam Richard Old Ironsides the Enterprise no ship fought more gloriously than the USS Franklin the mighty Big Ben of World War Two her exploits have grown dim in the Echo of history but to those who know and remember she is a legend a tribute to a captain and crew who would not give up their ship they prove As Americans have throughout our history that the impossible is not impossible at all during World War II 3,000 men lived ate and slept on the 27,000 ton carrier and one day near War's end 700 men died on her that day provided the most stirring singled story of Naval Warfare ever filmed a story that begins on March 19th 1945 with the Franklin steaming into to action off Japan 7: a.m. a Japanese dive bomber [Music] strikes two enemy bombs hit Square Aid ships frames envelop the deck the Franklin has been struck at the most vulnerable possible moment with her own bombs and Rockets exposed ready for loading without a trace of panic crewman fight raging fires which draw near 200,000 lb of explosives and 12,000 Gall of high octane gasoline wounded are cared for by medical cormen at 7eleven a series of violent explosions rack the Big [Music] B the blasts sweep the hanger deck below wiping out all lives there the Franklin is now a massive fiery ammunition dump blowing up bit by bit the huge forward plane elevator is smashed 22 aircraft are trapped below more wounded it is now 2 and 1/2 hours after the first crippling attack the cruiser Santa Fe comes alongside to take off the Gravely injured coming in for the kill a [ __ ] plane is [Music] blasted 952 the most terrific blast of the morning steaming at 8 knots directly toward Japan the Big Ben fights on Captain Garry's refuses to abandon [Music] ship the Santa Fe Returns the rescue Cruiser wedges herself directly in against the pitching listing carrier and stays there under power her hoses spray the Franklin's fires through the carrier's burning Hulk hundreds are dead and dying there seems to be no hope of saving her but her captain and crew Won't Give Up the flight deck is torn apart and charred by explosions smoke has driven the last man from the engine rooms the Big Ben lies dead in the water listing 14° but she is still afloat chaplain Father Joseph O'Callahan one of two heroic officers awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor ministers to a critically wounded [Music] sailor another [ __ ] plane gets through but One Wing shot away spins crazily down to the Sea [Music] the Destroyer hickcock moves in behind the Franklin's fanil to remove men stranded there blocked from all other escape the casualty toll aboard the carrier is the greatest single Naval loss of the war first from the fanale come the wounded with a hicock scraping up and down against the Franklin Stern other men jump directly to the destroyer's [Music] deck 800 men are rescued from the water of the Franklin's original 3,000 men almost 2,000 miraculously survive un hurt one by one the crewman who stayed with their ship until driven off by fire smoke and explosions are plucked up from the Sea by rescue ships at dawn crippled but proudly above water the Franklin Steers for Port under her own power bringing New Glory to Old Glory the men of the Franklin among them M frisbee bosen TJ Frasier Steward third [Music] class JW Turner water tender first class veteran of both world wars and 18-year-old FW Masters fireman second class salute them and the Franklin no ship has taken punishment like her and survived safe home in New York the Big Ben steamed past the Statue of Liberty and into history soon the war would be over and peace for which she so gallantly fought would be [Music] one today the Franklin's fighting might is muzzled but unlike the Enterprise which is scheduled to be scrapped the Big Ben stands ready to serve America again should she be recalled to active duty no planes clutter the vast expanse of her hanger deck only memories memories of the men who died here here far from home on a day long ago their sacrifice should not and must not be forgotten no voices shatter the Stillness aboard a ship that throbbed to the Roar of battle no dishes clatter in the mes Hall where crewman sat down to meals that they might never finish no sailor tosses fitfully in his bunk dreaming of what tomorrow will bring no bell ring no gun sounds these are memories of the Franklin's past of the men who served on her and of the spirit that has made her a part of America's heritage [Music]