Snippy already pointed you to our Taffy 3 thread.
P.S. Any relation to the "Colonel Flagg" from M.A.S.H.?
Snippy already pointed you to our Taffy 3 thread.
P.S. Any relation to the "Colonel Flagg" from M.A.S.H.?
He was a bosun's mate on Gambier Bay and his battle station was as a loader for one of the AA mounts. The ship gained notoriety as the only aircraft carrier of the war, on either side, to be sunk by surface gunfire.
He took shrapnel in the back during the engagement while going over the side and he said afterwards that it was a good thing he was lying on top of his Mae West when he went into the water since the shrapnel would have punctured it had his back not been in the way.
The rest of the story isn't pretty, I'm afraid. He spent two days in the water with other members of his crew before they were finally rescued. Crew members alternated shifts between an available lifeboat and cargo nets attached to the sides. And yes, there were sharks.
It took him quite awhile to open up about his experiences, and he once told me that he would still occasionally have nightmares about going "over the side".
We keep Mike's medals in a case in our bedroom. I just wish my son had known him. The painting of the Gambier Bay under fire, called "Freedom's Cost", hangs proudly in our living room. It's available through the VC-10 website.
As for Colonel Flagg, let's just call him an inspiration :)